Will a Lack of Reimbursement End the Rise of Virtual Care?

According to this article by Physicians Practice, COVID-19 has forced the healthcare system to break through biases against telemedicine and other virtual solutions. Policy makers opened up the means to reimburse providers for using digital tools, eliminating a barrier that made even forward-thinkers reluctant to adopt virtual care before.

But as these policies are withdrawn in the light of a reopened economy, and in-person visits become a viable option for patients again, healthcare leaders are questioning the sustainability of virtual care. Will its proven success through the pandemic be enough to engrain it into the system?

There are multiple factors that could eliminate the gains for virtual care, but financial concerns are most significant. It argues that without defined codes, practices lack the incentive to implement virtual care into workflows in a sustained and scalable way. Though reimbursement challenges are certainly a handicap to success, the experience of digital solutions in the marketplace showcases three major ways to neutralize the problems, and scale and sustain a digital transition and program:

• Wholesale Change
• Hard ROI
• Virtual Care as a Focal Point