BrightView Health, a behavioral health facility specializing in the treatment of addiction and substance abuse, used telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic and related responses. go out. The organization primarily uses telehealth between its various locations.
PROBLEM
However, BrightView does not have a secure communication platform for synchronous or asynchronous patient interaction.
“So the pandemic and lockdowns have created a number of potential gaps in access to the epidemic,” said Navdeep S. Kang, PsyD, clinical director at BrightView Health and a member of the Obama Foundation. care that we need to anticipate and fill.” “We looked at several platforms for implementing secure communications.
“We’re particularly interested in technology that allows us to do face-to-face visits that we can sequence with a ‘waiting room’ function that allows members of the care team to get in and out. patient visits and allow group services,” he continued. “And we needed something that patients could easily use. So the technology would work on everyone’s phones, including staff and patients.”
Due to the pandemic, some patients have had difficulty finding transportation options as the response to COVID has resulted in a reduction in other services that normally facilitate patient access to transportation. – such as fewer Uber or taxi rides.
And this further reduces their access to care and hinders their achievement of treatment plans.
“We needed to do something new, something we hadn’t done before, that would enable secure and seamless telehealth while ensuring accessibility,” explains Kang. access and maintain care, while minimizing risks to patient involvement”. “In behavioral health and addiction treatment, time matters, so we need to stay connected.”
PROPOSE
BrightView has been using telehealth technology for two or three months. It has limited functionality and is more of a survival tactic to get things up and running – pushing it out to the team and having them reach out to patients who can’t leave their homes.
But the organization continued to experiment with a variety of platforms and opted for a more thoughtful and thorough approach, Kang said. He said they especially needed a system that was HIPPA compliant and easy for any patient to use.
“We needed to do something new, something we’ve never done before, that would enable secure and seamless telemedicine while ensuring accessibility and retention. care, while minimizing risk to patient involvement.”
Navdeep S. Kang, PsyD, BrightView Health
“What’s unique about DrFirst’s Backline is the combination of ways of communication – the way it allows the team to interact with the patient and with each other,” he noted of the provider they decided to work with. “Plus, the ability to integrate with our Meditech EHR.
He added: “The admission-discharge-transfer feed is essential to freeing up licensed clinical resources who are often tasked with collecting patient clinical information, allowing them to focus on patient care.”
Kang calls setting up new tech a miracle, but additional employees should expect this level of complexity in behavioral health, something the rest of the tech-related healthcare industry has yet to see. achieve.
He added: “The technology that does all the ADT processes functions and is integrated with our EHR allows us to get patient information directly.
MEET CHALLENGES ONLY
Counseling and nursing teams use Backline more than paramedics because paramedics tend to primarily see patients face-to-face. But both groups can use the technology to communicate with patients outside of their usual medical visit, or in between for advice. If the patient sees a medical staff every two weeks, then they see their counselor weekly.
“Patients can use the platform outside of their office visits,” says Kang. “That way, they don’t need to use ride-sharing or insurance benefits or have neighbors watch their kids if their advisor can still provide them with virtual services.
He continued: “We also have an opioid treatment program where we give drugs to patients. “And the nursing team educates patients – how to properly store and use medications, how to keep them safe. They also provide infectious disease guidance and other advice through technology, which is again, This also happens in person but can be as easily accomplished as necessary through technology.”
RESULT
BrightView did not truncate its data to only reflect the results of those who used Backline versus those who did not. But it has a powerful results dashboard through which it tracks the patient’s progress over time.
“Our telehealth and chat metrics reflect the increasing interaction between care teams and patients since we started using Backline in 2020,” Kang reports. “. “For example, we had over 1,300 telemedicine visits as of November 2022, more than double our figure for all of 2021. And we’re recording over 150,000 chat feeds. in 2021 and 2022.
He added: “Backline has allowed us to increase patient access to outpatient care and expand our reach to as many communities as possible.
TIPS FOR OTHER PEOPLE
“You have to be mindful of the intended goal,” advises Kang. “What are you trying to achieve by adopting technology? If it’s not intentional, a couple of things can happen. First, you have a bunch of technology that you throw at your staff and patients. , and that just leads to inadequate adoption and wastes a lot of energy and money.
“You need to be clear about your needs and what you want to achieve,” he continued. “Then you need to thoroughly understand the distinct capabilities of the different technologies and tailor the technology to your needs. What are you trying to achieve? Make that clear.”
And then, whether one goes through a formal RFP or another process, make sure their team has a chance to fully evaluate the functionality and determine who delivers it best.
“Recruit volunteers to test and take advantage of that opportunity to gather feedback from end users,” says Kang. “Also, as you train employees on new technology, whether you’re talking to employees or patients, make sure the value proposition is clear.
“Why should we use this?” he concluded. “How will it impact care? Clinicians care about patients getting better, and they care about value and quality. Patients clearly care as well. So let’s clarify what the new technology does and how valuable it is to their role.”
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Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
