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3. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network High fraction of elderly residents—17% for project counties, 14% for Maine, 12% for U.S.
High state rates for lung disease and cancer
mortality ranks 6th and 4th among states, ’99-’02
High ER utilization rates—ranks 5th among states
High rates of asthma among elderly—ranks 6th
Substantial rural vs. urban health disparities linked to economics and health care access
e.g. project county rates of hospitalization for elderly 15-50% above state averages for pneumonia, COPD, asthma/bronchitis, diabetes & heart disease
5. Maine Telehealth Network Primarily ISDN
128-384 kbps
Open-architecture
IP-based hospital use w/ISDN gateway
7. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Recruiting nursing homes and providers
Clinical telemedicine application development
Develop distance education program
Pilot videophone program for linking patients with distant family members
8. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network MDS and facility-specific cost data collectedMDS and facility-specific cost data collected
9. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Patients
More timely specialty care
Reduction of stressful transports
Families
More participation in plan of care and clinical visits
Relationship maintenance through videophone calls
10. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Nursing Facilities
Reduced expenses for transports
Improved access & reduced cost for staff education
Reduced worker injuries IVC-facilitated training
Specialists/Practitioners
Improved ability to assess the patient in residential settings
Reduce travel cost and disruption of work flow
Greater provider collaboration and peer education
11. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Project Four rural facilities added in northern Maine in Year 1—25-50 skilled beds
Another added in Year 2 to replace planned site where ISDN service unavailable
A larger facility from southern Maine added late in Year 2—100 skilled beds (city of 20,000 vs. 1,000-4,000 for others)
12. CMS Nursing Home Quality Indicators
13.
Install equipment
Train Site Coordinators
Provide targeted in-service education to nursing home staff
Develop primary care telemedicine
Develop specialty care applications
Implement videophone program
Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network
14. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Establish management and oversight system
Set up infrastructure
Develop policies, protocols, and procedures
Site Coordinator identification & training
16. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Dermatology
Geriatric psychiatry
Wound care
Pain management
Mental health counseling
Rheumatology
Post-op orthopedics
17. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Wound Care
Pain Management/addiction medicine
Mental Health
Developed--not used
Asthma/allergy
Occupational medicine
Available--not used
Sign Language Interpreting
Endocrinology
18. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Specialty Care Telehealth Activity
86 consults over 30 months--3/month
36 Wound Care, 48 Mental Health, 2 Pain Management
Overall provider satisfaction—very=87%
Could adequately assess patient—88%
Helped with diagnosis, treatment-63, 67%
Improved quality of care—75%
Helped avoid patient transfer—71%
19. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Project Patients benefited from not having to be transported—100%
Clinical, educational, and administrative uses saves my practice time & money—100%
Prevents worsening of patients condition—100%
Positive impact on patient care—100%
Use can save money for insurers—92%
20. Patient Satisfaction with Clinical ConsultsN=27, 12/-4-2/06
21. Patient Satisfaction with Clinical Consults(continued)
22. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network Telemedicine is effective for delivery of specialty care consults for nursing home residents—88%
Setting up telemedicine consults is a major barrier to use—only 13% agree
Barriers you think prevent some needed telemedicine consults from happening?
PCPs work hard to address medical problems themselves—50%
PCP and staff are effective at preventing and managing resident pain and wounds—13%
Getting doctor to make referral—13%
Staff just too busy—13%
23. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network 35 cents per mile
2 staff members, wage and bennies $50 per hour35 cents per mile
2 staff members, wage and bennies $50 per hour
24. Maine Telemedicine Network
Antibiotic resistant infections
Wound care
Pressure ulcers
Colstomy management
Pain management
Swallowing disorders
Nutrition and diabetes
Respiratory infections
25. Staff Satisfaction with Distance Education
26. Staff Dissatisfaction with Education
27. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Project One PCP used 6 times for patient oversight between Lubec and Machias (30 mi. distance)—reported satisfied with efficacy, but dropped use due to regular in person visits
Other PCP providers showed resistance to use-- distances were often not significant and system use was more cumbersome than usual monitoring by telephone calls to staff nurses
Pilot use of videophones with one PCP was not perceived as effective
28. Maine Nursing Home Telehealth Network POTS-based home video units placed by staff with distant family and in patients rooms
To date, 3 units placed with patient relatives in Florida, Tennesee, Connecticut and 2 in-state
29. Feedback on Virtual Visitation Responses from patients suggested effective in enhancing their sense of connectedness & well-being; in one case, patient dementia hindered use
Daughter of 92 yr. old patient:
“I loved this—it’s made the holidays so enjoyable. It’s as if we were sitting there for a visit. I use it all the time.”
100% of 8 staff surveyed agreed:
“Videophone links between patients and family can enhance the patient’s quality of life”
30. Maine Telemedicine Network Look at acuity of residence and not just rurality of the nursing home
Staffing time constraints providing services not previously provided
Reimbursement amount needs to be consistent with prevailing rates
31. Barriers to Success of Telemedicine Both primary care and consulting specialist providers are resistant to adopting new technologies or changing their routine mode of practice
The high cost of telecommunications, including line charges for ISDN or dedicated T1 lines
Additional personnel resources and training are required at both spoke and hub sites
Solutions to liability and credentialing/privileging issues must be worked out
Reimbursement development in some states is slow: Maine has been forthright in reimbursement