Tele-rheumatology reaches patients who lack access to care
A new normal?
Dr. Albert notes that tele-rheumatology programs can succeed only with adequate resources, time, and staff.
“To set up Skype or Facetime is nothing; you just click on it,” he said. “To set up tele-rheumatology requires a fair amount of administrative substructure that has to be generated in terms of who’s going to do the documentation? Who is going to do the billing? Who is going to do the credentialing? Where is the credentialing going to be validated?”
The equipment required for telemedicine visits also requires a significant amount of time and regular maintenance, Dr. Peoples said. At UPMC for instance, the tele-rheumatology program has an information technology team that assists with technology glitches, changes, and updates, she said. That’s why it’s helpful to have the support of a large academic medical center with the sufficient resources to build a telemedicine program, she added.
In order for more practices to consider tele-rheumatology, more research about cost-effectiveness and best uses of the technology use would be useful, Dr. McDougall said.
“The main question that policy makers are going to want to answer is, ‘What’s the return on investment? Does this make sense for my practice?’ ” he said. “The methods reporting in tele-rheumatologist [literature] is lacking.” But regardless of barriers, telemedicine experts say the technology will likely continue to expand and transform the way rheumatologists are practicing and patients are receiving care.
“Tele-rheumatology will never replace an in-person exam,” Dr. Ferucci said. “But my vision is that it will be able to improve the quality of care for patients living in rural and remote locations, by allowing for more frequent visits and adjustment of medications, which are necessary to achieve the goal of treat-to-target for RA and other rheumatologic conditions.”
* This story was updated on 2/10/2017.
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