One of the biggest barriers to wide-spread adoption of telemedicine is whether it’s covered by insurance. This is particularly true for consumers who might embrace it more readily if it’s not cost prohibitive but also for employers looking to contain health plan costs.
So it’s not without warrant that Iagnosis, the parent company of DermatologistOnCall, announced that starting next year, web-based visits will be a covered benefit for some 5.2 million members of Highmark Commercial Insurance, a Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated carrier based in Pittsburgh, across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.
While it’s just one region — and far from the first payer to cover telemedicine — it’s nonetheless an important development that a commercial payer is getting on board with a trend that will very likely accelerate in the near term.
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
A report on the adoption of telemedicine came out simultaneously, highlighting both early adopters such as Iagnosis and Highmark and those who are reluctant or perhaps not as quick to evolve. As it stands, certain consumers are far more willing than others to embrace the concept.
“Many new commercial businesses are getting into the fray to take advantage of this opportunity, such as Doctor On Demand (with ties to TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw), MeMD, Iagnosis with its specialty service of DermatologistOnCall, and dozens more,” a CivicScience Insight Report stated. “But as with all new products and services, there is an adoption curve – and for telemedicine, certain types of consumers are emerging as more likely to jump on board sooner.”
Iagnosis is specifically cited in the report for its attempt to reach so-called “persuadables” – consumers who haven’t given telemedicine much thought but who aren’t resistant. Some 44 percent of 10,850 adult respondents in the report fall into this category.
“Iagnosis plans to use custom consumer research data obtained through CivicScience to gain better insights into those identified as “persuadables” for their particular telemedicine area, and how to use those insights to create a strategy to target and convert those who are ‘willing to try’ based on behavioral and attitudinal factors,” the report said.
Transforming Patient Care: The Role of AI-Powered Assistants
The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes.
Patients who do use DermatologistOnCall’s web-based visits can receive diagnosis, treatment plans and prescriptions from board-certified dermatologists. The service promises a turnaround within three business days, although the current average wait time for a diagnosis and prescription is less than 12 hours. When medically necessary, Iagnosis said the dermatologist will refer the patient for an in-office visit.
“Patients want convenience. It can often take months for patients to get an appointment to see a dermatologist,” Dr. Mark Seraly, Iagnosis Chief Medical Officer and founder of DermatologistOnCall, said in a statement. “As a result many consumers go to urgent care centers or the emergency room. These options tend to be costly and the patient will likely not even see a dermatologist.”
Iagnosis said DermatologistOnCall is HIPAA and HITECH compliant, and that its dermatologists can address more than 3,000 diseases related to skin, hair and nails for common problems such as acne, shingles, hair loss, poison ivy and psoriasis.
For its part, Highmark sees great value in telemedicine for both patient convenience and overcoming geographical access issues.
“We need to make sure our members get the right care in the right setting, and telemedicine is a key tool to help make that setting more patient-centered,” said Donald R. Fischer, Highmark senior vice president and chief medical officer. “Telemedicine is a resource that is critical to transforming the delivery of health care. It ensures faster access to high-quality health care while also helping to control costs.”
Yet despite that promise, a significant portion of consumers are “detractors,” according the report from CivicScience, although there are demographic issues at play. Fifty-four percent of respondents fall into the detractor category, while only 3 percent are considered “early adopters” – those that have already tried telemedicine.
The persuadable cohort includes those that haven’t yet tried it but want to, or have no opinion.
Among early adopters, the age range was roughly between 18 and 44. Conversely, the age of detractors “is pretty consistent with the general population,” with those over 65 years old more likely to say they won’t or don’t plan on trying telemedicine.
The number of average doctors visits contributed to differing attitudes between older and younger responsdents, with detractors having an average of six more doctor’s visits over 12 months. Early adopters, on the other hand, were likely to have had zero visits
For early adopters, respondents who said they are “extremely busy with almost no spare time” are 78 percent more likely to have tried a virtual doctor visit than those who said they are “not very busy,” according to the report.
Perhaps not surprisingly, income often determined who had tried telemedicine among early adopters.
“Those making over $150,000 in annual household income are more likely to have tried this form of
telemedicine and also say they’d try it again,” the report said.
For the significant share of persuadables, the ages ranged between 35-54, and both parents and no-parents expressed the same level of interest.
Importantly, the persuadable population is 50 percent more likely to use a smartphone than not, meaning more mobile access for telemedicine could be a key selling point. Persuadables also had fewer doctors visits, with two or less over 12 months.