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How Telemedicine Can Boost a Health System’s Bottom Line

By: | Tags: | September 26th, 2019

According to the AHA (American Hospital Association), the use of telemedicine has risen 76% over the last decade, making telehealth an increasingly sought-after tool for healthcare. This upsurge can be attributed to the effectiveness in enhancing quality patient care as well as its revenue retention opportunities.  

Studies have repeatedly shown that the quality of care provided by telemedicine is comparable, if not more comprehensive, to traditional in-person consultation thus making the technology a cost-effective solution to health systems which have poor access to specialty services.

But what about hospitals and health systems with a seemingly healthy profit margin? In today’s ever-changing healthcare industry and with the growing amount of market share competition, the facility leaders need to be continually examining their bottom line. Health system leaders need to take the time to investigate creative ways to increase profitability while improving overall performance and patient care. 

Telemedicine can offer the boost in both revenue and quality patient care that a health system needs to realize an upward shift in profit share. So, let’s take a closer look at telemedicine, in particular, TeleStroke services, to show how it can positively impact your health system’s bottom line, make each hospital more profitable and as a result get your facilities a bigger piece of the market share pie.  

Quality Patient Care: 

Because the patients who come into your facility on Medicaid and Medicare are reimbursed to your hospital based on how well your facility performs, the quality of your patient care is a crucial component to how much income your facility earns. The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBP) will pay only if the quality of the service is good; the quantity of services is of no consideration. With telemedicine programs such as TeleSpecialists’ TeleStroke service in place, hospitals can decrease their door-to-needle times while increasing alteplase utilization rates, up to 20%. You additionally reduce your hospital’s average length of stay, readmission, mortality and complication rates, and patient satisfaction. Patient retention ensures revenue increase; if that patient ever needs medical treatment, they will likely return to your facility. 

It is important to understand that a TeleStroke neurologist is not just a “doc-in-a-box”; during a TeleStroke consult, you are provided much more than just a stroke patient recommendation. Using your native electronic medical records system (EMR) and computerized physician order entry (CPOE), the credentialed teleneurologist will write alteplase orders and make life-saving decisions. Stroke patients that arrive at your facility will no longer have to wait for the “on-call” neurologist. Your hospital can have a board-certified neurologist on-screen within minutes to take care of emergent patients. This translates to prompt patient care, reduced length of stay, and a reduction in expensive patient transfer costs resulting in increased patient volume. 

TeleStroke Service Quality of Patient Care Improvement Summary:

☑ Streamlined patient care.

☑ Increased patient satisfaction and retention. 

☑ Decreased door-to-needle times.

☑ Increased alteplase utilization. 

☑ Reduced patient transfers. 

☑ Increased neurology service line revenue and market share.

Expanding Service Lines: 

TeleStroke services allow for expansion of service lines without a significant investment in equipment or full-time physicians. What’s more, is the hospital can improve the efficiency of its entire staff and physicians’ time. Hiring TeleSpecialists to handle the hospital’s TeleStroke program will provide access to 24/7/365 to stroke care. Labor is the largest single expense for hospitals, so a TeleStroke program means less overhead for the facility and solves the shortage of the physician epidemic. Having TeleStroke as an extension of your hospital’s service line can elevate the facility’s reputation as a progressive organization which can result in patients and EMS choosing your facility over others in the community adding dollars to your facility’s bottom line.  

TeleStroke Service Expansion of Service Line Improvement Summary:

☑ Little investment to expand service lines.

☑ Decreased labor costs.

☑ Improved efficiency of the facility staff. 

☑ 24/7/365 stroke care for your facility. 

☑ Solves the physician shortage issues.

☑ Elevates community reputation resulting in increased patient revenue. 

TeleStroke can be an invaluable addition to your health system and hospitals. We are in front of the patient when we have the most impact on better patient outcome. TeleSpecialists provides a turnkey solution for emergent neurology consults which brings countless benefits to your facility, staff, and as suggested in this article, your bottom line. Call us today for a demonstration. 866.785.7769 or click here to contact us via our website. 

Nattasha Acevedo, MD

Dr. Acevedo received her medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico and did her neurology residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She went on to do a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Emory School of Medicine in Atla nta, Georgia and then joined private practice in Fort Myers, Florida. She currently resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She likes running, paddle boarding and spending time with family.
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Bernadette Borte, MD

Dr. Borte received her medical degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in Grand Cayman. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. Her areas of interest include inpatient neurology and acute stroke. When not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. Dr. Borte joined the TeleSpecialist family in March of 2019.
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Mazen Almidani, MD

Dr. Almidani is board certified in pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics and board certified in epilepsy, as well as neurology with special  qualification in child neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.  Dr. Almidani is happily married with 4 children. His oldest son has autism and his daughter has complicated seizures; both were a drive for him to become a neurologist. Dr. Almidani enjoys soccer, running and spending time with his family. He is very involved with his sons’ therapy and helping with daily challenges. He is double board certified in Pediatric and Adult Neurology and Epilepsy. He sees children and adults. He also participates in charities for children in Syria who may be underprivileged and/or affected by the war. Dr. Almidani joined TeleSpecialists in August 2020.
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Amanda Cheshire, MD

Dr. Cheshire received her medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. She did a fellowship in neurophysiology at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Cheshire is double board certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology. She enjoys traveling, reading and music. She currently resides in Viera, Florida.  Dr. Cheshire joined TeleSpecialists in June 2019.
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Jessica Floyd, MD

Dr. Floyd completed her neurology residency at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida followed by fellowship training in clinical neurophysiology with focus in EEG and epilepsy at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She has particular interest in hospital neurology and patient education as well as the blossoming specialty of lifestyle medicine. She strives to take advantage of every encounter with patients and medical staff to empower them to do their own research into how daily thoughts, choices, and habits can add up to create greater and longer-lasting brain and neurologic health for ourselves and our loved ones. She lives in Florence, South Carolina with her awesome husband of 13 plus years and three beautiful children. She is an avid yogi, astrologer, and lover of food and all things neurology! Dr. Floyd joined the TeleSpecialist family in July 2017.
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Nancy Futrell, MD

Dr. Futrell received her medical degree from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also did her neurology residency at the University of Utah as well as a research fellowship in cerebral vascular disease at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. She currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has authored 2 books and 50 peer reviewed papers. 
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Rebecca Jimenez-Sanders, MD

Dr. Jimenez Sanders received her undergraduate degree from Emory University, and her medical degree from the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. She completed her neurology residency at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, where she also did a specialized headache medicine and facial pain fellowship. She currently resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband and her two daughters. She is also fluent in Spanish and Italian languages, and enjoys photography, baking, boating, and biking.
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Cory Lamar, MD

Dr. Lamar received his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed his internship and residency at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Following residency, he completed a clinical fellowship in neurophysiology, with a concentration in epilepsy. He currently resides in Florida and enjoys outdoor activities.
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Clifford Meyers, MD

Dr. Meyers received his medical degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Rochester, where he also did a neurophysiology fellowship. Dr. Meyers resides in Webster, New York with his wife and daughter. When not doing teleneurology, he enjoys playing sports with his wife and daughter.
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Tao Tong, MD

Dr. Tong received her medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. She completed her neurology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she also did a neuromuscular/EMG fellowship.  She currently resides in College Station, Texas. Dr. Tong is married with two boys. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and reading.
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Shubhangi Chumble, MD

Dr. Chumble attended BJ Medical School. She is a board certified neurologist with a subspeciality interest in sleep medicine. Dr. Chumble did her residency at Howard University in Washington DC and has practiced neurology since 2001 in private and corporate settings. She lives in Melbourne, Florida and loves the sunshine state. Her hobbies include yoga, meditation, cooking , traveling and meeting new people. She also loves to do stained glass, pottery and painting. She joined TeleSpecialists in June 2019.
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