Understanding the cost savings of video visits in outpatient surgical clinics

Abstract

Background: Expansion of telehealth is a high-priority strategic initiative for many health systems.Surgical clinics' implementation of video visits has been identified as a way to improve patient and provider experience. However, whether using video visits can reduce the cost of an outpatient visit is unknown.Methods: Prospective case study using time-driven activity-based costing at two outpatient surgical clinics at an academic institution. 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. Finally, we calculated the resource cost for each step using representative salary information to calculate total visit cost.Results: Video visits did not systematically reduce the amount of time clinicians spent with patients. Mean

Evolving teledermatology policy and reimbursement landscape in the United States

“…16 , 57 Clinical effort is divided into time spent (as delineated by billing codes 56 , 57 , 58 ) and the complexity of medical decision making, which is similar to in-person visits. 21 , 51 , 56 Although practice expenses of virtual visits may be marginally lower than in-person visits, 51 this may not be true in hybrid practice settings that require staff for care coordination 59 and maintenance of a physical practice space, in addition to technologic subscription fees and device maintenance. 16 , 34 It is also important to consider that payment parity may be salient to maintain access to telehealth services, 55 especially in under-resourced areas and small practices that may not have the financial means to offer telehealth services otherwise.…”

The impact of COVID-19 on urology office visits and adoption of telemedicine services

“…Costs associated with telemedicine visits compared to traditional in-person visits have shown varied results but there are certainly significant benefits of convenience of time and transport that need to be taken into consideration for both the patient and provider. It will be important to continue to assess cost-effectiveness postpandemic for specific clinical scenarios [24,25 ▪ ].…”

Using Health Services Research to Address the Unique Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…There remains uncertainty as to whether the use of telehealth will lead to changes in the costs of care as experienced by patients, clinicians, and payers. For example, in a recent study of 2 outpatient surgical clinics in an academic medical center, physician-led video visits used the same amount of time as in-person visits but only resulted in cost savings when the call was led by a physician assistant . Furthermore, the cost and feasibility of successful telehealth implementation will likely vary significantly across surgical populations, but this remains understudied.…”