High patient satisfaction with CVS' telehealth pilot
Patient satisfaction rates topped 90 percent in a pilot program conducted by CVS Health for its telehealth program.
When the wait for a visit with a nurse practitioner or physician assistant was about 20 minutes, patients at the national chain's MinuteClinics had the option of a telehealth session instead. The session included a remote audio-visual consultation with a practitioner, along with a telehealth-trained nurse assisting the patient and practitioner. About 70 percent of the patients accepted the telehealth offer. Chief complaints suitable for a telehealth visit included pharyngitis, sinusitis, otitis media, otitis externa, upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, influenza, conjunctivitis and urinary tract infection.
The pilot went from January through September in 2014, in 11 MinuteClinics in California and Texas and 1,734 patients age 18 or older participated. The goal was to provide quality care while reducing wait times for the care, according to the study authors in an article published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
The patient described symptoms to the practitioner, the assisting nurse used diagnostic tools and processed lab and diagnostic tests, and the practitioner made a diagnostic assessment and with the patient agreed on a treatment plan, according to the authors. Practitioners prescribed medication electronically or via a printout of the prescription, and issued a visit summary and the treatment plan at the originating clinic.
Telehealth visits were available anytime the participating MinuteClinics were open during the pilot period. Afterward, patients filled out a survey assessing the care in private and patient data was de-identified for analysis.
One-third of patients liked telehealth better than a traditional visit, according to the findings, and 57 percent said telehealth visits were just as good as a traditional visit. One percent said telehealth was worse, and the remaining patients were not sure if telehealth was better or worse than a traditional visit.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.