Telehealth 2

            Telehealth, the delivery of medical services via video mobile devices, is a relatively new phenomenon.  The mobile delivery platform is a win for both patients and providers in terms of convenience, access, and cost but the key to the long-term success of this delivery strategy is informing consumers about the product.  According to a 2015 study by the American Hospital Association, “76 percent of U.S. patients regard access to care as a higher priority than human interaction with their provider, and more than 70 percent regard communicating with providers via text, email or video an acceptable alternative to a personal interaction” (hfma.org).  These consumer preferences, which have driven shopping, transportation and real estate transactions from face to face interactions to virtual transactions via apps and weblinks, will continue to drive healthcare delivery to virtual platforms.

            The most significant opportunity healthcare providers have to connect with tech savvy customers in search of healthcare services is to connect with them while they are evaluating alternatives.  A patient suffering from the flu who Googles emergency rooms or urgent cares nearby and gets a hit on a convenient telehealth option that allows them to see a doctor from the convenience of their home or office are likely to be very interested in the service.  

            Promoting the cost effectiveness of the program will also drive consumer behavior.  Many providers have lower office copays for virtual visits and many employer sponsored healthcare plans reduce or waive the deductible for members who utilize telehealth as an alternative to expensive emergency room visits.  Pitching the cost savings in addition to the convenience factor makes virtual healthcare visits irresistible.  

            Educating consumers about the practicality of a telehealth visit is critical, however, to building and sustaining a customer base.  Patients need to know before they enter their health history and payment information whether or not their specific need is a fit for a virtual visit.  Patients seeking treatment for a wound, a prescription for opioid pain medicine, or treatment for an injury or wound are not good candidates for a virtual visit.  Platforms that screen those patients early in the process and refer them for a physical visit are likely to have better customer service scores and repeat visits.

            Another patient educational opportunity is outreach to patients in small towns and rural markets with limited access to providers.  Promoting consultations with specialists would be very appealing to families whose options have been historically limited as they engage in the consumer decision process.  

            In their article, “Healthcare on Demand,” the authors identify a new set of words that are “dominating the healthcare lexicon.”  They cite “consumerism, disruption, innovation, retail, transformation, and big data” as the vocabulary that reflects “the fact that smart phone connected consumers have catapulted healthcare onto the internet based, on-demand economy” (Grube).  Healthcare companies that embrace this technology and find ways to connect with consumers early in the decision process and educate them on the benefits of telehealth will win big in the space in the coming years. 

Works Cited 

Burch, S., Gray, D., & Sharp, J. (2017). The Power and Potential of Telehealth: What Health Systems Should Know. Hfm (Healthcare Financial Management), 71(2), 1–4.

Grube, M. E., Kaufman, K., Clarin, D., O, R. J., & O’Riordan, J. (2016). Health care on demand: four telehealth priorities for 2016. (cover story). Hfm (Healthcare Financial Management), 70(1), 42–51.

The Telehealth Industry

Kevin Macias

The telehealth industry is transforming healthcare by improving access to quality healthcare that has historically been constrained by geography and time.  Telehealth is the distribution of healthcare services via video on mobile devices. LiveHealthOnline from Anthem is an example of a current telehealth platform.  It offers live virtual visits with general practitioners, pediatricians, allergists, nurse practitioners and psychologists. Participating physicians can use the video to observe the patient’s symptoms and interact directly with the patient.  If a prescription is required, the physician contacts the pharmacy on file. Patients can install the LiveHealthOnline app on their phone and store their insurance information, their medical history, and their pharmacy contact to speed response times.  Because virtual visits cost much less than emergency room or urgent care visits, many employers reduce or even waive the copay. Patients who are feeling ill don’t have to leave the convenience of their home to travel to a doctor’s office and patients in rural areas now have access to big city providers.  

Anthem has been managing a virtual health platform since 2017.  In addition to the app, the program has a website, a twitter account, and a Facebook page.  Social media is used primarily to educate customers to recognize their symptoms and to understand what conditions are suitable for a video visit.  A recent post detailed the difference in symptoms between a common cold and a sinus infection. The platforms also seek to excite customers about the ease of a virtual visit.  The Facebook page features brief videos of compelling customer testimonials and demonstrations of online visits. One such video is a young mother who has a child with flu symptoms and several other children at home.  By visiting with a doctor via video, the mother avoided the need to drag her entire family to the doctor. Instead, after a brief video visit from the comfort of their home, the physician prescribed several medications to ease the child’s symptoms.   The online videos illustrate the customer experience so the patient understands exactly how the interaction will take place. To date, most of the content on LiveHealth’s social media platforms is one way content generated by the company. There are some limited customer interactions via Twitter, including a few customer complaints from patients who were dissatisfied with their visit.  The platform seems to do a good job of interacting with patients who tag them in posts, generally recommending that the discussion be continued via private message to protect the patient’s privacy. There are some good social media strategies in use including posts that highlight the convenience of the platform to delivery quality healthcare. One post reminds consumers that LiveHealth is open 24/7 on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to deliver care when needed.  Another asks users, “If you could see a doctor in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, would you do it?” The most effective posts are not from the provider, but rather from patients who have good experiences with the app. One user posted, “Big thanks to Livehealth for helping me out on vacation. I thought my asthma and migraines were going to ruin this trip but I’m picking up my imitrix and albuterol from a local pharmacy!” Getting more users to promote the online platform should be a key part of future marketing strategies for telehealth.

This is a relatively new industry which is early in the social media journey but a combination of technical resources, advertising and user interaction is building a powerful platform to spread the word about a convenient alternative to a traditional office visit.