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Q: What is telehealth?
A: Telehealth is an umbrella term that describes the transmission of medical data and information electronically through standard telephone lines. It is a sophisticated health care provider tool that brings quality care, detailed monitoring and education to patients through easy-to-use telecommunications technology. American TeleCare first introduced Telehealth nine years ago.

Q: When did telehealth technology begin?
A: Telehealth was pioneered in the United States in 1993 by Khalid Mahmud, M.D., F.A.C.P., and American TeleCare’s founder. Nine years later, American TeleCare leads the emerging telehealth industry with outstanding products that are redefining quality, cost-effective medical treatment in the 21st century.

Q: How do American TeleCare products work?
A: Our products enable patients – who fit provider selection criteria – to receive effective and personalized care. An easy-to-use, self-contained patient station is installed usually in a patient’s home. The system links directly with a remote central station in their health care provider’s office, school or remote location. Other telehealth applications besides home care include doctor-to-doctor and clinic-to-clinic real-time communication.

A two-way connection allows health care providers and patients to engage in live audio and video encounters where they can see and hear each other. Through regular telephone lines, the patient and provider engage in virtual check-ups using medical instruments – such as a telephonic stethoscope, vital sign equipment, glucose meter, pulse oximeter and a digital scale. The peripheral equipment connects to the patient station and readings are downloaded to the provider’s central station where he or she can monitor their patients’ progress, assess their conditions and make recommendations in their plan of care.

Q: What truly differentiates American TeleCare’s telehealth products and services?
A: As the telehealth industry pioneer, American TeleCare’s nine years of research-and- development and first-hand experience helps current and new customers create financially and clinically successful programs. The company’s superior products and expertise enables home health agencies and health care organizations to achieve their operational goals. American TeleCare staff works one-on-one with customers evaluating their needs and tailoring a successful telehealth program to help reach their overall goals and objectives. The company also provides clinical support, training and the servicing, installation and upgrades of telehealth equipment.

Q: How do patients benefit from telehealth?
A: Telehealth is a revolutionary medical tool that affordably expands and improves heath care services for patients regardless of age, race, gender or economic status. Generally elderly patients living in remote areas and individuals suffering from chronic disease are best suited for telehealth services. Patient-related telehealth advantages include:

• Immediate access to care, especially for patients living in rural areas
• Patients do not have to travel to a doctor’s office to receive direct, personal attention from their health care provider
• Early detection to manage better health and reduce traumatic emergency room visits and hospitalizations
• Early discharge from hospitalized care
• Patient and family are reassured by easy access to care from the comfort of their home
• Reduced anxiety
• Increased compliance and ownership to their individual health care plan
• Elderly patients can remain independent rather than moving into assisted living situations
• Patients feel empowered to participate in their care program
• Increased patient satisfaction with care

Q: What kinds of patient conditions can be treated with telehealth systems?
A: Studies validate telehealth as an extremely effective tool to manage patient populations that require the most care and attract the most cost, namely those with chronic or terminal conditions. The following partial list provides an overview of patient conditions that have had success with telehealth programs:

• Congestive Heart Failure
• Severe anxiety
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Spinal cord injury
• HIV/AIDS
• High-risk pregnancy
• Hospice care
• Post stroke
• Elderly patient care
• Wound care
• Post operative states
• Medication compliance
• Mental Health
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Therapies

Q: What are the benefits for health care providers, administrators and institutions?
A: To summarize, telehealth is an important tool that:

• helps improve patient quality of care and clinical outcomes
• increases provider productivity
• provides a cost-savings method that can boost profitability and business growth

Additional benefits have been identified through telehealth studies. For example, doctors and nurses can schedule personal patient visits without leaving the office, which increases productivity and the number of patients that can be properly “seen” per day. Clinicians also can geographically expand their office. Patients – who were once too far away – now can be treated on a regular basis through virtual visits. Healthcare personnel also cite their ability to spend more quality time with patients and can more accurately monitor and adjust their patients’ care.

Providers experience benefits in the way of attracting managed care contracts and an increased ability to manage a cost-effective service. There also are documented advantages to partnering with third-party payers to develop disease management home telehealth programs.

