Feb. 7—A study of three organizations that have used telehealth to remotely provide care management or facilitate communication with specialists shows that telehealth can enhance care coordination, improve patients’ care experiences, and reduce hospital admissions and costs.

The study, released by The Commonwealth Fund, shares findings of three early adopters’ experiences with telehealth: Partners Healthcare in Boston; Centura Health at Home, the home care program of Centura Health, Englewood, Colo.; and the Veterans Health Administration.

Early lessons from these telehealth pilot programs include the following:

• Promote a culture of openness and preparedness to support the initiative.
• Use a multidisciplinary team-based approach.
• Establish senior leadership support for telehealth.
• Minimize barriers to patient enrollment, such as cost.
• Include nonstandard measures, such as patient experience and staff satisfaction, in program evaluations.

Publication Date: Thursday, February 07, 2013