SSM Health, a health system that serves Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, is always looking for ways to reduce the cost of healthcare while increasing access for the patients it serves.
THE PROBLEM
As most in healthcare know, many of the low-acuity conditions for which patients seek treatment do not necessarily require an in-person visit.
As a result, the health system wanted to find a telehealth system that would enable it to provide patients with an option for a visit that would be really convenient and also reduce costs to below those of a typical telemedicine video visit.
PROPOSAL
Telemedicine vendor Zipnosis proposed collaborating with SSM Health on a virtual visit solution. The solution would be unique in that it would give the health system the flexibility for an asynchronous adaptive interview, which would give patients flexibility and improve provider efficiency.
“A typical visit – even a video visit – would take a provider much longer to complete and therefore cost more,” said Grady Brimley, vice president of health transformation at SSM Health.
“With Zipnosis, our providers can review the clinical information and provide a response often taking less than two minutes of the provider’s time,” he said. “The patient has a better experience, too. Rather than waiting while the provider processes all the information, the patient is notified to return to the platform once a treatment is recommended.”