>>>
>>> WELL,
>>> WELL, STAYING AT HOME, OF COURSE, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN
THAT OUR MEDICAL NEEDS GO
AWAY.
AWAY.
AWAY. WE
AWAY. WE SPOKE WITH MARGARET BROWN
OF PREMERA BLUE CROSS ABOUT
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF
TELEMEDICINE.
TELEMEDICINE. >> LET'S TALK ABOUT INCREASING
THE USE OF TELEHEALTH.
>> AS WE'RE EXPECTING WITH THE
SHUTDOWN OF PRIMARY CARE
VISITS AND OFFICES AND OUR
SOCIAL DISTANCING
SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS, WE ARE SEEING AN
INCREASE IN TELEHEALTH VISITS
AND WE THINK THAT'S CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT TO KEEP OUR MEMBERS
HEALTHY.
HEALTHY.
HEALTHY. >> WHAT ALL HAS HAPPENED IN
TERMS OF THE CHANGES?
THERE ARE PHONE CALLS AND
OTHER WAYS THAT PEOPLE WITH
HOOK UP WITH HEALTHCARE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO
GO IN THE DOCTOR'S OFFICES AS
EASILY AS THEY COULD.
WHAT'S THE RANGE OF SERVICES?
>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
WHAT'S BEEN REALLY INTERESTING
TO SEE IS TELEHEALTH IS A
DIRECTION THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN
EVOLVING.
EVOLVING.
EVOLVING. AND THE COVID PANDEMIC HAS
ACCELERATED THAT.
ACCELERATED THAT. >> THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS
THAT PATIENTS CAN CONNECT WITH
PROVIDERS.
PROVIDERS. >> AND OUR VIEWERS SHOULD
KNOW, THIS INCLUDESMEN HEALTH.
YOU CAN GET MENTAL HEALTH
THERAPY IN THE SAME WAY, USING
TECHNOLOGY.
TECHNOLOGY. >> THAT'S A CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT POINT TO BRING
FORWARD.
FORWARD.
FORWARD. NOT JUST IN THE PHYSICAL
HEALTH BUT DURING THIS TIME,
MENTAL HEALTH IS A REALLY
IMPORTANT ASPECT OF OUR CARE.
AND THESE SAME TECHNOLOGIES
WHETHER IT BE TEXT, VIDEO, OR
TELEPHONIC ARE AVAILABLE FOR
MENTAL HEALTH VISITS AS WELL.
>> I'VE DONE TWO VISITS SO FAR
AND IT WORKS GREAT.
AND I STARTED JUST BY
CONTACTING MY PRIMARY CARE
PHYSICIAN AND FINDING OUT WHAT
SHE HAD AVAILABLE.
IS THAT THE BEST ROUTE IN?
>> THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPTIONS.
AND WHAT YOU DID, MARGARET, IS
A FABULOUS START.
FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE
ESTABLISHED PRIMARY CARE,
PROVIDERS ARE MOVING INTO THE
TELEHEALTH SPACE.
TELEHEALTH SPACE. THEY ARE MOVING FROM AN OFFICE
TO A TELEHEALTH LANDSCAPE.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE
ALSO HAVE SERVICES AVAILABLE
THROUGH VIRTUAL PROVIDER THAT
IS ONLY PRACTICE IN A
TELEHEALTH SETTING.
TELEHEALTH SETTING. I WOULD ENCOURAGE PATIENTS TO
CHECK WITH THEIR PROVIDER
FIRST.
FIRST.
FIRST. IF
FIRST. IF THEY ARE ESTABLISHED CARE
OR IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN
ESTABLISHING NEW CARE.
CHECKING WITH THEIR HEALTH
PLAN TO SEE WHAT SERVICES ARE
AVAILABLE.
AVAILABLE. AT PREMERA WE HAVE ADDED IN
TELEHEALTH PROVIDERS AND ALL
OF THAT INFORMATION IS
AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE,
PREMERA.COM.
PREMERA.COM. >>> AND YOU SAID YOU CAN DO
THIS BY TEXT AS WELL.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A COMPUTER
OR ACCESS TO ONE.
MAYBE PEOPLE USED TO GO TO THE
LIBRARY OR SHARE WITH FAMILY,
IT CAN BE DONE WITH A CELL
PHONE.
PHONE.
PHONE. >>
PHONE. >> YES, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY
RIGHT.
RIGHT.
RIGHT. ON
RIGHT. ON YOUR SMARTPHONE YOU CAN DO
A FACE TO FACE VIRTUAL VISIT.
BUT THE TEXT SPACE IS
AVAILABLE AS WELL.
FOLKS IN PRIMARY CARE AND
URGENT CARE, OUR PROVIDERS ARE
CAPABLE AND WILLING AND ENJOY
THE COMMUNICATION AND THE
CONNECTION THAT PATIENTS AND
PROVIDERS CAN DEVELOP EVEN IN
A TEXT BASED FORMAT.
>> THAT'S GREAT.
