Telehealth Improves Patient Engagement, Provider Collaboration

With a vast majority of providers stating telehealth as the technology with the biggest impact on their practice in 2022 and beyond, it is clear virtual care continues to grow and expand. In an interview with Integrated Healthcare Executive, Adam Laskey, general manager of EverHealth at EverCommerce, discusses the company’s solution, Updox which provides insight on providers’ increasing reliance on virtual care tools like telehealth, the long-term benefits of virtual care, and improving experiences for both patients and providers.

Please introduce yourself including name, title, affiliation, and a bit about your background.

My name is Adam Laskey and I am general manager of EverHealth at EverCommerce. We are focused on delivering solutions that streamline day-to-day health care practice operations, improve provider and administrative workflows, and modernize engagement with patients. I have worked at the intersection of health care and technology for over 21 years in the US and Global markets.

What is Updox and how is it being used by health care providers for both in-person and virtual care?

We strive to help physicians transform the patient experience and increase cash flows through patient engagement and provider collaboration solutions such as telehealth, eFax, eForms, and more. We are dedicated to improving efficiencies and reducing costs on the business side of a provider’s practice, while also making a positive impact on patient outcomes and satisfaction. 

We provide our customers with the tools they need to make their virtual care strategies successful and convenient for both the patient and provider. This has been especially critical during the last 2 years, as the COVID-19 pandemic has inarguably changed the expectations and preferences of patients and the ways they prefer to engage with and receive care from their health care providers.

Can you discuss providers increasing reliance on virtual care tools like telehealth?

Since telehealth’s initial spike in April 2020, adoption approached up to 17% of all outpatient/office visits. That said, there have been slight dips in telehealth usage at times, most notably in the summer of 2021 when COVID-19 was believed to be leveling out. Yet, telehealth adoption quickly spiked again due to increases in cases because of new and emerging variants, demonstrating its true value—especially as health care organizations also face many new challenges, such as staffing shortages brought about by the “Great Resignation” and increases in provider burnout.

Overall, to further explore providers reliance on health care technology offerings such as telehealth, we recently conducted a survey of more than 900 providers and found that 17% of providers have experienced an increase in patient visits by 5% to 25% by offering telehealth. More than a quarter of practices estimated at least 10% to 25% of their visits will be offered via telehealth in 2022. As a result, it's critical that health care practices continue to offer a mix of both in-person and virtual care options moving forward, which will further improve access to care, while also increasing practice productivity and revenue.

And it’s not just providers that see the benefit of telehealth—patients do, too. According to a Harris Poll survey we conducted in late 2021, 41% of patients stated they now expect their health care provider to offer telehealth appointment options going forward, with patients especially appreciating the convenience and safety of such an offering. 

What are the long-term benefits of virtual care and paperless practice technology? 

Health care is a costly business from both a time and money perspective, but implementing a full virtual care strategy and aiming to become a paperless practice can greatly alleviate some of that burden. Electronic forms, for example, enable providers to be more efficient and effective, and as a bonus, are also less prone to human error. In fact, our recent survey found that nearly 30% of practices reduced paper costs by up to $500 by leveraging eForms, with some saving more than $2500. Furthermore, more than 31% of practices recently reported a reduction in patient no-shows of up to 50% following the implementation of patient reminders and secure text solutions.

In addition, nearly 41% of providers surveyed have stated they have saved 5 to 15 hours per week by leveraging digital technology, with 15% saving up to 25 hours per week. Adopting new processes and technology offerings can have a major impact on a practice’s bottom line, with many of the solutions named above proving to be less expensive.

With more than a quarter of surveyed providers estimating 10% to 25% of visits being offered via telehealth in 2022, what do you think that means for the future of virtual care? 

The bottom line is telehealth is here to stay, and as mentioned above, is now a preferred method by both providers and patients. When practices are forced to pivot throughout the year with the ebb and flow of COVID-19 case numbers, it inevitably puts a strain on the health system, leading to burnout and more. As providers continue to analyze their current operations and determine their needs postpandemic, telehealth must be viewed as part of an overall, ongoing, long-term strategy. In fact, when asked about the number one technology providers believed would have the biggest impact on their practice in 2022 and beyond, the vast majority stated telehealth.

Is there anything else you would like to add to the conversation? 

As practice priorities continue to evolve alongside the ever-changing health care landscape, improving patient satisfaction and running a profitable practice will remain a top priority for today’s providers. By ensuring practices utilize innovative health care technology offerings, both patients and providers can benefit from a greater overall experience. At EverHealth, we will continue to deliver our customers the latest and greatest technology, including new upgrades to our existing Video Chat solution. The enhancements are a direct result of our customers’ needs and will feature enhanced capabilities such as a new waiting room experience, group visits to accommodate more participants, and additional features to make the overall process more intuitive and easily managed.  

About Mr Laskey

Adam Laskey, General Manager of EverHealth at EverCommerce, has over 20 years of experience in health care and technology. 

Forward-Looking Statements: This article contains forward-looking statements, including statements about expected trends in the health care industry. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different, including the factors described in EverCommerce’s filings with the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this article. While EverCommerce may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause its views to change.