StemCell Therapy

Mike Ellis, Anderson Independent Mail Published 7:43 a.m. ET May 28, 2020 | Updated 7:46 a.m. ET May 28, 2020

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This story is part of a series begun by USA TODAY capturing what America looks like as state economies slowly reopen. The Rebuilding America project examines what consumers can expect in key drivers of SC commerce.

Healthcare in Anderson County is likely to see fundamental changes in the wake of coronavirus.

Much of the fallout is not yet clear, but it will certainly accelerate telehealth, which isessentially meeting with doctors over video calls instead of in person, and will also accelerate changes in how billing works, said twoexperts from AnMed Health, Anderson County's main health care provider.

An independent physician, Dr. Shane Purcell, agreed those are the major two changes that can be predicted from the coronavirus pandemic at this time.

Purcell said that he would add a third change. His practice has been stable with no layoffsthroughout the coronavirus pandemic as other health systems, including AnMed Health, have had layoffs. Thatcould drive more health care providers and patients into practices like his.

Purcell is one of several doctors atDirect Access MD, an Anderson area family practice that operates outside of traditional insurance and government healthcare models and uses a membership model.

AnMed Health staff and bystanders take photos and video of F-16 planes from The South Carolina Air National Guard 169th Fighter Wing flying over the hospital in Anderson, S.C. Monday, April 27, 2020.(Photo: Ken Ruinard / staff)

Recent: AnMed Health to furlough employees, reduce salary of leadership because of coronavirus

Telehealth may be the most visible change to patients as medical offices go further and faster on long-existing trends in response to coronavirus concerns, said Michael Seemuller, a physician in family practice at Wren Medicine and chair of AnMed Health'sQuality and Safety Committee.

There are a lot of medical appointments that had been done in the past in person that can be done over a video chat, and it will likely become more widely used as people work to avoid potential infections and get comfortable with the format, he said.

The challenge with telehealth is that there is a lot that can be done remotely, such as routine visits, but there will always be people who need to see a doctor physically, for certain tests or checkups, Seemuller said.

Perhaps the biggest challenge, however, is access to telehealth, saidJuana Slade, chief diversity officer for AnMed Health.

She said she recently did a routine medical visit online, it took her 20 minutes.

But that is 20 minutes for someone who is familiar with computers, has the time and space to take 20 minutes and has Internet access that can often require money and locations that not everyone has, she said.

Fixing access in telehealth leads into the other major change, Sladesaid.

Virtual appointments: Coronavirus pandemic drives exponential growth of telehealth in the Upstate

The billing changes may not be as visible as telehealth to most people but may be more meaningful, the experts said.

AnMed Health, and other health systems,had already been working on value-based health care, which shiftsbilling from a per-procedure to an outcome-based billing process, Slade said.

The change will be driven by contractual incentives both from outside vendors and providers and from AnMed Health employees, she said.

Employees look at two wood pallets left on a wall on South Fant Street at AnMed Health, painted with words of encouragement and thanks in Anderson Thursday.(Photo: Ken Ruinard / staff)

If a hospital had been doing 100 of a given procedure with 85 good outcomes, it would have been paid more than if it did 90 of the same procedure with 85good outcomes. The new system aims to give contractual incentives on the outcome, rather than procedure side, and could result in fewer procedures being done because fewer are necessary, Slade said.

Doing fewer procedures would mean less income, illustrated by the furloughs at AnMed Health and in the broader health care economy. But changing the measurable to outcomes could lead to better health overall by nipping problems early, when they are cheaper, which also is better for people, Sladesaid. It also could help improve bottom-line revenue by reducing costs.

The change in emphasis to value-based billingcould help communities by focusing on underlying problems, shesaid.

Instead of treating heart attacks at the emergency room, typically the most expensive way to get health care, it would give AnMed Health incentives to treat a particular few blocks, for example, with preventative medicine like regular doctor's appointments that can be done virtually, Sladesaid.

The change won't be easy, and there are a lot of hurdles.

Slade estimates that 10 percent of health outcomes are up to the work of doctors and medical staff, the rest is the patient's responsibility, and a lot of the patient's outcome will be closely tied to factors like availability of healthy foods and good jobs, of education access and opportunities for health activities.

That means AnMed Health will be working a lot more with police and business communities to get those outcomes, Sladesaid.

Sarah Crowder of St. John's United Methodist Church decorate a cross with a white ribbon for health care workers to go with blue ribbons, before Maundy Thursday in the fellowship hall in Anderson Monday.(Photo: Ken Ruinard / staff)

And because much of this will tie back to regular, and increasingly virtual, doctor's visits, Internet access will be a big factor in any success.

The fallout from coronavirus has so far included furloughs for health care workers and others, it will likely have many other consequences for people's health and the financial structure of health care models in the country.

Many of those are unknown or subject to change, but an increase in telehealth and changes to billing structures are two fairly reliable predictions about the future of health care in Anderson County.

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Go here to read the rest:
Major changes coming to Anderson health care in wake of virus - Independent Mail

This entry was posted on May 29, 2020 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Preventative Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |