ENTtoday

Telemedicine Brings Otolaryngology Care to Patients in Underserved Areas

by Kurt Ulman •

“At Marshfield we have 45 clinical services, encompassing 250 clinicians at 75 sites in our network using TM every day,” said Dr. Antoniotti. “Yet we are able to run one of the biggest programs with only 1.8 full-time employees.”

“One mistake practices make is buying telemedicine equipment and then deciding what to do with it. You first need to understand your clinical practice and what you want to accomplish. Find the markets you want to serve and then look for the technology that best services them.”

—Nina M. Antoniotti, RN, MBA, PhD

Payment Issues

Payment issues under a TM system are an important consideration, and practice staff members should talk to coders and payers to find out how they need to be paid and how payments need to be documented through the new technology.

“Telemedicine doesn’t really fit well into the current evaluation and management coding system,” said Dr. Kokesh. “As we go forward, we will have to work out new ways to get suitable reimbursement.”

Likewise, TM will likely play a role in driving patients to the practice, both directly and through referrals in the future, say physicians. “Telemedicine is a tool, and figuring out how it best fits into a practice is an important question going forward,” said Dr. Holtel.