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Healthcare Digital Engagement

Digital healthcare: Looking beyond the clinic

11/09/2021

by Chad Marshall and Olivia Caldwell

Though the healthcare scene has been changing for a while, new technology and recent events have significantly increased the demand for healthcare options outside of the traditional in-person, appointment-based model.

Currently, patients are seeking medical attention in new ways – at-home or drive-through tests, wearable and other digital healthcare devices, telehealth appointments, in-home visits, online messaging platforms allowing for quick communication with providers, and so much more.

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When it comes to patient desires and demands, we’ve seen the following key trends:

Convenience

If you’ve had an in-office appointment in the last few years, like many others, you may feel it can be inconvenient at times. With the need to book far in advance, time away from work, long commutes, and excessive amounts of time in the waiting room, patients are realizing it’s time for a change. The availability of continuous care – technology that enables both patients and providers to consistently monitor patients’ health – is already improving the patient experience, whether it’s in the workplace, at home, at school, or even on the go.

Physical and financial accessibility

Not only can office visits be inconvenient, but they can also lead to accessibility problems and higher patient costs. Many patients seeking medical attention find it physically difficult to go to a facility, whether it’s due to an illness, age, recovery time from surgery, or a disability. Not to mention, reliable transportation for patients is not always a given. Lastly, the added cost for in-patient appointments, tests, and chronic condition monitoring can cause issues for some patients, whether or not they have insurance. People are starting to gravitate to options like lower cost self-tests from Walgreens and using at home devices to help monitor their health.

Contamination avoidance

Another benefit of healthcare options outside the clinic is the decreased likelihood of waiting room contamination. By allowing patients to speak with providers at home through home visits, online messaging platforms, or telemedicine, there is more separation between those with and without an illness. These healthcare alternatives minimize opportunities for patient crossover contamination by spacing out in-person appointments, alternating between virtual visits and face-to-face meetings.

Independence

Non-clinic-based healthcare gives patients (like those with dementia who benefit from a sense of autonomy but often require help from others) more independence, while also making family involvement easier when desired. The increase in healthcare options that can be utilized outside a standard appointment-based clinic visit allows patients to treat themselves at home or contact a doctor virtually, with and without family involvement. This offers them more independence in a comfortable environment, and has the added benefit of a positive effect on the patient’s mental well-being and healing.

Self-triage and increased access to professional triage

Not only does care outside the clinic benefit the patient, but it also has positive impacts on the healthcare system as a whole. Over a third of emergency room visits are non-emergent and can be solved by a primary care physician. The problem is, health related issues don’t only happen on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. As a result, patients are overwhelming the ER with non-emergent needs, leading to longer wait times for real emergencies, higher costs for patients who are recommended to have unnecessary tests, and overburdening the staff. By offering more alternatives to in-office care, patients will seek out options other than the emergency room, such as online applications, telehealth visits, or medical devices.

Barriers to non-clinic-based healthcare

While it seems all signs point to shifting away from in-clinic appointment-based care for primary care needs, as with anything, there are a few hurdles, listed below, that will need to be overcome to increase availability.

• Patient-physician relationship: Patients are reluctant to the change out of fear that the relationship they have with their physician will be lost or they will receive a lower quality of care.
• Cybersecurity: The growing risk of cybercrime, malware, and other cybersecurity incidents is prevalent, so patients may be wary to share their digital data. The increased risks from more channels of communication is real for healthcare organizations wanting to expand in these areas.
• Payor constraints: Insurance plans and policies do not yet reflect the new trend towards digital healthcare and away from in-person appointment-based care.
• Labor dynamics and efficiencies: The limited number of trained professionals is making pay and benefits more competitive and finding efficient ways to bring care outside of the clinic will be key.
• Information consolidation: With people using more devices, self-directed tests, and other solutions, an efficient means to share this information with providers to help monitor patients’ health needs to be developed.

Trends show that digital healthcare outside the clinic is the solution

While some are hesitant, others can’t help but see non-clinic-based healthcare as a solution to the many issues caused by the traditional in-person, appointment-based system. The trends are already taking place and continue to move in a new direction, with technology and its exponential advancement at the forefront of this movement. Some of these trends include:

• At-home and drive-through testing: Solutions, like Quest’s self-directed testing platform or 23andMe’s DNA based health risk testing, allow independent at-home and drive-through testing to become more prevalent.
• Wearables: Companies like FitBit and Apple have given people the ability to monitor their own health through technology that allows for a continuous feedback loop, rather than through frequent office visits.
• Telehealth: With the increase in technology, like FaceTime and TytoCare, providers are able to offer virtual visits, as well as monitor chronic conditions from afar. As this approach becomes more widely acceptable, insurance companies have allowed reimbursements at similar rates as in person making this more economically viable.
• Home visits: Some companies have returned to offering house call-based appointments, expanding their care and increasing accessibility for their patients.
• Messaging platforms and portals: People are using portals and other communication avenues to communicate with their providers outside of office visits more than ever before. This is allowing for quick responses to questions, meaningful follow-ups, prescription requests and more.

Continuing the momentum

Ultimately, the goal of healthcare is to encourage patients to seek the proper help when necessary and provide them with the best care possible. The shift away from required in-office visits expands opportunities to improve the healthcare industry altogether. As people become used to visiting with their providers online or monitoring their own health through technology that provides a feedback loop, the change gains momentum. Whether it’s more efficient communication with doctors, easier appointment scheduling, receiving results and prescriptions more quickly, or shifting towards preventative and proactive care, the potential positive impact of the transition to healthcare beyond the clinic is endless.

The best healthcare organizations are moving the needle in these areas at an accelerated pace, and new entrants continue to threaten the established norms. Staying on top of these innovations is going to be key to long-term success. So, what’s your next move?

Stay tuned for our continued blog on alternatives to in-clinic care and how it can benefit you and your patients.

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