{"id":13529,"date":"2022-06-07T16:12:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T16:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.platform24.com\/blog\/blog24\/how-to-use-telehealth-and-ehr-solutions-to-bridge-primary-specialist-and-hospital-care-delivery\/"},"modified":"2022-06-07T16:12:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T16:12:28","slug":"how-to-use-telehealth-and-ehr-solutions-to-bridge-primary-specialist-and-hospital-care-delivery","status":"publish","type":"blog24","link":"https:\/\/dev.platform24.com\/da\/blog\/blog24\/how-to-use-telehealth-and-ehr-solutions-to-bridge-primary-specialist-and-hospital-care-delivery\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use telehealth and EHR solutions to bridge primary, specialist and hospital care delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lisa is one of the 422 million people worldwide<\/a> living with diabetes. This morning she woke up with a headache. As expected, she worries that the headache could be related to her condition. Perhaps, it\u2019s a sign of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose)? She\u2019s uncertain how to proceed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should she check her blood glucose levels? Afterwards, should she call her GP, or her endocrinologist? Is it merely a simple headache from stress or dehydration? Something she ate? The beginning of a migraine? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is she mis-<\/strong>managing<\/em><\/strong> her condition? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Lisa, the long-term implications of how she manages her patient journey<\/em><\/strong> really matter. For instance, if untreated, hyperglycemia could result in ketoacidosis, otherwise known as a diabetic coma. <\/strong>In <\/strong>addition, a poorly-managed diabetes condition increases her risk for serious health consequences<\/a> such as kidney damage, blindness, and the number-one cause of death, cardiovascular disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How patients became healthcare \u201cproject managers\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent decades, we have witnessed a trend in medicine: specialization<\/em><\/strong>. Care providers specialize in a particular area, niching themselves to expertly solve complex and specific<\/em> health issues. On one hand, this makes a lot of sense. If you\u2019re having problems breathing due to asthma, likely you prefer to see an allergist who puts all their professional energy into treating this specific condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, this trend is not without drawbacks. In a revealing opinion article<\/a>, oncologist, author and Fulbright scholar Ranjana Srivastava points out that this \u201cinvaluable technical craft\u201d of specialization also has disadvantages. This \u201csuper-specialization\u201d has contributed substantially to creating healthcare silos, which create administrative inefficiencies (e.g., losing patient data when switching providers or duplication of services) and also impact the quality of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith GPs being forced to refer people living with diseases to specialists without having the time to integrate and analyse all the results<\/em><\/strong>, functional silo syndrome is almost guaranteed to be endemic.\u201d (Laurence Sperling \/ World Economic Forum<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between fragmented care silos and PCPs stretched too thin<\/a>, there\u2019s nobody to connect the dots, to coordinate care between primary care units, specialists and hospitals, or to disseminate information between data systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That leaves the management of a patient\u2019s journey to…the patient.<\/strong> The one stakeholder in this care-ecosystem who (likely) lacks medical expertise and training and who may be experiencing illness-related stress and trauma, the patient, is now responsible for this crucial task. It\u2019s clear, we need a better solution to bridge the gaps<\/strong> between provider silos without putting the burden on patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solutions to bridge the gaps and holistically connect care delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ESRD program at Boston\u2019s Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital serves as an interesting case study<\/a> in addressing care delivery fragmentation. This program coordinates the care journeys for patients with end-stage renal disease (the gradual failure of the kidneys), a condition that between 10 to 40 percent of diabetic patients will face\u2014don\u2019t forget about our patient, Lisa<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this program, a specific nurse is in charge of hospital discharge assessments for patients, documenting all relevant information and then communicating this information to PCPs, dialysis units, and other specialists. If a patient is admitted to the emergency department (ED), this nurse provides patient information to the ED team. Additionally, the program nurse helps facilitate placement on transplant waitlists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of this program speak for themselves. Between 2016 and 2019, high-risk patients experienced five fewer ED visits\/hospital admissions on average per year and the program saved twice the amount that it cost to run it: \u201cWe calculated $428,000 in savings from 74 avoided ED visits and 34 avoided admissions, and over $1 million in savings attributable to facilitated transplantations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the critical component from this successful case study? <\/strong>There was a centralized single source (the nurse) communicating important patient information to all providers involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of seamless access to information and data <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major component to bridge care delivery gaps is centralized information sharing, and this is where technology comes in. In a call for integrated care<\/a> to bridge silos, Laurence Sperling, professor, doctor and chair of a World Heart Federation group, states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most urgent actions<\/strong> to be taken is to improve access to patient data and medical information<\/strong> across all care teams. Technology is critical for this […] The tools exist, so these must be put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Sperling then specifically identifies virtual healthcare<\/strong>, explaining how it can offer systems that ensure \u201cthat not just raw data but analysis and insight is shared across medical teams.\u201d We agree. <\/strong>Digital healthcare options are key to facilitating and scaling information sharing, and we have two specific solutions in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telehealth and EHR (electronic health record) solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s jump back to Lisa\u2019s situation to illustrate how these two solutions work together<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through 24Health\u2019s telehealth solution, Platform24<\/a>, rather than going it alone, Lisa has the help she needs, when and where she needs it. Using Platform24,<\/strong> she can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n