Trends and Opportunities in Telehealth

Presented by Kaiser Permanente Digital, the virtual ThoughtCAST event in July 2020 was open to international participants for the first time and attracted over a quarter of its audience from outside the United States. In this session, KP Digital and KP International collaborated with a panel of thought leaders from health care and technology to explore the future of virtual care. Download the ThoughtCAST insight report or view the recording.

Having the ability to “meet patients where they are” and successfully deliver a range of quality care has long been on our radar. Kaiser Permanente was an early adopter of virtual care and in 2020 experienced a breakout moment in virtual care due to COVID-19. What’s more, telemedicine is pushing the boundaries of care delivery with such innovative programs as virtual cardiac rehabilitation, which has both an impressively high rate of patient completion and a resulting low rate of cardiac-related hospital readmissions.

Key takeaways from ThoughtCAST included the following:

1. Health inequities must be eliminated by closing technology and accessibility gaps and empowering support teams in underserved communities.
2. Changes in reimbursement policy have accelerated the adoption of virtual care and impacted the total cost of care.
3. Telehealth decreases the risk of exposure to the coronavirus and preserves resources such as personal protective equipment.
4. Virtual care allows us to meet our members where they are and offers opportunities for care team innovation and collaboration.

I think the biggest challenge is a mind shift. What I mean by that is, historically, we have looked at health care as being patients come in to see us in a physical facility. The mind shift that has to take place in the future is that we meet patients where they are…provide them the convenience and ease that they need wherever they are, so that their health care outcomes are best met.”

— Bill Marsh, MD, Vice President, Care Delivery Information Technology, The Permanente Federation

Watch a recording of the ThoughtCAST panel discussion
Trends and Opportunities in Telehealth

Further reading
Insight report from the ThoughtCAST on Virtual Care
Pandemic sets new course for virtual care, AI in healthcare
Thought leaders predict the future of telehealth

To learn more about how virtual care plays a critical role in our integrated care model, join our next virtual program for international health care leaders.

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