The Payment Reform Landscape: How Does Telehealth Fit Into A High-Value Purchasing Strategy?

Employers and other health care purchasers will continue to seek new ways to procure high-value care for their member populations as long as the cost of health care continues to rise and quality remains uneven. Over the last five years, there have been significant reforms to how we pay providers for services, along with attempts to improve transparency in the health care system to give consumers and purchasers needed insight into the quality and price of care. In addition, there is an ongoing seismic shift in how employers and health plans structure health benefits for consumers, placing more financial responsibility on consumers for how they utilize health care services. This is all happening in the context of a rapidly changing health care provider landscape marked by unprecedented consolidation and the market power and higher prices that come with it. Another movement afoot, which intersects with these developments, is the continued expansion of telehealth into the health care system. In the market today, there are many different definitions and uses of telehealth. Most involves just the use of a telephone; however, telehealth is evolving with technology and is also accessible through personal and worksite computers; the use of apps on smart phones and tablets, some of which include video; and, through dedicated kiosks, complete with connected biometric devices. Increasingly we will see telehealth integrating with mobile health and home medical devices (picture an otoscope...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Health IT Health Professionals Hospitals Organization and Delivery Payment Policy Catalyst for Payment Reform Physicians Telehealth Source Type: blogs