JUST TO REVIEW, BY TEXT, BY
PHONE, BY VIDEO CAMERA OFF OUR
PHONE OR COMPUTERS.
AND THERE ARE A WIDE VARIETY
OF WAYS TO DO THIS.
AS OUR VIEWERS KNOW, FOR
RELATIVES, AND MAYBE SENIORS
WHO ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH
THIS.
THIS.
THIS. SOME OF OUR SENIORS ARE
PROFESSIONALS WITH THIS.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU NEED TO BE
SEEN LIKE PHYSICALLY EXAMINED?
YOU TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR AND
THEY SAY WE HAVE TO SEE YOU.
WHAT'S THE PROCESS?
>> EVEN IN THIS COVID
PANDEMIC, IF THERE'S AN URGENT
NEED THAT A PATIENT NEEDS TO
SEE A PROVIDER IN PERSON, YOU
WILL BE TRIAGED TO DO THAT.
MAKING YOUR WAY TO AN URGENT
CARE OR EMERGENCY ROOM,
PHONING AND SPEAKING WITH A
PROVIDER AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT
IS AN ANTICIPATED VISIT, THERE
ARE STILL GOING TO BE CASES
WHERE THE TELEHEALTH ROUTE
WILL NOT BE THE CASE AND TO
YOUR POINT EXACTLY, THE
PATIENT WILL NEED TO GET
THEMSELVES INTO PHYSICAL CARE,
EITHER URGENT CARE OR
EMERGENCY ROOM SETTING.
>> LET'S TALK ABOUT COPAYS.
>> YES, YES.
IN A TRADITIONAL SETTING,
TELEHEALTH BENEFITS TYPICALLY
BRING COPAY RELIEF TO PATIENTS
AND SO EVEN IN A NON-COVID
WORLD, THE COPAYS TEND TO BE
LOWER.
LOWER.
LOWER. IN
LOWER. IN THIS PERIOD OF TIME,
PREMERA ALONG WITH OTHER
PAYERS IN THE STATE HAVE MADE
TELEHEALTH VISITS AVAILABLE AT
NO COPAY TO MEMBERS.
SO PATIENTS CAN GO ON AGAIN TO
PREMERA.COM OR THROUGH THEIR
HEALTH PLAN'S WEBSITE.
FIND THE VIRTUAL VENDORS OR
REACH OUT BY PHONE DIRECTLY
AND SET UP THESE TELEHEALTH
VISITS CURRENTLY AT NO COPAY
TO THE PATIENT.
>> SOMETHING THAT CROSSES MANY
I MIND AND IT CROSSED MY MIND
WHEN I MADE MY APPOINTMENT,
DOCTORS ARE SO BUSY AND THE
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS SO BUSY.
AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A
HASSLE FOR SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS
TO USE THEIR TIME IN ANOTHER
WAY.
WAY.
WAY. >>
WAY. >> I
WAY. >> I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT
POINT.
POINT.
POINT. THAT EVEN IN THIS PERIOD OF
TIME.
TIME.
TIME. PEOPLE ARE RELUCTANT OR
NERVOUS OR DON'T WANT TO BE A
HASSLE.
HASSLE.
HASSLE. BUT IT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT
FOR THOSE OF US WITH CHRONIC
CONDITIONS THAT WE'RE SEEKING
THE CARE THAT WE NEED.
AND THE VIRTUAL VISIT IS A WAY
TO ENSURE THAT YOU'RE
RESERVING THE SPACE THAT THE
ILL NEED AND ALSO TAKE CARE OF
YOURSELF PHYSICALLY AND
MENTALLY.
MENTALLY.
MENTALLY. >> HELP US GET OVER THE HUMP.
IF WE REALLY NEED TO TALK TO
SOMEBODY.
SOMEBODY.
SOMEBODY. GIVE US THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT
THIS TO MOVE OURSELVES INTO A
NEW WAY OF CONNECTING WITH OUR
CAREGIVERS.
CAREGIVERS. >> I'VE USED OR PARTNER A
COUPLE OF TIMES OVER THE LAST
YEAR, EVEN PRIOR TO COVID.
AND IT'S PROBABLY A LOT EASIER
THAN MOST PEOPLE THINK.
THEY MIGHT FEEL A BIT
INTIMATED.
INTIMATED. IDENTIFY WHO THE PARTNERS ARE
AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET
STARTED.
STARTED.
STARTED. FOR PREMERA.COM IT'S AS EASY
AS DOWNLOADING AN APP AND
LOGGING IN TO A SECURE
PLATFORM AND STARTING YOUR
VISIT.
VISIT.
VISIT. IT'S THAT SIMPLE.
THE TELEHEALTH PROVIDERS HAVE
LOW WAIT TIMES AND CAN GET
MEMBERS, PATIENTS CONNECTED TO
THE TYPE OF SERVICES THEY NEED
VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
>> THAT'S SUPER USEFUL.
THANKS LOT.
THANKS LOT. >> MY PLEASURE.
>> TO LEARN MORE