Dive Brief:
- According to a survey by the National Business Group on Health, nearly half of all employers plan to provide telehealth services in states where they are allowed to in 2015. Of these employers, one-third plan to solely offer telehealth and 15% plan to couple the services with certain incentives and penalties. The survey consisted of 136 respondents who have nearly 7.5 million employees nationwide.
- Wellness initiatives will also expand beyond telehealth, employers reported. 84% of businesses will offer disease management tools, 71% price transparency tools, and another 71% plan to offer health decision support.
- Other surveys have also forecast the growth of telemedicine in the workplace. In August, Towers Watson reported the number of employers planning to provide telemedicine as an option would rise 68% by 2015. More than 20% of larger employers already offer the service in efforts to avoid primary care visits and costly emergency room care. The survey found that even more providers, 34%, plan to offer telemedicine before 2017.
Dive Insight:
A September study in the Journal Telemedicine and eHealth found that, across the board, telemedicine can reduce: the number of emergency department visits; hospital admissions and readmissions; length of stay; and, mortality rates.
The primary purpose of the study was to look at care for patients with three chronic conditions: congestive heart failure, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The authors found that including telemedicine, as opposed to traditional healthcare, could reduce mortality rates in patients with COPD between 15% to 56%. Mortality was reduced by 15% the first year after a stroke. While the COPD studies didn’t measure mortality as an outcome, the use of telemedicine corresponded with lower hospitals admissions, ER usage, and length of stay for all three conditions.
The authors also noted that more aggressive telehealth use may be needed to ensure maximum effectiveness for all three chronic conditions. For instance, long-term telemonitoring was the best approach for patients with heart failure. The remote measure of lung function, or telepulmonology, worked best with COPD patients, and telestroke technology was needed for stroke patients to provide early interventions.