Weitzman ECHO September 9. 2020

1. Telehealth and Patient Engagement
Strategies: The Operation Team
Perspective
September 9, 2020

2. CME Credit
• Bridgeport Hospital Yale New Haven Health is accredited by the Connecticut State
Medical Society to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. The
Bridgeport Hospital Yale New Haven Health designates this live activity for a
maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only
credits commensurate with the extent of their participation in the various
activities.
• This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential
Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
through the joint sponsorship of Bridgeport Hospital Yale New Haven Health and
the Weitzman Institute. Bridgeport Hospital Yale New Haven Health is accredited
by the Connecticut State Medical Society to provide continuing medical education
for physicians.
• The content of this activity is not related to products or services of an ACCME-
defined commercial interest; therefore, no one in control of content has a relevant
financial relationship to disclose and there is no potential for conflicts of interest.

3. Telehealth and Patient Engagement Strategies:
The Operations Team Perspective
https://telehealth.va.gov/

4. COVID-19 in the United States
6,326,791 cases on 9/9/20 up from 6,073,121 cases on 9/1/20 189,642 deaths
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

5. COVID-19 in the United States
https://ourworldindata.org

6. Average daily cases in the last week
Last week:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html

7. COVID-19 News updates
• AstraZeneca halts vaccine trial
– Subject found to have transverse myelitis, but
whether it’s linked to the vaccine is unclear.
• Leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies
pledged only to seek approval for Covid-19
vaccines if safe and effective
– Concerns over politics
– “safety …of vaccinated individuals our top priority.”
• Maintain high ethical and scientific standards

8. COVID-19 News updates

9. Resources
• Nuvance health 1000+ articles reviewed:
https://spark.adobe.com/page/qrH7iY0Gi0hU9/
• CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/calls/2020/
• WHO:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
• Johns Hopkins:
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
• Others
https://www.thelancet.com/coronavirus
https://covidactnow.org/

10. Telehealth and Patient Engagement
Strategies: The Operations Team
Perspective
Victoria Besse; Sr. Operations Project Manager;
Community Health Center, Inc.
Kate Gager; Patient Experience Supervisor;
Community Health Center, Inc.

11. Telehealth Response to COVID
11
Incoming / Outgoing Calls / Week Of

12. Telehealth concierge team
– Group of CHC leaders in a shared email
– Create workflows and telehealth department
– Decide on platforms
– Facilitate legal, billing questions; connect to channels for answers
Telehealth provider support team
– IT helpdesk with more technological needs
• Documentation, Billing, Scheduling etc.
Telehealth patient support team
– Support patients who are already scheduled
– Patient Education for Zoom
• Tool: Phone conversation with script, walk through process of downloading and setting up
App, practice Zoom “visit”
• Tool: website www.chc1.com/telehealth with screenshots
• Tool: 3 min video that shows of Zoom visit experience
• Texting and email reminders – like to above website
Infrastructure of Operations

13. COVID-TOT Team / Outreach
– Engage in telehealth outreach projects; keeps visits up and schedules filled
• Patient outreach for follow up care – diagnoses codes, WCCs, immunizations,
medications
– Staffing & Training
• Originally group of virtual PSAs with existing expertise – now with multiple teams
• High priority recall process (old workflow with tweaks)
• Training teams to create training tools & videos
– Communication & stakeholder analysis
• Leadership buy-in
– Implemented outreach tracking process to measure productivity by specific
project type
• Productivity measurement & success rate
• Virtual visit tracking processes in a patient record, track BIN processes
– Daily report-outs to leadership
• Now able to measure, create lists, review individual patient responses
Infrastructure of Operations

14. COVID-TOT Team/Outreach
14

15. COVID hotline team
– Patients of health center and community-at-large
– Hotline for COVID testing registration
– COVID test results
– Provide result letters for work, travel, school
Infrastructure of Operations

16. In-person or Phone / Video Visit Decision
Phone vs video
– CHC: All non-person visit is by video unless patients doesn’t have
availability
– Billing – video is optimal
• Be aware of your state requirements
• Video no minimum minutes
– 11 minutes for phone with provider in State of CT
20 Minute Telehealth
Visit
•Overview
•Chart Review
•Vitals check
BIN
•Patient scheduled
•Patient made
aware of in-person
policies
In-person
appointment
•For procedures
cannot do over
phone
3rd trimester pregnancy appointments; Depo shots;
Immunizations; Podiatry; Spirometry etc.

17. 17 * This initiative is supported by

18. Thank You!
www.weitzmaninstitute.org/coronavirus