November 11, 2014 | Katie Dvorak
Executives in the healthcare industry are not shying away from implementing telemedicine policies, despite setbacks caused by regulations and reimbursement policies, according to a new survey from Foley & Lardner LLP.
For the study, 57 C-level execs from for-profit and nonprofit healthcare providers were surveyed.
Ninety percent of respondents said they had started to develop or implement a telemedicine program, while 84 percent cited the technology as very important to their organizations. Only 3 percent considered telemedicine to be unimportant for healthcare.
In addition, 8 percent of respondents said they had no telemedicine programs at all.
The shift to increased use of telemedicine could be attributed to the Affordable Care Act, according to the report’s authors.
“As healthcare providers move from a fee-for-service model to one that reimburses based on positive patient outcomes, providers bear a greater share of the risk–and potential reward–for keeping their patients healthy,” the authors said.
Among other findings:
• 64 percent of respondents said they offer remote monitoring
• 52 percent said they have real-time interaction capabilities
• 50 percent said quality of care is the No. 1 reason for adopting telemedicine
• 18 percent were most excited about reaching new patients
Reimbursement remains one of the biggest obstacles to immediate adoption of telemedicine. To that end, 41 percent of respondents said they are not reimbursed for telemedicine services, while 21 percent reported receiving lower rates from managed care companies for telemedicine than for in-person care.
“The reimbursement landscape is already changing, and there are many viable options for getting compensated for practicing telemedicine,” Larry Vernaglia, chair of Foley’s Health Care Practice, said in an announcement. “The smartest thing organizations can do now is to continue developing programs, and be ready for the law to catch up–because it will.”
The global telemedicine tools market is set to see growth going forward, according to a recent report by Wellesley, Massachusetts-based BCC Research. The market will likely reach $43.4 billion within five years, according to the report.
Source: Fierce Healthcare
http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/survey-indicates-telemedicine-adoption-growth-among-healthcare-execs/2014-11-11