Telemedicine in Home Health is a Good Idea
What if you could spend $500 less on every patient episode and maintain or improve your outcomes? That's what a well managed telemedicine/telehealth program can do. Home health has shied away from using telemedicine/telehealth for years since it is "not billable". When CMS announced it was expanding telemedicine under the 1135 waiver HHAs were temporarily hopeful this would extend to home health. Those hopes have not been realized-- yet. But your home health agency should
DO IT ANYWAY.
Here is why:
- Decrease costs
Reduce total in person visits
No mileage or drive time for telemedicine visits
Decrease the actual visit cost by using salaried office staff
- Decrease Risks
Reduced in-person exposure to both patients and clinicians
Reduce acute hospitalizations
- Conserve Resources during COVID-19
Decrease PPE use 25 percent or more
Utilize clinicians who are in a “high risk” category for telemedicine visits
Utilize clinicians who are in quarantine for telemedicine visits
A strong telehealth/telemedicine program makes sense during a pandemic, and it will make sense after as well. An episodic payment model gives home health the freedom to decide what our visit structure will look like. With attention to the LUPA threshold, your agency will only benefit from finding creative ways to provide excellent patient care using fewer resources. In PDGM, a "Value-based payment" system, those embracing technology will quickly be able to provide better care for lower costs. See the cost comparison below:
