Becker's Hospital Review

86 CIO / HEALTH IT Why telehealth still a 'luxury good' By Naomi Diaz N ational utilization trends suggest telehealth has not expanded ac- cess to healthcare, as only a small number of people make up the majority of users, Fast Company reported March 18. According to the report, only 25.6 percent of Americans utilized telehealth during the pandemic, meaning almost 75 percent of Americans did not. Yet, 30 percent of digital health funding dollars in the first half of 2021 went toward telehealth. Data from a Trilliant Health report published in February also found that the total market demand for telehealth is low. Researchers found the total addressable market for telehealth users is just 10 million people out of the nation's population of 330 million, meaning tele- health, which was created to give underserved and at-risk communities more access to care, has not been able to reach those patients. Instead, telehealth has only expanded care to those people who had easy access to care be- fore the pandemic. Researchers found the largest group of telehealth users is women age 21-40 who are commercially insured and live in affluent areas. Telehealth supply will continue to increase with telehealth flexibilities passed by the federal omnibus spending bill and with more hospitals and health systems investing in virtual visits. But there needs to be more emphasis on understanding the reasons consumers are not using it before it gains wider usage in underserved populations, according to the data. n VA's EHR deployment plagued by safety risks, inspection finds By Georgina Gonzalez T he VA inspector general released three reports March 17 highlight- ing serious safety concerns about the VA system's new EHR, The Washington Post reported March 17. The reports focus on the rollout of the $16 billion EHR system in Spokane, Wash., which produced a plethora of challenges including mediation manage- ment issues, care coordination concerns and ticket process issues. Under the new EHR system, medical appointments took months to schedule and website access was blocked for many patients, telehealth links were faulty and troubleshooting tickets went unanswered. There were serious medication-related issues, with some medications dis- appearing from the system. Outpatient drug orders were often uncomplet- ed and nurses were able to prescribe drugs without reviews or approvals from physicians. Some patients at high risk of suicide were not alerted by the system and physicians were unable to access the proper resources leav- ing the patients without support. "These three reports found serious deficiencies and failures in the imple- mentation of the new EHR at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, which increased the risks to patient safety and made it more difficult for clinicians to provide quality healthcare," said Inspector General Michael Missa. Some lawmakers have called for a pause in the rollout of the new EHR system. At the time of publication, the rollout was set to continue. n 4 digital health tools worth the investment, per CIOs By Naomi Diaz F rom EHR systems to patient mobile applications, hospitals and health sys- tems are deploying digital tools that have transformed the way they deliver patient- centric care. Becker's spoke with CIOs from four health systems to learn about their best digital technol- ogy investments and how they have benefited their organizations. 1. Electronic health record systems: EHRs have represented a transformation in how hospitals provide healthcare and will serve as a critical foundation for future advances, said Daniel Ni- grin, MD, CIO of Portland-based MaineHealth. He said despite EHRs' flaws, MaineHealth's rollout of its system has been the hospital's best investment yet. 2. Patient portals: Patient portals have been an essential tool that allows patients to participate in their care in a deeper way, according to Ellen Pollack, MSN, RN, interim CIO of Los Ange- les-based UCLA Health. She said UCLA Health's portals allow patients to schedule appointments, view laboratory results, read clinician notes, monitor upcoming tests and procedures, mes- sage their care teams and ask questions. 3. Mobile applications: Mobile apps are the best way to connect patients with health systems, ac- cording to Micheal Saad, CIO and senior vice president of Knoxville, Tenn.-based UT Medical Center. UT Medical's mobile app provides patients with patient portal access, price estimator tools, prescription refills, directions and wait times for the nearest urgent care, access to test results and the ability to schedule telemedicine visits. 4. Data analytics: "Harnessing the power of data is now essential to any progressive healthcare provider," said George Hickman, interim CIO of San Diego-based San Ysidro Health. Investment in analytics allows health systems to curate and triangulate data from multiple sources of origin, address proper statistical approaches to assure decision making quality and precision, present data and data findings through visualizations, and the use of predictive and pattern recognition tools, according to Mr. Hickman. n

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