When it comes to something as complex as a telehealth program, all questions are good questions. We are happy to answer all of your questions. Below you will find a few of the most common questions we hear about telehealth programs.
What makes us experts in hospital telehealth program?
Since 2008, Eagle has offered hospital telehealth programs. We’ve performed over 15,000 patient admissions via telemedicine, and we average in excess of 20,000 patient care encounters annually. We’ve spent years fine-tuning our telemedicine models care, and adapting them to meet the ever-evolving needs of hospitals of all sizes.
Why are your telemedicine doctors superior?
We select only those who have both strong clinical skills and very well-developed interpersonal skills. Eagle has a waiting list for telehealth program providers, so we can afford to be extremely particular when hiring new doctors. All of our providers understand that their interactions via remote presence technology are best accomplished by being exceptionally engaging with the patients and family. We also provide specific training to ensure that our doctors have the industry’s best “webside manner”.
How is provider performance monitored or measured?
We have a number of metrics (or KPIs) that we track, and we provide monthly reporting of the program’s productivity (and provider performance) to each of our partner hospitals. As our physician panels have extensive experience in inpatient care, they are very aware of the hospital regulations and the “penalties” to which your hospital is subjected. We build a partnership between you and our physicians so that there is always timely and meaningful feedback.
How can you help with recruitment and retention?
By solving night coverage challenges, telehealth programs take the burden of night call off the shoulders of daytime docs in smaller hospitals. And in larger facilities, hospital telehealth program solutions reduce the stress on nocturnists and night shift ED docs by taking all floor call, so that they can focus on new patients and admissions. Alleviating these pain points for your physicians improves both morale and retention, and having these models of care in place can assist you in the recruitment of new docs.
How long does it take to launch a telehealth program?
Typically, 60-90 days from a fully executed contract. Each installation is different, and is impacted by licensing, credentialing, and technology. Because each provider is a member of your medical staff, the privileging and credentialing influences the timeline. Our implementation team interfaces with your key staff and works mutually to ensure a realistic timeline for “go live.”
Why does Eagle focus on hospital telehealth programs?
Eight years ago, Eagle’s physician leadership team identified telemedicine as the perfect care model to help hospitals meet the growing challenges of the physician shortage, and to address the geographic maldistribution of doctors. Telemedicine helps hospitals fill staffing gaps, offer new specialties, eliminate locum support costs, and increase services to their communities. We like to think of telemedicine as “the great equalizer” in healthcare, delivering quality patient care wherever it is most needed.
How does telemedicine benefit rural hospitals?
With telemedicine, “rural” doesn’t have to mean “remote”. Telemedicine brings the specialist to the patient, rather than transporting the patient to the specialist. Telemedicine can reduce unnecessary transfers, and solve night shift challenges by covering everything from floor call to patient admissions to rapid responses so that your daytime docs can sleep through the night.
What do nurses think of using hospital telemedicine?
As our program delivers consistent, timely, and courteous physician response to nursing calls, the staff is very happy with the service. The technology is straightforward and easy to learn. Also, the physicians document on a contemporaneous basis. Nurses are particularly fond of our TeleNocturnist services; rather than having to call and wake one of the hospital’s daytime doctors in the middle of the night, nurses have access to Eagle TeleNocturnists who are standing by to provide timely, quality care.
Which EMR do you use?
We utilize the facility’s EMR, and document exclusively in our partner hospital’s electronic records. We believe in fitting into your processes, rather than you having to fit into ours.
How do you credential your doctors for hospitals?
Our credentialing team abides by your Medical Staff Bylaws and Credentialing Policies and Procedures. We serve as the liaison between the provider and your Medical Staff Office in order to facilitate timely credentialing. Additionally, we assign small “pods” of 4-6 physicians per partner hospital to simplify and shorten the credentialing process.
Do patients resist telehealth programs?
Acceptance on the part of patients and families has never been an issue at any of our sites. In fact, 96% of first-time patients would recommend in-hospital telemedicine to a family member or friend. Patients of all ages quickly embrace the telemedicine model of care.
How do we bill for hospital telemedicine?
Eagle typically assigns professional billing rights to the hospitals we work with. For more in-depth information on billing for telemedicine services, please click here or visit the American Telemedicine Association.