It has been shown that post-operative video visits in outpatient surgical clinics do not lead to complications ( 11). However, research on video visits has focused on quality of care and patient costs and experience, rather than clinic costs. One presumption is that video visits, which are often conducted between physicians and patients without the use of office staff, can reduce overall clinic costs. With the noteworthy enthusiasm for and growing implementation of video visits, a common assumption is that video visits are a lower-cost alternative to traditional clinic visits.ĭespite the pace at which health systems are implementing and using video visit technology, its cost-saving value in a clinical setting has not been well-studied from the provider perspective. Such visits have been used widely in the surgical field, including general surgery and subspecialties, such as urology and otolaryngology ( 6- 13). Video visits, a form of telehealth, allow patients and physicians to communicate via videoconferencing software and have been shown to improve patient experience and access to care ( 5). In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a paradigm shift in the use of telehealth, significantly increasing its use and reducing regulatory barriers ( 4). In 2018, 70% of surveyed healthcare organizations reported telehealth as a top- or high-priority strategic initiative ( 2), and additional reports show that 83% of responding healthcare executives were likely to invest in telehealth in 2017 ( 3). Since then, telehealth has become increasingly common and varied in its use, including in the clinic setting ( 2). hospitals used some method of telehealth ( 1). Received: 10 January 2020 Accepted: Published: 05 October 2020. Keywords: Telemedicine telehealth cost analysis video visits provider costs However, the use of less expensive clinician resources for video visits (e.g., physician-assistants) may yield cost savings for clinics. However, physician assistant-led video visits were significantly lower cost than physician-led video visits (P<0.001).Ĭonclusions: Using physician-led video visits does not reduce the cost of outpatient surgical visits when compared to traditional clinic visits. There was no significant difference in the total cost associated with physician-led traditional clinic visits and video visits (P=0.89). Mean visit costs were as follows: traditional clinic visits, $26.84 ($10.13) physician-led video visits, $27.26 ($9.69) and physician assistant-led video visits, $9.86 ($2.76). Results: Video visits did not systematically reduce the amount of time clinicians spent with patients. Finally, we calculated the resource cost for each step using representative salary information to calculate total visit cost. We conducted stakeholder interviews and in-person observations to map outpatient clinic flow and measure resource utilization of four key steps: check-in, vitals collection and rooming, clinician encounter, and check-out. Methods: Prospective case study using time-driven activity-based costing at two outpatient surgical clinics at an academic institution. However, whether using video visits can reduce the cost of an outpatient visit is unknown. Surgical clinics’ implementation of video visits has been identified as a way to improve patient and provider experience. Background: Expansion of telehealth is a high-priority strategic initiative for many health systems.
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