As healthcare expenses continue to rise, providers have increased expectations to lower their costs while maintaining high quality care and patient satisfaction. Telehealth technologies help providers create their own effective healthcare network by maximizing their human and capital resources.

Q: Is telehealth reimbursable?
A: As telehealth becomes more widely adopted as a mainstream medical solution, the industry continues to further its care applications and experiences ongoing success. Payors, such as insurance agencies, are beginning to acknowledge telehealth as a viable medical solution, particularly when providers can present validated, measurable patient outcomes. Medicaid currently offers reimbursements in Minnesota, Kansas and Utah; and new Texas legislation is slated to reimburse for telehealth programs in 2003.

Q: What lies ahead for the telehealth industry?
A: The industry is expected to grow 30 percent over the next 2 years. Telehelath addresses many of the key issues facing the health care industry such as nursing shortages, escalating costs and increasing demand for care. Thanks to patient-friendly technology, real-time results and improved cost-saving measures, telehealth is a promising force in the future of quality health care.

Q: How prevalent is telehealth technology?
A: There are more than 300 telehealth programs nationwide through HMOs, Integrated Delivery Systems, Home Health Agencies, Hospices and Veterans Administration medical facilities. An estimated 80 percent of these programs utilize American TeleCare products and services.

Q: What are the industry’s greatest hurdles?
A: Legal, regulatory and ethical hurdles affect how quickly telehealth will gain acceptance by traditional medical establishments. It is expected that as more outcomes contribute to the body of evidence validating telehealth as a viable tool to cost effectively manage high acuity patients, insurers will take notice and we will see expanded reimbursement which will further drive use of this technology.

Q: How cost effective is telehealth technology?
A: Utilizing telehealth systems has proven to be a financially sound and viable solution for health administrators and providers. By enabling patients and clinicians to have one-on-one audio and video contact, telehealth can greatly reduces the number of in-home visits and increases staff productivity. This ongoing communication between patients and providers helps to reduce emergency room visits and hospitalization. Effective systems also facilitate early intervention and patient empowerment and compliance.

Q: Do you have case studies that illustrate the cost-saving benefits?
A: Yes. A recent case study featured in the September/October 2001 issue of Remington Report illustrates how a Veterans Health Administration program saved $23 million – a 74 percent cost reduction – its first year. The Veterans Integrated Service Network of Florida launched a technology-enabled care coordination program in 2000 called Home & Community Care Service Line as an effort to use home telehealth to better serve high-risk, high-use and high-cost patients. Reductions in hospitalization, medication costs and emergency room visits all contributed to the success of the program.

Q: American TeleCare appears to have focused on a more functional technology system complete with audio and visual capabilities, while competitors have focused on patient monitoring. What is American TeleCare’s strategy?
A: American TeleCare has always believed the highest activity patients and their providers receive maximum benefit from personal, high-touch telehealth technology involving audio and video interaction. Having delivered a proven solution for the highest need patients – which accounts for 2 to 3 percent – American TeleCare is positioned to broaden its reach by integrating patient monitoring technology to the next population tier. This includes patients who have less severe conditions where automated monitoring (not requiring real-time provider involvement) will enable monitoring of a much larger, though less acutely ill, patient base at a lower cost. The company is focusing on combining both functions into one unit, recognizing there are patients who at times require automatic monitoring, but with certain changes will significantly benefit from the level of interaction provided with real-time audio/video interactions, such as congestive heart failure patients.

Q: Given the diverse range of products and services, how do health care providers know which technology or solution to apply to any given patient at different points in their health/illness cycles?
A: American TeleCare is working to provide customers with advanced analytic capabilities enabling them to prospectively identify patients who will, if left in the normal care process, be the cost and utilization drivers. The system will progressively enable health care managers to intervene earlier, positively improving the clinical course of the patient. American TeleCare’s telehealth technology and solutions empowers patients to control their diseases instead of the disease controlling the patient. Similarly, for health care providers and managers, we enable prospective health management, instead of reacting to diseases impacting a population.