TY - JOUR
T1 - Economics of using telemedicine to supplement hospice care in rural areas
AU - Lomenick, Adam F.
AU - Kuhlman, Sandy J.
AU - Barnes, Joe L.
AU - Gurley-Calvez, Tami
AU - Spaulding, Ashley O.
AU - Krebill, Hope M.
AU - Doolittle, Gary C.
N1 - Funding Information:
No funding supported this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2021.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Background: Hospice care in rural areas is often characterized by provider shortages and vast geographical service areas to cover, making access to quality end-of-life care challenging. Telemedicine, broadly, is the utilization of interactive televideo (ITV) technology to provide health services over a distance. For over 25 years, telemedicine has been proposed as a solution to address access issues. In 2015, the University of Kansas Medical Center (Kansas City, Kansas) partnered with Hospice Services, Inc. (HSI) (Phillipsburg, Kansas), to augment traditional, face-to-face (FTF) hospice care with hospice care delivered through mobile tablets. Objective: This work examines the costs of TeleHospice (TH) (telemedicine use in hospice care) when compared with the costs of FTF hospice services. Design: Detailed administrative data from July 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018, were analyzed to estimate the costs of service after TH use was inculcated into routine practice. Results: his, which averages a daily census of 34 patients, conducted 257 calls, averaging 28 hours a month. The average time for a TH call was 18 and 17 minutes for nursing and medical director calls, respectively. Through various hospice functions, including administrative, patient, and nonpatient-related connections, HSI saved over $115,000 in staff travel time and mileage reimbursement. Administratively, by hosting their weekly 15-member interdisciplinary meeting through ITV, HSI saved $29,869 of staff travel time and mileage reimbursement. Conclusions: Our estimates indicate substantial cost saving potential with the use of TH services. Further research is needed to assess the effects of TH utilization on the experiences and subsequent cost of hospice care.
AB - Background: Hospice care in rural areas is often characterized by provider shortages and vast geographical service areas to cover, making access to quality end-of-life care challenging. Telemedicine, broadly, is the utilization of interactive televideo (ITV) technology to provide health services over a distance. For over 25 years, telemedicine has been proposed as a solution to address access issues. In 2015, the University of Kansas Medical Center (Kansas City, Kansas) partnered with Hospice Services, Inc. (HSI) (Phillipsburg, Kansas), to augment traditional, face-to-face (FTF) hospice care with hospice care delivered through mobile tablets. Objective: This work examines the costs of TeleHospice (TH) (telemedicine use in hospice care) when compared with the costs of FTF hospice services. Design: Detailed administrative data from July 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018, were analyzed to estimate the costs of service after TH use was inculcated into routine practice. Results: his, which averages a daily census of 34 patients, conducted 257 calls, averaging 28 hours a month. The average time for a TH call was 18 and 17 minutes for nursing and medical director calls, respectively. Through various hospice functions, including administrative, patient, and nonpatient-related connections, HSI saved over $115,000 in staff travel time and mileage reimbursement. Administratively, by hosting their weekly 15-member interdisciplinary meeting through ITV, HSI saved $29,869 of staff travel time and mileage reimbursement. Conclusions: Our estimates indicate substantial cost saving potential with the use of TH services. Further research is needed to assess the effects of TH utilization on the experiences and subsequent cost of hospice care.
KW - care delivery
KW - cost savings
KW - telehospice
KW - telemedicine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116412899&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85116412899&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/jpm.2020.0117
DO - 10.1089/jpm.2020.0117
M3 - Article
C2 - 33794099
AN - SCOPUS:85116412899
SN - 1096-6218
VL - 24
SP - 1461
EP - 1466
JO - Journal of palliative medicine
JF - Journal of palliative medicine
IS - 10
ER -