Health and Productivity Management - the Benefits of Telehealth Services

What is Telehealth?

While telehealth has many definitions, within the context of “health and productivity management” and its benefits for employers and employees, it means medical consultations with physicians by telephone.

How Does it Work?

With the most advanced programs, enrolled members of telehealth companies have telephone access to board-certified, licensed physicians 24/7 from wherever they are. Physicians are able to diagnose their medical problems, recommend treatment, and prescribe medication, when appropriate, over the telephone at a fraction of the cost of a doctor or ER visit.

Some examples of common conditions effectively addressed via telephone medical consultations include:

•       Urinary tract infection

•       Sore throat

•       Cold or flu

•       Sinus infections

•       Pink eye

•       Respiratory infections

•       Allergies

•       Poison ivy

•       Minor joint trauma (sprains & strains)

How Do Employers and Employees Benefit?

EMPLOYER BENEFITS

·         Lowers overall spending

o    Patients visiting the emergency room or urgent care clinic for routine medical care incur enormous expenses.

o    Telephone medical consults cost about the same as a co-pay and are far less expensive than the cost of a PCP visit, an urgent care facility or an ER visit. By using telephone medical consults, patients avoid incurring unnecessary medical costs.

Significant savings have been reported, as patients used telephone medical consults and were redirected from other traditional treatment sources.  Here are statistics from a leading telehealth provider:

*Per-consult fee from leading telehealth provider

·         Reduces absenteeism and increases productivity

o    According to the American Medical Association (AMA), 72% of doctor visits (office, emergency room and urgent care clinic) are for non-emergency care for common illnesses. When a patient’s doctor is not available, telehealth doctors are.

o    Employees no longer have to miss an entire day of work to go to the doctor for a routine illness.

·         Enhances your ability to recruit and retain employees

o    It drives employee satisfaction as part of their healthcare benefits package, and serves employees in rural areas and those who travel frequently

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

·         The greatest benefit to employees (and their covered dependents) is that telephone medical consultations increase their access to care!

·         Employees are not forced to leave work in order to consult with physicians. With telehealth consultations they get timely treatment – resulting in reduced workforce absenteeism, decreased probability of spreading infections to other employees, and improved access for patients with pre-existing conditions who might forego receiving proper care for minor issues. Employees and employers find it especially convenient for treatment of minor illnesses.

·         Rural residents dealing with economic constraints, cultural and social differences, educational shortcomings, and the sheer isolation of living in remote rural areas can rely upon a physician telephone consult program to more rapidly deliver quality medical services at a reasonable cost. This enhances patient safety, eliminating the drive time to the nearest physician’s office. In the U.S., 25 percent of the population lives in rural areas, whereas only 10 percent of physicians practice in rural areas.

·         Travelers – for business or pleasure – find these consumer-friendly services to be extremely convenient. Telephones are universally available at any time and from anywhere, allowing patients to access care at home, in a hotel, or in the office. People who forget to pack their medications can also take advantage of short-term prescription refills.

·         Patients often experience obstacles to receiving necessary care.  In a 2002 study entitled “Treading Water: Americans’ Access to Needed Medical Care, 1997-2001”, the following barriers to physician care were cited:

Summary

Telehealth improves affordable access to quality healthcare services for routine, episodic, and chronic diseases.  As employers search for opportunities to improve access to quality healthcare at lower costs, they should consider telehealth services.  

For more information on telehealth services contact Tony Kahmann by phone at 208.405.5820, or by email at tkahmann@waldoagencies.com.  Tony is a Benefits Utilization Consultant with Waldo Agencies.

“When you see what we see, you'll think and act differently"

Posted via email from Waldo Enterprise Client Group