tion had no claims history of further dermatology in-person
office visits. More than 80% of skin conditions treated by DD
were found to have improved at the patients’ follow-up visit.
Patients obtained a diagnosis and treatment within two business days by a DD consultation initiated through their PCP.
Patients who went directly to a dermatologist for an office
visit had an average wait of more than 90 days for an appointment.
Conclusion: DirectDerm offers unparalleled access to comprehensive, high quality, cost-effective care for integrated
health systems and the populations they serve.
16. Realizing Value with Telehealth
in Chronic Condition Management (CCM)
Programs
Monica Leslie, MHA and Rehan Virani
Schumacher Clinical Partners
Background: Chronic conditions represent more than 80% of
all health care spending. Telehealth is an effective tool for
chronic condition management (CCM), but reimbursement on
a volume basis is halting organizations from taking steps toward adoption.
Methods: We've conducted a thorough analysis of industry
research and performed interviews with successful programs
to create a body of research and tools that help organizations
see the benefits of focusing on value over volume. We compare and draw conclusions on value of CCM programs with
and without telehealth.
Results: Organizations that use telehealth to manage chronic
populations will see an estimated 50-60% more value created
over those that do not.
Conclusions: Benefits that produce that value include revenue from the Medicare CCM program, cost avoidance opportunities from avoiding admissions and readmissions, as well
as cost savings opportunities from shifting to more appropriate care settings and appropriate use of clinical resources.
tering Pregnancy program with maternal fetal telemedicine.
They focused on low income African American birth outcomes
as Georgia ranks 50/50 for maternal death and 42/50 for infant mortality. Centering pregnancy is a model of group pregnancy care for women who are due the same month. Patients
have a monthly health department OB visit and Women’s
Telehealth provides long distance patient education at four
critical times: antenatal testing, the 18-20 week ultrasound,
the 26-28 week gestational diabetic screening visit, and the
last trimester for pregnancy complications. Patients with high
risk indications get a maternal fetal telehealth consult. The
partnership has achieved national acclaim and astounding
patient outcomes.
Methods: Strategies that facilitated these results include:
Innovative joint program creation
Focusing on health districts with existing women’s programs
Both organizations having physician “champions” and committed leadership
Georgia Medicaid reimbursing for telemedicine
Both entities willing to “pilot” a new program for an extended period
Results: Over three years, a total of 524 MFM telemedicine
encounters and education sessions were completed. Within
the first 18 months, the preterm labor rate dropped from
18.2% to 8% in the targeted “at risk” population that is 86%
African American (below the national average of 12.1%.) The
program has saved GA Medicaid an estimated $4.3-$6.7 million dollars.
Conclusion: This model has been effective for low income
patients who have childcare, travel, IT access at home and
cost barriers. Early high risk identification and patient compliance has been significantly improved. The success, format and
program expansion has demonstrated that this model can be
replicated in other areas with high risk OB populations.
18. Implementing Maternal Fetal Telemedicine into an Urban Obstetric OB Practice
Tanya Mack and C. Anne Patterson, MD
17. Using Maternal Fetal Telemedicine to
Decrease Preterm Labor Birth Rates in
High Risk Areas
Tanya Mack and C. Anne Patterson, MD
Women’s Telehealth
Background: To bring specialized maternal fetal medicine to
underserved areas of Georgia, Women’s Telehealth and the
Southwest District DCH office (serving 14 counties) created a
first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to integrate a Cen-
Women’s Telehealth
Background: Although telemedicine has extended subspecialty access for many years, maternal fetal telemedicine physicians are rare and most often practice in large healthcare
institutions. Studies show that telehealth use can mitigate
complications of high risk pregnancy and reduce costs. Imagine what might happen if obstetricians could offer MFM services directly in their offices! In 2014, Intown Midwifery, an
Atlanta-based, independent obstetric practice delivering >
500 births/year, and Women’s Telehealth, a maternal fetal
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