• Menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
 
CHOOSE BROADSPIRE

Amaxx Workers Comp Blog

Reduce Workers Compensation Costs By 20-50%

Header Right

  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login

Mobile Menu

Choose Broadspire

CHOOSE BROADSPIREBroadspire Delivers Meaningful Results to Our Clients and Their Claimants
  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login
  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / Workers Comp Cost Containment Fundamentals / Work Injury Response / Overcoming Telemed Challenges for Occupational Health

Overcoming Telemed Challenges for Occupational Health

January 29, 2019 By //  by Curtis Smith

telemedicine workers compTelemedicine has great value when used appropriately, and its promises are attractive: immediate access and convenience (anywhere, anytime!), early intervention, lower cost than other models, and quality services.

However, telemedicine has potential pitfalls. At Medcor, we’ve devoted considerable time and talent to assessing these pitfalls and navigating our way to a telemed solution for occupational health that works.

Reality of Telemedicine Today

An honest look at the telemedicine landscape today shows us that telemedicine adoption in occupational health is slower than the hype may lead us to believe. For example, contrary to some expectations, many tech-savvy Millennials prefer an in-person provider visit rather than a virtual one for their healthcare.

Also, just like other medical delivery models, telemedicine can be subject to misuse as well as inconsistent results and service levels. There isn’t yet enough published data to quantify results and quality. Overprescribing, unnecessary treatments, delayed return to work, conflict around OSHA recordables, causation, denied claims, creeping catastrophic claims, opioid addiction, and litigation are problems that do not go away just because the provider is accessed by video instead of in person!

Click Link to Access Free PDF Download

“13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Challenges for Occupational Health and Telemedicine

Recognizing the challenges is key to overcoming them. 

Technology. Using telemedicine to treat work-related injuries can present layers of technological complications at the workplace. Internet access is needed, which means that appropriate bandwidth must be available, firewalls have been anticipated and won’t be a hindrance, and patients can access the facility’s wifi. Hardware for the virtual visit is also a consideration: Can patients use their own personal smartphones, or do they need access to an employer desk­ top? Tech support is another challenge: Who will help patients troubleshoot any difficulties?

In terms of technology, there are also challenges of system infrastructure: Do virtual visits need to be scheduled? Does the system rely on callbacks? How are medical records, reports, billing, data security, and patient privacy handled?

Scope. First aid cases don’t need a provider, either in person or through tele­ medicine. Life threats and emergencies require in-person care without delay. Furthermore, telemedicine cannot meet clinical needs when hands-on assessments and treatments are required, such as imaging, labs, palpations, sutures, splints, irrigation of eyes, etc.

Yet many cases are appropriate for telemedicine – identifying which of these cases are eligible for care through telemedicine is another challenge.

Coverage. To offer promised convenience and access, a telemedicine system must have many providers avail­ able to respond to calls. In small-scale systems, a few in-house or select providers handle the coverage – but they may be spread thin and have other duties and patients. Wait times increase and service is limited after hours (e.g., nights and weekends). When alternate coverage is used, results are inconsistent. In large-scale programs, multiple providers are needed across multiple states. Multi-licensed providers are the go-to solution, but when one of those providers is in a session with a patient (or not on duty), patients in multiple states are affected.

Coverage challenges also include having providers who understand the ins and outs of occupational health and work-related injuries as well as having providers who are skilled at conducting virtual patient encounters.

User Experience. Users are affected by the challenge of technology, scope, and coverage. They also often have unrealistic expectations. User proficiencies differ, too, as do their education level, technical experience, age, personality, and willingness to try. Moreover, people who are using telemedicine are patients – they are either sick or injured. These are moments when people are not at their best. The stress they may feel from their health concern can influence their experience of telemedicine. The most common technical support issue in telemedicine is caused by people who, in the stress of the moment, have forgotten the password on their smart­ phones and therefore can’t access the telemedicine system.

FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

User experience can also be influenced by how users feel throughout the process. Patients can feel alone or even overwhelmed at different stages. The level of assistance users need varies just as their proficiencies and expectations vary.

