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 ImprovementPBGH 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.
Advanced Primary Care
Read More about Advanced Primary CarePBGH 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 MeasuresPatient-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.
Featured
Telehealth Waiver for High-Deductible Health Plans Facing Uncertain Future
Without congressional action, employers will be required to charge employees more to access telehealth services, creating a barrier to care.
5 Lessons for Achieving High-Quality Virtual Care
A new report presents five lessons to support the long-term use of telehealth services as a tool to deliver high-quality virtual care.
Resources
CQC – Telehealth Strategic Framework
Digital Solutions for Employee Mental Health
Past Events and Training
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.
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.
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.
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.
COVID-19 | Telehealth for IPAs
Share and learn webinar for IPA leaders who support small and independent physicians.