Telehealth May 2021 Quarterly Report

MAINE MADE US Connected Telehealth is a fundamental tool for providers and health systems to meet the challenges of delivering care and protecting patients, especially during the COVID-19 public health emergency. What’s New: Working Outside the Box to Provide Quality Care for Our Communities E-CONSULTATIONS The E-Consult pilot has launched at Northern Light Health Primary Care offices through Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. This pilot includes: Cardiology, Neurology, and Gastroenterology specialties. E-consults allow primary care providers to reach out to specialists for patient consultation and, when appropriate, manage conditions locally reducing travel and costs for patients by keeping their care closer to home and eliminating unnecessary specialist visits. This service also frees up time in specialty clinics, making earlier appointments available for patients who need in person consultations. PORTAL PICTURE CONSULTATIONS Northern Light Pediatrics at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center recently launched a pilot for Portal Picture Consults. This service allows patients to upload images of skin irritations and other minor concerns, using the patient portal, for review by a provider. The patient portal is a secure, easy way to contact your care team and Portal Picture Consults allow care recommendations to be given using the portal without a trip to the office when appropriate. Coming Soon: Hospital-to-Hospital Telehealth, Reaching Patients When (and Where) They Need Care Most TELECARDIOLOGY Hospitalists at Northern Light Mayo Hospital will soon have the support of Northern Light Cardiology specialists at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center via TeleHealth to care for inpatients with cardiac conditions. Working together to ensure patients receive high-quality specialty care close to home and close to their personal support system. TELEORTHOPEDICS Soon, video consultation will be available to all Northern Light Health Emergency Departments from the Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center Orthopedic Trauma team. ED physicians and Orthopedic providers will collaborate on a care plan to determine if patients can be treated locally or need a higher level of care. Working together, these teams will ensure patients get the right level of care as quickly as possible and reduce unnecessary travel for patients. The success of this pilot means that it will soon be available to more primary care practices in the Northern Light Health system and we are already looking at adding more specialty services.

May 2021 | Vol. 4

System Telehealth Visits

Telehealth Type - All

2020 2021

Phone Video

25,000

11.63%

22,170

22,010

21,017

20,000

15,000

10,000

Visits

6,900

5,000

1,538

1,243

-

88.37%

January

February

March

*Data does not include Northern Light Mayo Hospital

A Modern Day House Call

As a practice, Northern Light Cardiology at Sebasticook Valley Hospital had never considered telehealth as a tool that they would use with patients before 2020. While Michael C Lemieux, MD and his team regularly used telehealth to talk with other specialists about patient care and conditions it wasn’t considered for direct patient care.

“I was very hesitant at first, I really thought we needed to sit with patients every time we saw them to provide personal care, but it turns out that telehealth is more personal in some ways. I am able to spend more time with patients and less time looking at the chart. It’s like you’re visiting their home – you can see the space around them and learn more about who they are. That’s important when you’re caring for a patient because you’re not just caring for that one condition, you’re caring for a person with a complete life.” For Dr. Lemieux, it wasn’t just COVID-19 that made telehealth the right choice, when he tore his achilles earlier this year he had to change his approach to care for his own recovery. “During this time, I’ve discovered that patients really appreciate the option for telehealth, particularly right now.” For many patients getting into the office is challenging, they have to rely on others for rides or live far enough away that the time and expense to travel to the office makes them reluctant to follow up on their care. For these patients, telehealth solves a problem that care teams may not even be aware of. “I’ve started proactively reaching out to patients who haven’t followed up, some of them for a year or more, and they have been open to telehealth. They couldn’t get in, they didn’t have a ride, and they appreciate this option so much.” While there are still times that an in-person visit is needed for diagnoses and treatment, and health emergencies still happen, for many practices and patients telehealth is the key to maintaining high quality care that they’ll keep well into the future.

May 2021 | Vol. 4