Telemedicine can alleviate recruitment woes and fill staffing gaps—and it can rein in costs. Banner Health's total cost of care has dropped 23% since it began using telemedicine, says its VP of care innovation.
Healthcare HR executives have a not-so-secret weapon that can fill gaps in clinical expertise, augment staff, and aid in recruitment: Telemedicine.
Would you prefer your employees work from home, or in an office? Is your health system having difficulty staffing around fluctuations in seasonal demand?
Telemedicine specialists, also called or virtualists, enjoy uncommon flexibility regarding location, which is convenient for both HR managers and workers.
"Our telepharmacists can work from home or in our pharmacy in Fargo, ND," says Win Vaughn, acting president of virtual health services at Catholic Health Initiatives, headquartered in Englewood, CO.
Vaughn says that within his organization, which includes 105 hospitals and offers multiple care settings from 30 critical access hospitals to four large academic medical centers, telemedicine helps bridge the gap and connect different specialists from different environments.
Most healthcare organizations ask virtualists to take 12-hour shifts, just like in the hospital. "It doesn't make any difference if you're an employed physician or contacted, everyone works 12-hour shifts," says Deborah Dahl, vice president of care innovation at Banner Health in Phoenix.
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Deborah Dahl |
Dahl says Banner's telemedicine specialists have the ability to do anything an in-person clinician can do other than touch a patient.
"They just do what a physician or nurse normally does at the bedside, whether that's writing orders or following up on care plans. They might even have an end-of-life discussion with a patient's family," says Dahl.
Some providers lack specialists. This is another area where telemedicine can lend some flexibility. Dignity Health has historically been cautious about telehealth partnership, but has chosen to partner with outside organizations for behavioral health, says Shez Partovi, MD, chief health information officer at Dignity Health.
"We just do not have enough [behavioral health] specialists," he says.
It's also less expensive to staff through a partner organization, says Dahl. " You're paying the same per-hour rate; you just don't have to worry about benefits, and can use the staff when needed."
Innovation Attracts Talent
Telemedicine can also be a recruiting tool to draw young clinicians who are excited about innovation and new care delivery models, says Suzanne Hinderliter, RN, vice president of telemedicine at OSF Healthcare. "I've found that younger physicians are very positive about telemedicine. They love technology."
CHI's Vaughn believes telemedicine will attract nurses who are excited about new ways to deliver care, such as remote monitoring and other new care models.
Telemedicine is not only solving staffing and recruitment challenges in healthcare, it's also proving to be cost effective. "We saw ROI on this service within 19 months, which was much sooner than we'd projected," says Hinderliter.
Dahl says Banner Health's total cost of care has dropped 23% since it began using telemedicine.
How Telehealth Pays Off for Providers, Patients
"[Telemedicine is also] instrumental in population health, and allows access for many patients that otherwise would not have access to care," says Hinderliter. It opens the door for collaboration between communities and organizations, she says, which might encourage clinicians interested in community health and outreach to get involved.
For hospital, it may not be such a hard a hard sell, says Dahl. "Improved quality of life and reduced cost… what’s not to love?"
Lena J. Weiner is an associate editor at HealthLeaders Media.