| | APRIL - 20219UTLOOKHealthcare Tech Most practices, under pressure to reduce healthcare costs while improving quality, are also looking at healthcare from a wider lens and encouraging patients and providers to incorporate a prevention strategy intheir healthcareprobably less of struggle than many anticipated it would be. Telehealth will be a key tool in our arsenal to meet the growing healthcare demands of that population and this offering too is now considered part of the basic standard of care.The power of technology has undeniably benefited patients and providers, and continues to disrupt the healthcare industry. Health institutions must adopt a digital first strategy for the industry to meet consumer behavior. Picking up the phone and calling your local restaurant to order delivery is now an abhorrent concept and often leads to human error, while booking that same order online makes communication simpler and more streamlined. Similarly, patients no longer want to pick up the phone to book an appointment, or schedule their lab appointments. In this age of immediacy and multi-tasking, we need to make it easier for people to get the care they need, while still continuing with their day. This is why we have to create a digital front door for our patients - meaning, the patient's first touchpoint with their healthcare provider of choice should be at their fingertips when they first book their appointment online. From there they can choose the setting to access their care that makes the most sense to them ­ whether it's a telehealth appointment or an in-person visit.Most practices, under pressure to reduce healthcare costs while improving quality, are also looking at healthcare from a wider lens and encouraging patients and providers to incorporate a prevention strategy in their healthcare. The future will see more widespread adoption of at-home patient monitoring, especially now that CMS has permanently expanded coverage for RPM. Now providers can remain up to speed on a patient's health conditions, monitor their individual data and provide insights on their care even before the patient may be feeling sick. A few nights of bad sleep may indicate a patient is experiencing more stress at home, while a sudden weight gain or loss could indicate something more serious. For patients with chronic conditions, this at home monitoring could be even more lifesaving and could lead providers to switch medications, before a patient even knows they need to do so. Westmed is already working on plans to make this technology available to our patients.The benefits of RPM will also be crucial to help COVID-19 patients in an already overburdened healthcare system. At Westmed, an extension of the online visit model was the implementation of a COVID-19 virtual clinic. For the specific management of the novel coronavirus, we scheduled all patients who were discharged with a diagnosis of COVID-19 with follow up appointments at key intervals in the virtual clinic. This kept providers informed of patient status (particularly respiratory), and offered continued support to the patient while they were able to remain at home. In certain instances, the virtual clinic helped prevent deterioration that might have gone undetected or required the patient to need an emergency department or hospital admission. The addition of remote pulse oximeters to help providers check on patient oxygen levels and begin the process of a smooth transition to more involved care is another added benefit to virtual clinics. In a healthcare situation like in Los Angeles County where it is estimated that 1 in 3 people have had COVID-19, virtual clinics with at-home monitoring, could potentially go a long way to easing patient anxiety and keeping people out of hospital.Healthcare is and always will be a patient first industry, and we need to continue delivering to meet the demand for care. When enhancing or introducing anything new to a healthcare organization it is imperative to think of how it will be implemented from a digital first mindset. Technology is what is keeping us connected, especially now, when everyone feels so disconnected. My hope is that technology advancements that make both giving and receiving care less complicated, will continue long after the pandemic is over. HTLisa Sershen
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