Solutions Moving Forward

For telemedicine to deliver beneficial outcomes for employers and patients, we’ve found an accurate assessment needs to be made first regarding the needs of the organization and its potential telemedicine users. This enables selecting the right system and setting expectations realistically and honestly, knowing that telemedicine is not a magic solution for all work-related injuries. Telemedicine will yield the best outcomes only when its use is clinically appropriate for the health concern in question. The use of telemedicine, therefore, needs to include a system to determine appropriateness on a case­ by-case basis.

We’re working to ensure our telemedicine adopts the best practices that have been established in our other lines of business, namely evidence-based medicine, and attentive customer service so that telemedicine is an all-around successful endeavor. By emphasizing clinical outcomes and user experience telemedicine challenges can be surmounted.

Curtis Smith Medcor

 

Author Curtis H. Smith, Executive Vice President, joined Medcor in 1995. He helped develop Medcor’s injury triage system and holds several US and foreign patents on injury assessments methods.  Smith has taught and practiced in EMS as paramedic and dispatcher.  He currently supports Medcor’s business development and marketing teams. http://medcor.com. Contact: csmith@medcor.com

 

FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Filed Under: Work Injury Response Tagged With: Telemedicine

Related Articles

Effective Response to an Injury At Work

Effective Response to an Injury At Work
first report of injury

Consequences of Failing to Report & Respond to Work Injuries

Consequences of Failing to Report & Respond to Work Injuries

Use Injury Triage To Help Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs

Use Injury Triage To Help Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs
TEN Steps Every Adjuster Should Perform In a Workers Comp Claim Investigation

Investigate Work Comp Claims Early And Thoroughly

Investigate Work Comp Claims Early And Thoroughly

How Your Employees Can Help Reduce Your Workers Compensation Costs

How Your Employees Can Help Reduce Your Workers Compensation Costs

Have a Best In Class Work Comp Injury Response Plan

Have a Best In Class Work Comp Injury Response Plan

Covid-19 State Policies Summary

Covid-19 State Policies Summary

Get Your Employees Immediate Medical Attention With Injury Triage

Get Your Employees Immediate Medical Attention With Injury Triage

Using the Right Tools for Clinic Analysis

Using the Right Tools for Clinic Analysis

Shifting or Falling? A Look at Fall Rescue Plans and Safety Culture Shifts

Shifting or Falling? A Look at Fall Rescue Plans and Safety Culture Shifts

Just Culture – Making Mistakes In A Learning Culture

Just Culture – Making Mistakes In A Learning Culture
Effective Workers’ Comp Claim Investigation Techniques

5 Ways to Ensure a Workers’ Comp Claim Investigation Is Off to a Good Start

5 Ways to Ensure a Workers’ Comp Claim Investigation Is Off to a Good Start

Free Download

13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Train to Succeed

BECOME CERTIFIED IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Proven Course Catalog & WC Toolbox Give You The Power To Achieve Lower Costs and Better Injured Worker Outcomes

VISIT WORKERS' COMP TRAINING CENTER

Previous Post: « Don’t Make Two Mistakes In A Row in Workers’ Comp Return to Work
Next Post: Effective Handling of Medical Only Workers’ Comp Claims medical-only workers comp claims»

Primary Sidebar

FREE DOWNLOAD

Step-by-Process to Master Workers' Comp in 90 Days - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Our Sponsors

Medcor

Injury Triage, Onsite Clinics
 

Hiring and Return to Work Testing
 

Catastrophic Care Management, Complex Care, and Specialty Networks
 

Broadspire

Workers’ Comp 3rd-Party Administrator
 

Ametros

Post-Settlement Administration
 

Medicare Secondary Payer Services

Read Our Award-Winning Blog

Blog Categories

Search Our Archive

Subscribe to Our FREE Newsletter

Footer

Search Our Archive

Search our continually growing archive of over 2500 articles about Workers' Comp issues.

Quiclinks

  • Calculators
  • Terms & Abbreviations
  • Glossary of WC Premium Terms
  • WC Resources
  • Best Practices
  • Industries

RSS Recent Blog Posts

  • Implement These Safety Training Guidelines
  • Small Communication Improvements Lead to Large Workers’ Comp Savings
  • Identify And Correct Workers’ Comp Litigation Drivers
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEE NEWSLETTER
Let Us Help You Stomp Down the High Cost of Workers' Comp!
Top of Page ↑
  • Home
  • Training Center
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Products
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Login
Copyright © 2021 Amaxx, LLC. All Rights Reserved. · Privacy Policy / Legal Notice