Many Telehealth Providers Facing Impractical Patient Expectations

March 22, 2022 - Telehealth was instrumental to the healthcare industry's response to the coronavirus pandemic, but telehealth providers are coming face to face with unrealistic patient expectations, leading to frustration.

Majority of Telehealth Providers Irked by Unrealistic Patient Expectations

More than half of providers (55 percent) said that managing unrealistic patient expectations for their virtual visit is a top frustration of providing telehealth services, according to a new survey.

Commissioned by UnitedHealth Group's Optum and conducted using Qualtrics software, the survey polled 240 healthcare providers between Oct. 25 and Nov. 2, 2021. About 75 percent of survey respondents practiced primary care, 18 percent practiced specialty care and 4 percent urgent care.

Along with unrealistic patient expectations, respondents noted that the quality of care they are able to provide via telehealth (58 percent) and quality of audio/video technology (50 percent) are key sources of frustration.

Only 25 percent said their job satisfaction improved due to using telehealth, and 23 percent said that patient health improved. Providers are also divided regarding telehealth's effect on burnout, with 30 percent saying it increases and another 30 percent saying it decreases their feelings of burnout. READ MORE

Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs Through Price Transparency Policy

Price transparency enables patients to shop for the most effective and inexpensive healthcare available and is vital as patient out-of-pocket healthcare costs continue to skyrocket year over year. 

"The constant focus on list prices, even though recent net prices have either risen less than inflation or actually gone down, misses or ignores all the factors that contribute to the out-of-pocket cost for a medicine," John O'Brien, National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) CEO, told PharmaNewsIntelligence. 

Healthcare policies are an integral part of the US healthcare system that helps shape and protect the health and well-being of the population. Healthcare policies affect healthcare access, drug costs, delivery methods, and privacy. 

"Patients could see significantly lower costs if payers implemented best practices for step therapy, reduced patient cost-sharing, and provided pre-deductible coverage for high-value medicines," O'Brien said.  READ MORE

Hospital Patient Populations Fail to Meet Needs of Community

Some 50 percent of hospitals in the United States are racially segregated, meaning the patient populations they serve do not reflect the demographics of their communities, according to the latest analysis from healthcare thinktank Lown Institute which was emailed to journalists. This imperils national efforts for addressing health equity.

The cities with the most racially segregated hospitals included Detroit, St. Louis, and Kansas City, the report added.

Having a racially segregated hospital means the demographics of populations served do not align with the demographics of the greater community, the researchers explained. In other words, hospitals serve a disproportionately Whiter patient population than which reflects community demographics.

Overall, 50 percent of the hospitals included in the Lown Institute’s analysis were racially segregated, meaning they serve a disproportionately White population. This trend is likely driven by elective care, the researchers added. Most of the patients getting an elective procedure, meaning a procedure that is not life-threatening and can be planned, were White. READ MORE

Value-Based Care Targeted to Reduce Expensive Maternal Care Costs

Maternal healthcare costs in the US are too expensive, but value-based care may provide a solution, according to a brief from AHIP.

Payers can bring pay-for-performance value-based care arrangements into maternal healthcare. In this model, they would reimburse providers based on the outcomes of maternal healthcare quality measures and clinical guidelines.

Alternatively, payers could bundle together a limited set of services into one cost. For example, an insurance company could bundle together the costs of a hospital delivery, which can include routine obstetric care, anesthesia, radiology, prescriptions, and more.

By instituting these payment models, insurers may be able to more effectively and affordably cover the costs of pregnancy. However, there are also steps that policymakers can implement to make pregnancy services more financially accessible. READ MORE

Credit Bureaus to Remove 70% of Medical Debt from Consumer Credit Reports

Three nationwide credit reporting agencies have announced that they will remove nearly 70 percent of medical collection debt tradelines from consumer credit reports to help ease the burden that accompanies past-due medical bills.

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion will also make additional adjustments to their medical debt collection reporting. Starting July 1, 2022, the credit reporting agencies will no longer include paid medical collection debt on consumer credit reports.

In addition, the companies plan to increase the time before past-due medical debt collection appears on a consumer credit report from six months to one year. According to the press release, this will allow consumers to have more time to communicate with their health plan or healthcare providers to address the unpaid debt before it shows up on their credit report. READ MORE

JPMorgan Chase Division Invests in Health Data Analytics Firm

Morgan Health is giving $5 million to Embold Health, a company that provides data analytics for the healthcare industry. Morgan Health is a JPMorgan Chase business unit that invests in projects related to employer-sponsored healthcare to help advance affordability, access, and quality.

Operated by doctors, Embold Health is a healthcare analytics company that seeks to assist patients in finding services at lower costs. Embold Health's capabilities align cost and performance data with clinical guidelines across specialties, including cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and obstetrics, providing consumers insights they can use to select a provider.

Morgan Health’s investment in Embold was part of a Series B funding round that raised $23 million led by Echo Health Ventures. The organization has also invested in other companies, like Vera Whole Health, and entered into several partnerships in the past few years. READ MORE