Nashville – Operational challenges are pushing healthcare practices and hospitals to rethink their telehealth approach according to a new study released today by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s Project Healthcare and Sage Growth Partners at the final day of Telehealth Academy II, a three-week program designed for healthcare industry professionals and entrepreneurs to learn about virtual care advancements happening in telehealth and remote patient monitoring.
In this national study, Sage Growth Partners surveyed 95 hospital executives and 75 physicians to better understand their telehealth challenges, current approaches, utilization trends, and their degree of concern related to emerging industry disruptors.
“Through the challenges and medical advances the pandemic made necessary, telehealth has become a key tool for both hospitals and physicians, and even preferred by patients. The study reveals some of the operational challenges driving this, how and with whom hospitals and health practices are utilizing telehealth, and looks at any concerns that could be emerging,” said Eric Thrailkill, chair of Project Healthcare at the EC.
Among the key findings in the study:
- Operational challenges are pushing many practices and hospitals to rethink their telehealth approach —Nearly two-thirds of practice respondents (64 percent) say telehealth enables more comprehensive quality care. About the same percentage (62 percent) say it increases efficiency. Still, both sets of survey respondents say telehealth raises significant operational challenges, with more than half of practice respondents (52%) and more than one-third of hospital respondents (35%) saying telehealth increases workload for support staff. In addition, about one-third of respondents, across both practices and hospitals, say telehealth creates more work for nurses.
- Practices and hospitals see telehealth primarily to meet existing patients’ needs rather than to attract new ones — While practices and hospitals are using telehealth for a variety of visit types, the most common use among both sets of survey respondents is to provide follow-up care.
- Practices and hospitals aren’t concerned about the growing number of industry disruptors —Despite increasing activity by nontraditional entrants to move into the healthcare space, such as retail and technology companies, most practice and health system respondents aren’t concerned. Overall, less than one-quarter of respondents across both groups say new market entrants are a major or significant threat. Most hospital respondents see disruptors as a moderate threat (55 percent), and practice respondents are even less concerned. Only 36 percent of these respondents say they are a moderate threat.
Presented by eVisit, Telehealth Academy II hosted 35 speakers and held over 20 sessions led by a collective group of healthcare powerhouse experts who discussed the forecast of healthcare technology.
Telehealth Academy is created by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s Project Healthcare program, The Disruption Lab, and Sage Growth Partners, organizations who are focused on helping healthcare organizations grow and expand.
To learn more, visit ec.co/TelehealthAcademy2022.