Innovation in health information technology, coupled with challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, provides an opportunity for hospitals and health systems to use telemedicine to support patient care. Health care organizations can use two complementary types of telemedicine to staff shortages and keep patients away from the hospital during this public health emergency: episodic telehealth and remote care management, with the potential engagement and utilization of family members and other caregivers.

Hospitals and health systems can use a remote care management system to manage at-risk patients with chronic conditions outside the hospital. Meanwhile, episodic telemedicine allows for immediate diagnosis and clinical recommendations to lower-risk individuals in self-quarantine. Both approaches will be vital as COVID-19 continues to spread, giving telemedicine the ability to improve access to care and reduce costs to the health care system. Episodic telehealth and remote care management solutions vary by health care resource utilization, patient acuity, access and quality of care and benefit to health care system and providers. The table below discusses the variations between the two solutions.

Table 1: Variations in Uses for Episodic Telehealth and Remote Care Management

Integrating a remote care management into the home for targeted patients is aligned with many organizations’ existing patient engagement and avoidable admission reduction strategies. It is also responsive to trends in telehealth, community and home-based care and evolves rules in data integration across the continuum. Deploying such telehealth services will mitigate immediate crisis pressures and prepare organizations for the ongoing management of at-risk patients.

For more information about remote care management or episodic telehealth, please contact Shanah Tirado, Manager, at stirado@copy.laraco.net or 213-369-7415 or Medha Tandon, Consultant, at mtandon@copy.laraco.net or
646-265-0559.