Prognosticators are already jumping over themselves to “define skilled nursing health trends for 2018.”
The year isn’t yet 3 days old and we’ve already “defined trends” and are eager to offer predictions on the course of the SNF industry for 2018.
Well, it’s no secret that one of the big projections, is related to Telemedicine.
Telemedicine takes off in 2018?
For years, skilled nursing providers have been excited about telemedicine, saying that virtual visits with physicians and other clinicians could improve care quality while decreasing the stress and costs of transporting residents. With Congress making moves to loosen some obstacles to adoption, and evidence piling up as to the benefits of telemedicine, 2018 could be a turning point for the technology.
Over the past several years, lawmakers and regulators have taken steps to make telemedicine more accessible. For instance, the 21st Century Cures Act required a report to Congress on potential ways to increase telemedicine’s role in the Medicare program, where there have been strict rules in place regarding when these services can be reimbursed.
Meanwhile, vendors and providers are already taking action, encouraged by recent research findings. Results from the TRECS Institute (Targeting Revolutionary Elder Care Solutions), released last August, showed that telemedicine is a highly effective way of preventing hospital re-admissions from SNFs. TRECS Executive Director John Whitman predicted every SNF will be utilizing telemedicine within three to five years.
Umm.. Memo to Mr. Whitman:
At Regency Skilled Nursing Centers of New Jersey, we implemented this technology at our centers over a year ago and have been using it successfully ever since.
