Healthcare Benchmarks and Metrics

Telehealth in 2013:

July 2013

Videoconferencing, Virtual Visits and Smartphones Power

Population Health Management

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July 2013 Telehealth & Telemedicine in 2013

Page 2

Telehealth in 2013: Videoconferencing, Virtual Visits

and Smartphones Power Population Health Management
Healthcare is leaning on videoconferencing more than ever to monitor discharged patients, conduct
remote consultations and facilitate communication, according to responses to the Telehealth in 2013
Survey by the Healthcare Intelligence Network. Respondents reported videoconferencing as the number
one technology being utilized, an increase from 41 percent in 2010 to 59 percent in 2013. More than 10
million Americans directly benefited from a telemedicine service during the past year, according to the
American Telemedicine Association.
Respondents also reported a decrease in the use of land lines from 80 percent in 2010 to just 53 percent
in 2013, while the use of smartphones rose from 30 to 40 percent in the same time period.
More reliance on mobile health is also reflected in responses to the survey, in which healthcare
organizations reported wireless technology, data monitoring and the Worldwide Web among the top
technologies used in telehealth programs, just as in 2010.
Another notable telehealth trend for 2013 is an increase in health activities monitored remotely. One
hundred percent of respondents now monitor weight and vital signs, up from a respective 79 and 77
percent in 2010. The health conditions monitored remotely remain the same from 2010, the top three
being heart failure, COPD and diabetes.
Also identified: slight
decrease in use of
e-mails, education
and HRAs, but an
uptick in the use
of virtual visits (34
percent in 2010 to 46
percent in 2013).

Telehealth Use in Clinical Applications

For which clinical applications does your organization use telehealth?

Survey
Highlights
Telehealth
programs target
all (42 percent),
elderly or
Medicare (27
percent) and
chronically ill
populations (24
percent).

2013

HIN Telehealth Survey: July, 2013

www.hin.com | 2013 Healthcare Intelligence Network

July 2013 Telehealth & Telemedicine in 2013

Page 3

The survey identified the top sources of funding in place to support telehealth
efforts as reimbursement from private payors, corporate support and reimbursement
from public payors.
The greatest barriers or challenges to telehealth implementation are cost (26
percent) and reimbursement (22 percent).
Despite various barriers, 67 percent of respondents use telehealth for clinical or nonclinical purposes, and 26 percent plan to launch a telehealth service in the next 12
months.

Program Components
For non-clinical applications, respondents reported using EHRs (61 percent), data
transfer to other providers (48 percent) and personal health records (41 percent).
Clinical application uses include new data on remote monitoring use (57 percent) and
the continued use of telephonic advice lines (55 percent).
The use of primary care real-time remote diagnostics as a clinical application has
been cut in half, from 50 percent in 2010 to 25 percent in 2013.
Demographically, the majority of respondents markets fall into urban (36 percent),
followed by suburban (25 percent) and rural (23 percent) areas.

Results and ROI

An increase in care of remote patients as a clinical metric result of telehealth
was reported by 85 percent of respondents. Patient compliance (77 percent) and
medication adherence (70 percent) were also reported as increasing.
Telehealths impact on healthcare access continues to rise, from a 70 percent
increase in 2010 to an 82 percent increase in 2013. Other utilization metrics
impacted include an increase in efficiency and a decrease in readmissions and
hospitalizations.
Although 56 percent of respondents claim it is too soon to measure ROI from
telehealth, 26 percent report that it falls between 2:1 and 3:1.
More than one-third 37 percent of respondents states have not passed
legislation regarding reimbursement for telehealth services.

www.hin.com | 2013 Healthcare Intelligence Network

July 2013 Telehealth & Telemedicine in 2013

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Successful Applications of Telehealth

Our telehealth program has resulted in a decrease in unnecessary medical visits
and an increase successful self-care.
Telehealth programs have been applied to monitoring and early intervention for
heart failure patients.
Results from the Iowa Medicaid Diabetes Tel-Assurance Program, Keep It in
Check, confirm that a population-based telehomecare program can significantly
reduce the need for costly acute care services by involving patients in their self-care,
improving care management and promoting healthy behaviors.
Using telepathology has improved patient health and many providers are referring
patients to us in rural areas.
It has been used with software that creates a complete comprehensive medical
history for every patient.

About the Survey

The Telehealth in 2013 survey was administered in July 2013 via the Healthcare
Intelligence Network Web site at http://www.hin.com. Respondents were invited to
take the survey via e-mail, e-newsletter and social media reminders throughout the
month. A total of 129 healthcare companies responded to the survey, which asked 25
questions on telehealth programs, with multiple responses possible on some questions.
Some questions were open-ended, inviting write-in responses. Not all surveys were fully
completed. Data is qualitative, and results were compiled by the Healthcare Intelligence
Network.

Respondent Demographics
Responses to the July 2013 survey on Telehealth were submitted by 129 organizations.
Of 73 respondents identifying their organization type, 15 percent were health plans,
12 percent were hospitals, 10 percent were employers, 7 percent were physician
organizations, 7 percent were home health organizations, 4 percent were primary care
physicians, 4 percent were disease management organizations, 3 percent were skilled
nursing facilities/long-term care organizations, 1 percent were specialists and 37 percent
categorized their organization type as Other.

www.hin.com | 2013 Healthcare Intelligence Network

July 2013 Telehealth & Telemedicine in 2013

Page 5

Related Resource
Need more data from this survey? The Healthcare Intelligence
Network has produced 2013 Healthcare Benchmarks: Telehealth
and Telemedicine. This 60-page report, now in its third year,
analyzes responses from 129 healthcare organizations to HINs third
annual industry survey on Telehealth & Telemedicine conducted in
July 2013. This expanded analysis is punctuated with more than 40
easy-to-follow graphs and tables. It documents trends and metrics
on current and planned telehealth and telemedicine initiatives and
includes a year-over-year comparison of telehealth trends from 2009
to present.
For more information on this 60-page report, please visit:
http://store.hin.com/product.asp?itemid=4662

About the Healthcare Intelligence Network

The Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN) is an electronic publishing company
providing high-quality information on the business of healthcare. In one place,
healthcare executives can receive exclusive, customized up-to-the minute
information in five key areas: the healthcare and managed care industry,
hospital and health system management, health law and regulation, behavioral
healthcare and long-term care.
Contact Us:
Healthcare Intelligence Network
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Sea Girt, NJ 08750
Phone: (888) 446-3530
Fax: (732) 449-4463
E-mail: info@hin.com

Connect with HIN:

www.hin.com | 2013 Healthcare Intelligence Network

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