Telehealth is gaining acceptance and momentum among providers and patients. It's even got friends in Washington working to change regulations that govern technology to treat patients remotely. Marketing needs to keep pace.
Last week it took me 50 minutes—two subway lines and a bus—to get to a follow-up appointment with a specialist. The visit itself lasted just 15 minutes.
It's situations like this that made me jump for joy when I read RNCOS Business Consultancy Services report that predicted an 18.5% annual growth in telehealth worldwide through 2018.
Of course, I realize that the focus telehealth is not on those like me, someone whose only inconvenience is spending unwanted time on public transit. The people who stand to benefit most from telehealth services most are those who live in rural, underserved areas.
Still, the projected growth of telehealth is promising, especially since it has been shown to improve access to and quality of healthcare and to reduce costs.
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Mounting support on Capitol Hill may push teleheath even further along. Former South Dakota' senator Thomas Dacshle (D), now a senior policy adviser for a law firm is lobbying for state and federal healthcare laws to address telehealth. Daschle and a coalition of former senators and interested parties, including CVS, Verizon, Walgreens, and WellPoint, are pushing to change regulations governing telehealth.
"Telehealth services are rapidly becoming a very important part of healthcare delivery under the new paradigm, but we unfortunately don't have a regulatory environment or policy environment that accommodates the new technology," he told The Washington Post. "It hasn't been changed in about 15 years."
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It's clear that change is in the air and, for hospital marketers, that means thinking ahead to how to best communicate and promote expanded telehealth services.
Rebrand It
Some have called for a telehealth rebranding of sorts, positing that the name suggests care at a distance, which implies poorer quality. Daschle's alliance, for instance, is using the term "connected care." While a change in semantics may help gain traction in Washington, the real value lies in the message and, ultimately, the patient's care experience.
In the hospital world, where "telehealth" is still the word of choice, many organizations are sending a strong, clear message about how remote and electronic services can benefit patients.
Swedish Medical Center, which offers telehealth services for EEG, gastroenterology, ICU, interpreters, movement disorders, neurology, neurosurgery, sleep, spine, and stroke care, launched its TeleICU in 2004, becoming the first hospital to do so in Washington state.
Its website telehealth page explains how the hospital uses secure video connections, high-definition imaging, and other technologies to allow specialists to diagnose and propose treatment options for patients who are not sitting in the same exam room.
The site also shares a case study about a stroke patient who was able to receive care from Swedish physicians, even though she was at another hospital. It features several videos explaining how telehealth works in each of its service lines, allowing patients to actually see what might otherwise be an abstract concept.
"Many patients aren't able to make the journey into the city or they don't have the specialty care available in their local communities," Sherene Schlegel, Swedish's director of telehealth, said in a video. "So with the use of telehealth and telemedicine programs, we're able to bring these services to their local communities and to deliver care they wouldn't otherwise have access to."
Cue the Video
Miami Children's Hospital also uses video to showcase its telehealth services. One three-minute clip, called "MCH Anywhere" invites viewers into its high-tech Telehealth Center.
"Our vision is that any patient anywhere in the world, whether it's 50 miles north of here or 5,000 miles away can contact Miami Children's Hospital and get the correct specialist on the case so that the child receives the right care as soon as possible," Jacques Orces, MD, chief medical information officer for MCH, says in the video.
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This method of showing, rather than telling, is exactly what the telehealth movement needs in order to truly connect with patients. This sort of technology can be daunting and seem impersonal, so walking patients through the process may help them to wrap their minds around it and come to understand the benefits.
Despite my mostly facetious complaining earlier, I know I'm lucky that all it takes is a couple of trains and a bus to get to a world-class healthcare provider. But for countless of patients, telehealth will allow them to receive a level of care they wouldn't have dreamed about even ten years ago. Now, it's up to hospital marketers to make sure they're aware at the services available.
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.