Telehealth marches on
Telehealth marches on
Early November 2020 was a busy time for health providers launching new telehealth platforms. On November 10 the health services provider Harvard Pilgrim Health Care announced the launch of SimplyVirtual, an innovative model for health care that gives members access to virtual visits with primary care providers and care team support through its existing partner, Doctor On Demand. The new plan will be available to large employers (51+ subscribers) in Connecticut, with a January 1, 2021 effective date. SimplyVirtual is the first virtual primary care plan being offered by a health insurance company in Connecticut.
According to Harvard Pilgrim executives, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an accelerated, increased demand of telehealth and virtual doctor visits. While in-person visits are resuming, patients have a continued interest in this model of health care. From February 2020 to April 2020, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care member use of telehealth services increased by 6,148 percent in Connecticut alone. According to management, the new SimplyVirtual plan is an affordable alternative for plan members who value the flexibility that telehealth offers, and are looking for a relationship-centered experience that focuses on shared decision-making between providers and patients.
SimplyVirtual plan members will be able to engage with PCPs and a dedicated care team through video, voice and in-app messaging 24/7 via the Doctor On Demand digital platform on their smartphone or computer. Preventive health, chronic care management, urgent care, and integrated behavioral health are all provided through a seamless, virtual experience for patients. Members will still have access to office-based care and can be referred to services that cannot be completed virtually, such as in-person procedures, labs and x-rays. Prescriptions and refills can be ordered at the pharmacy or through mail order pharmacies.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on the need for insurers to provide its members with innovative, convenient and high-quality options when it comes to their medical and behavioral health needs,” says Paul Bartosic, VP, Connecticut Market, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. “Harvard Pilgrim’s new SimplyVirtual plan allows us to provide our eligible Connecticut members with a virtual health plan that offers high-quality, diverse health care services, that is affordable and accessible, and one that fits their health and lifestyle needs.”
The day after Harvard Pilgrim’s announcement, TheraCare Home Health announced the launch of a telehealth and remote patient monitoring program across 10 of its branches from San Antonio to Dallas. In partnership with Health Recovery Solutions, a national telehealth provider, TheraCare aims to reduce strain on local hospital resources as communities prepare for another surge in COVID-19 cases. TheraCare is part of Cantex Continuing Care Network, which operates more than 4,400 skilled nursing facility beds through post-acute skilled nursing, home health and hospice care agencies across Central, East, and North Texas.
COVID-positive patients receiving treatment at local hospitals who are deemed candidates for home recovery will be discharged from the hospital and directly enrolled in TheraCare’s telehealth program to be monitored at home throughout their recovery. Through the program, TheraCare enables partnering hospitals to reduce patients’ length of stay while also optimizing staffing resources and bed utilization. 
“While many providers are using virtual visits to conduct routine care appointments, TheraCare Home Health is one of the first home health programs in the state to adopt such an innovative and robust telehealth platform for our patients,” says Ty Jelinek, Cantex Director of Home and Community Based Services. “We’re thrilled to launch this program, especially at a time when our patients and communities need it most.”
Though initially focused on COVID-19 patients and prevention, TheraCare will also use telehealth to monitor high-risk patients including those with diabetes, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Patients identified for and enrolled in TheraCare’s telehealth program will receive a 4G Samsung tablet and Bluetooth biometric devices upon discharge, enabling them to record their daily vital signs. The patient tablet comes preloaded with care plans, symptom surveys, educational videos and more, all customizable to the patient’s condition and needs which allows TheraCare clinicians to provide individualized patient care. Patients also have the ability to communicate directly with healthcare providers by phone, text message or video call.
In addition to assisting local hospitals in reducing readmissions, TheraCare has partnered with Cantex’s 37 SNFs across Texas to improve patient transitions from SNF to home. A recent study published in 2019 by the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association found that 24.2 percent of Medicare patients discharged from SNFs were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Through telehealth and remote patient monitoring, TheraCare plans to provide seamless monitoring of patients’ vitals and symptoms as they transition home, enabling them to intervene in cases of symptom exacerbation and prevent emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
To personalize patient care and improve patients’ long-term quality of life, TheraCare leaders say their offering is placing patient and caregiver education at the center of the telehealth program. Through educational videos, symptom surveys, disease-specific quizzes, and virtual visits, TheraCare will further educate and engage patients in their care, with the goal of improving health outcomes.
TheraCare partner Elysian Hospice plans to use the telehealth platform to strengthen its existing services and provide information on pain management, advanced directives and counseling services through the telehealth platform, in addition to managing patient symptoms and pain. As the elderly and those receiving inpatient care are particularly isolated during the pandemic, the tablets’ video conferencing abilities also make it easier for patients to connect with their families, and for family to connect with the care team.
TheraCare will also use virtual visits to provide physical therapy appointments and assessments for post-surgical patients. At the onset of 2020, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented the Patient-Driven Groupings Model, effectively limiting the number of in-person physical therapy visits patients are eligible to receive. By offering virtual appointments, company executives say, TheraCare can ensure patients get the full support they need to recover.
