Over the past few years, the Taos Health System in Northern New Mexico has seen a dramatic change in their service delivery model. Inpatient volume continues to shrink, while outpatient volume is rising and has reached over 70 percent of the Taos Health System volume.
The board and administration at Holy Cross Hospital within the Taos Health System are looking at potential revenue growth opportunities that will include occupational medicine, oncology, cosmetic dermatology, geriatric psychiatry, in-patient rehab and physical therapy. All of these programs have good revenue potential and do not rely heavily on government funding for support.
Taos Health is faced with difficulties operating in a large open sparsely populated geography that has a small number of healthcare facilities for patients. However, the state geography lends itself to the potential of telemedicine to open up new opportunities for specialty and primary healthcare.
There are a number of challenges related to the use of telemedicine technologies in the state. According to a blog posted on the Taos Holy Cross Hospital site, written by Spencer Hamons, the cost for a medical grade telemedicine solution for a hospital the size of Holy Cross can be up to $200,000.
This amount would be able to provide high definition video high quality audio and could be integrated with other types of medical equipment such as a 12- lead EKG machine. To use the telemedicine needed, there must also be enough secure bandwidth to carry the real-time high definition signals and medical information.
Another challenge concerns the payment system as it relates to telemedicine. Telemedicine payments work by having physicians on the remote end of the connection receive the bulk of payments since the physician is providing care to the patient.
However the hospital or clinic where the patient is actually located has expenses that need to be addressed as well. Hospitals and clinics have to supply the telemedicine cameras, microphones, medical equipment, and connectivity plus provide the physical space. This can cost between $300 to $400 a square foot which can average out to $42 a visit. This expense can be difficult to justify.
Another issue has to do with malpractice insurance requirement and the ability to record the interaction between the patient and the physician, and then be able to store the interactions for years in order to comply with a variety of record retention laws. At the same time, the system must be easy to operate.
Taos Health System has been working to create a technology infrastructure to support advance patient care technologies. Currently, the health system is looking at partnering with other hospitals around the region to provide telemedicine. Also, contact has been made with the New Mexico Telehealth Alliance and the University of New Mexico to examine what specialties are needed in the area and could be served by using telemedicine.
Go to http://taoshospital.or/About-Us/single_post/health-information-technology-part-2-telemedicine to read the blog “Health Information Technology-Part 2: Telemedicine.”