Originally published in McKnights Long-Term Care News.
The ongoing pandemic has underscored the role of telehealth as a means for delivering care and a mechanism for controlling healthcare costs and reducing hospital readmissions. Even as the pandemic gradually subsides, healthcare organizations in general — and post-acute care facilities and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in particular — must continue to look for ways to optimize their telehealth offerings to preserve margins and improve patient outcomes.
As the increase in people over age 55 continues to outpace the growth rate of America’s younger population, the predominant care setting is increasingly pivoting toward the home. Remote patient monitoring reimbursement models for in-home patients will inevitably hurt SNFs, which already face reduced census totals.
So how can leaders of SNFs and post-acute care facilities attempt to tackle these daunting challenges? Start with these three steps:
1. Focus on training and support.
2. Reduce hospital readmission to create competitive advantages.
3. Integrate telehealth with medical devices, so fewer patients require outside treatment.
Telemedicine presents abundant opportunities for post-acute care facilities and SNFs to improve patient outcomes and protect revenue, but only when implemented strategically. The steps above can help organizations optimize telehealth for the best possible outcomes.
This article was originally published in McKights Long-Term Care News. Read the full article here:
