The American Medical Association (AMA) last month released an updated telehealth toolkit outlining five steps "to help practices improve patient access, satisfaction and continuity of care," Tanya Albert Henry writes for AMA.

Why practices should consider revaluating their telehealth programs

At the start of the pandemic, physicians scrambled to integrate telehealth into their practices, leaving little time to thoroughly vet vendors or fine tune workflows, Henry writes.

Now, with 70% of physicians saying their organization is likely to continue using telehealth, AMA says it is an ideal time to reevaluate how well telehealth is working for patients, physicians, and other industry professionals — and find ways to make it work better.

Late last month, AMA released an updated toolkit designed "to help practices identify different types of telehealth services, employ efficient telehealth workflows and understand how key regulations affect telehealth," Henry writes.

"It's highly variable based on the individual physician preferences, as well as the patient population and the resources the practice has, but everyone has a better sense of what they are comfortable with and what their needs are. It's a good time to go back to the start line and reevaluate," said toolkit co-author Jill Jin, an internist, clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and a physician advisor at AMA.

5 steps to revaluate your approach to telehealth

According to AMA, these five steps are designed "to help practices improve patient access, satisfaction and continuity of care, while enhancing care team well-being and increasing revenue."

1. Determine which services to offer

As physicians gain a better sense for which visits work best virtually and which are best handled in person, practices will be better able to determine which services they want to provide through telehealth visits. Currently, a variety of telehealth services are payable under the Medicare physician payment schedule, including ED visits, advance care planning, diabetes management visits, and the Medicare annual wellness visit.

2. Choose the right platform

Finding a platform that meets the physician practice's needs is essential. While some practices provide audio-only visits, others rely on videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, or Microsoft Teams.

3. Know relevant laws and policies

With any deliverymodel, a practice must meet all federal and state laws and standards related to billing privacy and security, informed consent, medical licensure, credentialing and privileging, prescribing, quality reporting, and liability. 

4. Establish team-based workflows

According to AMA, telehealth workflows should mirror in-person workflows as closely as possible and integrate team-based care principles. During the pandemic, telehealth workflows often diverted to a "doctor does it all" model, which is not sustainable, Henry writes.

5. Assess and streamline

When a practice changes any process, it is important "to engage champions and early adopters, capitalize on and communicate successes internally and get frequent feedback on inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement," Henry notes. (Henry, AMA, 2/28)