Telehealth during the pandemic became mainstream overnight as it was the only way for patients at home to safely receive care. Now, at the current stage of COVID, telehealth remains, although usage has slowed down as in-patient visits have resumed.
Nonetheless, telehealth is here to stay as more consumers prefer and have gotten used to using digital technology over the years. In fact, there are compelling arguments for the future of a different kind of care delivery, the hybrid care model.
What is the hybrid care model?
Hybrid care combines the best of in-person care and telehealth. It leverages digital technology for teleconsultation, video conferencing, remote monitoring, scheduling appointments, and follow-up.
It is not about switching how a provider sees a patient, which could be through a digital screen or physical interaction. It is also more than telemedicine because hybrid care should be a holistic and integrated care experience for patients, whether as an inpatient, outpatient, while mobile, or at home.
Traditional or in-person patient care will still remain at the heart of healthcare. Physicians often prefer this type of care, even if it is more expensive and slower to deliver, because it enables them to perform a more thorough examination. However, virtual care can also prove valuable in filling the gaps left by an in-person visit and ensuring continuity of care.
When is it appropriate?
A patient’s individual circumstances determine the type of care, whether it is virtual, face-to-face, or a combination of the two. The hybrid care model is all about the patient and compels providers to offer both options as long as the patient’s conditions can be evaluated via telehealth technology.
Practices offering virtual care can help reduce patient congestion and provide patients a safer and more convenient way to seek treatment. It can never fully replace in-patient care, but a hybrid approach can readily meet the needs of patients in times when in-person visits may not be doable.
Healthcare organizations need to rethink utilizing virtual care as a supplement to their in-office visits to provide patients with the most convenient way to deliver care and ensure it is the best kind of care that produces good results.
Proponents of the hybrid care model have claimed that caring for patients at home or wherever they are can offer valuable benefits to patients.
What are the benefits?
1. Improves patient engagement and reduces costs
The tools to make hybrid care effective and seamless for patients are now readily available. Making appointments, registering and checking in digitally, and getting billed are now fast and easy, which reduces delays and frustration. It improves patient satisfaction and engagement because the patient feels their provider is within reach and available.
It can also reduce costs by capitalizing on prevention and early detection. Research conducted by McKinsey and Co. supports this claim for an estimated 20% of ER visits could have been avoided if virtual care and monitoring were provided. Providers caring for high-need patients can use this solution to effectively provide timely and preventive care.
Even before the pandemic, there was already strong evidence to support how effective virtual care was in preventing patients from costlier care settings. In fact, the hybrid care model is in sync with the value-based care that Medicare has been pushing, namely, Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM).
CCM provides multiple touch points to ensure chronic care patients comply with their care instructions, while RPM provides the devices to capture real-time data to ascertain a patient’s health status. Both these Medicare programs are preventative care and can significantly reduce costs for patients, providers, and payers alike.
2. Provides a new revenue stream
Medicare offers incentives to providers for their non-face-to-face services. It offers opportunities to tap a new revenue stream from reimbursements.
However, there are providers who believe that providing both physical and virtual services may incur additional costs and burden them. There is conflicting evidence on this. Some say it reduced costs, while others experienced the opposite.
The challenge to practices is they have to invest in the technology and infrastructure to make hybrid care accessible to all. Though Medicare offers incentives to practices providing CCM and RPM services, it may not be enough to tie down the cost of purchasing new software, hiring new personnel, and navigating a new technology.
Practices may opt to outsource their virtual care services to a more experienced third-party provider, who has all the assets, resources, and capabilities to perform the tasks easily and effectively.
3. Provides opportunities for practices to expand
Practices providing hybrid care can readily expand their reach and the quality of their services. Telehealth still has a significant potential for growth. Using again the research by McKinsey, 24% of in-person visits and outpatient volume could have been delivered via virtual care while 9% could be performed “near virtually.”
Another feature of the hybrid care model is that it can scale across various patient populations in any location. There are still technology barriers, but there are now remedies. Nowadays, almost everyone has access to a smartphone and a high-speed internet connection.
Telehealth has already opened access to patients in remote areas, especially those with mobility or transportation issues, complicated work schedules, or family members they cannot leave behind. These are the patients in need of telehealth solutions. Meanwhile, those requiring in-patient care can also benefit from shorter waiting hours in the doctor’s clinic.
4. Reduces pain points for healthcare workers
The reduced number of in-patient visits enables healthcare workers to be more productive in their tasks. The patient call volume will decrease since virtual care is readily accessible.
Moreover, the hybrid care model opens opportunities for remote work. After the pandemic, the majority of healthcare workers have expressed their desire for a hybrid work model if available. Some healthcare workers have implemented new work methods since the end of 2020.
The virtualization of the healthcare workforce during the pandemic has given healthcare workers a chance to reconnect with their families and potentially reduce the incidence of burnout.
How to properly implement it?
1. The needs and expectations of all patient populations must be met.
Hybrid care is the key to overcoming future crises. To successfully implement it, physicians should identify the needs of all patient populations first.
For instance, RPM and CCM can be used to care for elderly populations with chronic diseases through the use of tracking devices and comprehensive care plans.
Providers need to know if their patients have ready access to reliable technology for a seamless virtual visit. Patients in remote places with strong internet access may rely solely on virtual solutions because it is convenient and saves them travel time and money. However, convenience cannot dictate the type of care they need.
For hybrid care to work, providers need to find the right balance of what can be treated virtually or not.
2. It should provide a seamless experience for patients.
Patients would need support in advance of their scheduled virtual appointment like a sample URL that they could test run. In this way, a practice can identify potential issues like device compatibility that could impact the patient experience.
Many times, patients prefer a live person whom they can call to provide them with online support in navigating their virtual appointments. It will also help to use a platform that offers a wide array of features like multilingual support, online help videos, and a phone number they could call.
For the hybrid care model to be successful, it should start by directing patients in the right place to receive care. Patients should be able to get the care they need at the right time, in the right place, and in a way that resonates with them.
What is in store for you?
The hybrid care model can transform care delivery that is effective, timely, and highly engaging for patients. Technology will become even more sophisticated with advanced AI or machine learning. Practices that can provide a hybrid type of care can use it not just to optimize their patient care but to make it their competitive advantage to reach out to more patients and provide them with the care they need.
Ascent Care Partners (ACP) is a virtual healthcare service provider offering Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) to help primary care physician practices realize deserved income without increased overhead, upfront costs, or risks. ACP offers a full service from patient enrollment, support, care management, and preparation of billing charges. To find out how we can help you set up your virtual care, schedule a meeting today.
