Telehealth

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a rapid expansion in virtual care that will likely be sustained once the public health emergency abates. During the height of the pandemic, fear of infection and stay-at-home orders meant many practices stopped seeing patients in person for routine care. The relaxation of government regulations further spurred the widespread national adoption of telehealth.

Going forward, telehealth holds great promise for improving primary care by increasing access, enhancing the patient experience and enabling team-based care models. It can also support health equity by facilitating access to care for lower socioeconomic patients who may lack transportation or not have sick leave.

PBGH is pushing forward on a broad front to solidify and maximize telehealth’s recent gains.  Specifically, we’re:

  • Tailoring webinars and other technical assistance to independent practice associations and small, independent practices with platform-neutral guidance on telehealth best practices
  • Partnering with other support organizations and advocates to implement immediate changes to state and federal policy and regulation to support providers’ extended use of telehealth
  • Supporting regulatory flexibility for a patient-centered approach to telehealth that is aligned with reimbursement policy changes and long-term value-based payment reform
  • Advocating for self-insured employers to support virtual care as a component of advanced primary care
  • Leading a two-year learning collaborative for seven California provider organizations aimed at improving virtual care for chronic condition management
  • Supporting survey dissemination and analysis to capture the patient experience in telehealth

Programs and Initiatives


Payment Reform and Quality Improvement

Read More about Payment Reform and Quality Improvement

PBGH works with policymakers to advance the development and application of alternative payment models that hold providers accountable for quality of care.


CalHIVE Telehealth & Virtual Care (2020 – 2022)

Read More about CalHIVE Telehealth & Virtual Care (2020 – 2022)

The CalHIVE Telehealth & Virtual Care Improvement Collaborative was a two-year improvement collaborative providing technical assistance to clinicians to improve remote chronic disease management of patients with diabetes and asthma within the primary care setting.


PBGH has developed a set of Advanced Primary Care attributes used by payers, providers and health care purchasers to incentivize high-quality, lower-cost primary care with patients at the center of every interaction.


Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Read More about Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Patient-reported outcome measures are among the most effective tools for enhancing care quality, reducing cost, improving the patient experience and supporting equitable, value-based care.

Resources

CQC – Telehealth Strategic Framework

Digital Solutions for Employee Mental Health

Past Events and Training

January 28, 2021

CalHIVE/Resilient Primary Care: Strengthening Your Telehealth Strategy

In this webinar, we were joined by David Ford of the California Medical Association as presenters shared a framework to strategically plan around telehealth and virtual care.

November 12, 2020

CMA & CQC Joint Webinar – Lessons from the Field: Post-Telehealth Implementation

Joint webinar with the California Medical Association (CMA) where attendees heard from clinician speakers who offered technology, workflow, and documentation improvements tested and adopted in virtual and hybrid care settings.

May 15, 2020

COVID-19 | Billing for Telehealth and Virtual Care

We were joined by Carol Yarbrough, Business Operations Manager at UCSF’s Telehealth Resource Center and Dr. Subash, Fellow at UCSF’s Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Informatics.Summary is also available to view.

April 30, 2020

Caring for Patients Virtually: Lessons from a Virtual Primary Care Practice

We were joined by Dr. Yumi Taylor, Linette Fung, and Robert Scrase of Tera by Sutter Health. Tera delivers high-quality, patient-centered care, 95% virtually.

April 2, 2020

COVID-19 | Telehealth for IPAs

Share and learn webinar for IPA leaders who support small and independent physicians.