TelemedInsights taps into physician demand for standardized telehealth care

Photo: Vikram Savkar, left, courtesy of Wolters Kluwer Health, and Reamer L. Bushardt, courtesy of George Washington University.

Reamer L. Bushardt of George Washington University and Vikram Savkar of Wolters Kluwer Health got together virtually during the pandemic to collaborate on a telehealth manual of sorts for physicians.

While physicians obviously have the clinical expertise to talk to patients, questions remain around relatively simple matters such as what to wear during a telehealth visit. The answer is what you would wear in the office. There are more complex issues as well, such as how to handle a patient emergency virtually or what current federal regulations will allow for specific telehealth coverage and reimbursement.

During the pandemic, clinicians weren't focused on reimbursement or questions of standardized care. Physicians were working "by hook or by crook" to deliver care and during the pandemic, that meant telehealth, according to Savkar. 

But now that telehealth is here to stay, they're thinking of how to apply in-person standard operating procedures to telehealth, among other issues. 

"We're stepping into that transition point," said Savkar, who is vice president and general manager of the medicine segment for Wolters Kluwer.

With demand for clear guidance rising, Savkar and Bushardt came up with a product called Lippincott TelemedInsights, which is sold to providers. Telehealth regulations are included in a section called MediRegs. TelemedInsights includes clinical training, continually updated regulatory guidance and technology strategy.

"We've tried to address broad concerns, so they focus truly on patient care," Savkar said.

TelemedInsights is accessible on the web. It is not yet connected with the EHR.

"This is more training and awareness than a point-of-care-delivery product," Savkar said. 

A three-day summit meeting in April with physicians, healthcare executives and others told them they were on track.

"People were so hungry for a resource. There's not a lot of places to go for resources. The employers were like, we just have to figure this out," said Bushardt, professor and senior associate dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University.

Bushardt has taken the knowledge learned to the academic side, where medical residents are likely to incorporate such skills as telehealth visits for young children, or for patients with complex chronic conditions or cancer into their future practices.

"It's helped us up our game and students are more talented," Bushardt said.

On the health system side, they are looking at changes in charges and coding auditing, access measures and patient experience scores, all due to telehealth's new role in healthcare. Because of COVID-19, people are being asked to learn a new set of skills and to adapt to a new format, Bushardt said.

"We've been advocating strongly for waivers. Reimbursement policy drives practice," Bushardt said, echoing Savkar's statement that physicians want to focus on the patients.

The product is in such early days that there's yet no measurement of efficiency or ROI. They are staying in close touch with customers. Savkar expects there will be a follow-up phase to track measurable outcomes.

"We do want to track efficacy," Savkar said. "We want to understand how this has been increasing the standardization of care."

Telehealth use skyrocketed during the pandemic and is expected to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Savkar and Bushardt said they believe telehealth will remain a strong presence in healthcare.

Several major hospital systems have bought the product and there is demand from others. There's yet no special nodule on mental and behavioral health training, Savkar said, but they're working on it.

The feedback they get, Savkar said, shows "'we have tapped into what's real.'"

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com