How Telehealth Accelerated Post-Acute Digital Transformation

Telehealth and interoperability solutions enable TriHealth’s digital transformation and give providers more time for patient care.   

Lori Baker, MSOL, MSW, director of ambulatory care management, senior services, and post-acute network at TriHealth highlights her health system’s digital transformation process in a recent episode of Healthcare Strategies, an Xtelligent Healthcare Media podcast,

“We have had a lot more patients who have engaged in seeing their doctors through telemedicine visits,” Baker said. “It has been amazing to see that transformation and how, as we continue to move forward, we try to engage more patients in preventative care.”

TriHealth is leveraging multiple telehealth solutions to push forward the digital transformation including telemonitoring programs for various patient populations.

“In some cases, we’re providing patients with blood pressure cuffs and focusing on wellness care and preventive health for managing conditions,” explained Baker. “We also started a program for our heart failure patients where we provide them with information on a regular basis to help them understand and manage their condition better.”

TriHealth’s older patient populations are actually the biggest proponents of these solutions.

“The biggest adopters of using the telehealth were patients that were 60 and older,” Baker continued. “That was a pretty significant eyebrow raiser for a lot of people.”

Not only has remote monitoring helped providers stay up-to-date on patient well-being but video visits also allow providers to learn more about their patients, capturing a more holistic view.  

“There’s more information available to you in some ways from a telehealth visit. You gain the visual of seeing the patient one-on-one in their home surroundings and maybe being engaged with them a little differently,” Baker said.

The digital transformation is not limited to telehealth solutions, though. TriHealth recently implemented PointClickCare in its EHR. The technology enables information from a recently discharged patient to automatically transfer to a nursing facility.

“It’s reducing errors, and it’s an asset in improving outcomes,” advocated Baker.

The solution is improving productivity as staff or providers in the nursing facility no longer need to spend time manually inputting patient information including past medical history and medications.

“From a productivity standpoint, we’re hearing some real wins from our nursing facilities,” Baker concluded. “We all go into healthcare to be able to spend time with patients, but we’re finding more and more with technology sometimes you have to spend a lot of time in front of the computer. Anytime we can give a caregiver back the time to take care of a patient, it’s a win for the patient and the caregiver.”

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