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Benefits to Physicians
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Revenue - Primary care physicians will retain patients; specialists will acquire patients outside of their geographic practice pattern without having to travel to see them
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Cost - No additional office cost and reduced travel costs to see existing remote patients
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Access - Primary care physicians have ready access to second opinions
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Quality - Improved case/disease management; more well documented clinical encounter
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Documentation - Integarted EMR; real-time electronic/visual records can improve the defense of the physician’s actions
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Other potential benefits include new affiliations with remote locations for specialists; distance learning and peer communication for primary care physicians; opportunity for primary care physicians to learn from telehealth encounters involving a specialist (in contrast to direct referral).
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DTN brings specialist physicians, through telehealth, to patients where they live, no matter how rural their communities. DTN contracts with urban medical groups, bringing specialist care directly to the most remote rural areas across the United States. Virtually all specialties are practicing telehealth. The most common are psychiatry, dermatology, cardiology, ENT, neurology, pulmonology, ophthalmology and orthopedics.
The telehealth technology enables a physician to perform remote patient examinations in real time by integrating digital medical instrumentation with videoconferencing, transmitting and recording the images over a secure HIPAA compliant network. The physician’s office hardware is a PC or a laptop with a camera installed at no cost to the physician. At the patient site, which could be a hospital, long-term care facility, clinic, or correctional facility, all the equipment is mounted on a cart (connected over a wireless network) for mobility.
The physician specialist is aided in their diagnosis by the use of an electronic stethoscope, otoscope, ophthalmoscope, vital signs, electrocardiography and other diagnostic equipment. Patient results, such as blood pressure, temperature, EKG and weight are displayed on the physician’s computer screen and are electronically stored. The DTN system is supported by an electronic medical record, transcription and billing services. Scheduling is done through a call center at an agreed upon time between the facility and the physician’s office.
A physician specialist with DTN telehealth monitoring and diagnostic capabilities can provide a qualified second opinion to facilitate better care. The primary physician also receives expert validation for the medical options chosen - all of which benefits the patient. In addition, malpractice is less likely to occur when front-line medical providers can rapidly access specialty physicians who can advise them on difficult procedures or assist with making a tough diagnosis.
To eliminate the adminstrative headaches DTN bills the payor and pays the physician an agreed upon hourly rate. In some circumstances, a minimum monthly payment may also be available.
If you would like to explore this opportunity in more detail please call us at 949-553-0887 or simply use Contact Us.
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