Virtual Symposium on Quality Frameworks for Virtual Care: Closing Remarks
July 12, 2023- 00:00Before I forget, because I'll
- 00:02I won't remember to do this,
- 00:04let me remind all of you that if you
- 00:07register for the conference with an e-mail,
- 00:10we will be sending out a link.
- 00:11When the edited video
- 00:13symposium is available online,
- 00:15it'll be freely and openly available.
- 00:16You won't need a password
- 00:18or anything like that.
- 00:19If you have questions,
- 00:21the e-mail link virtual care
- 00:23consensus at partners.org.
- 00:24You can send to one of the organizers
- 00:28if you have technical questions.
- 00:30I want to just spend a moment and not
- 00:32keep those on the East Coast away
- 00:34from dinner or I guess those on the
- 00:36West Coast away from a late lunch.
- 00:38First of all want to thank each and every
- 00:41panelist for the time they took to prepare.
- 00:44The generous sharing of information
- 00:46in the slides slide deck is is just
- 00:50spectacular and for your commitment
- 00:52to working in this area of.
- 00:55What I consider really a major
- 00:58frontier in patient centered care,
- 01:00I mean this is fundamentally about
- 01:03meeting patients where they are
- 01:05both figuratively and literally.
- 01:07We know we have some digital divide
- 01:09issues that we have to overcome because
- 01:11we want all of our patients to have
- 01:14equal access to these technologies
- 01:16when appropriate and as we think
- 01:18about the Institute of Medicine.
- 01:21You know,
- 01:21quality framework and the six domains
- 01:23of quality being patient centered
- 01:25also means that we are being equitable
- 01:28so that patients don't have a
- 01:30different care experience based on
- 01:32their social determinants of health.
- 01:34And by that I, I I would say two things.
- 01:37On the one hand,
- 01:38we don't want to create disparities in
- 01:40care where better care is happening
- 01:42in person compared to lesser care,
- 01:44lesser quality care is happening virtually.
- 01:47And so you are relegated to virtual
- 01:49and and in an in an environment where
- 01:52it's lower quality or vice versa,
- 01:54where in fact the convenience and
- 01:56quality of the virtual is as good or
- 01:58exceeds that of the in person care.
- 02:00Which means that those who can least
- 02:02afford it are forced to spend the
- 02:04most amount of money to come and
- 02:05see us in person when they otherwise
- 02:07could see us remotely.
- 02:08So we've got some really important work
- 02:11to do there to address that divide.
- 02:14But the more we can think about
- 02:17how to channel this,
- 02:19not through the lens of here's
- 02:21this really cool technology,
- 02:23how do we apply it?
- 02:24But rather how do we use all the tools
- 02:26available to us in an Omni channel
- 02:28approach to know that Marcy likes
- 02:30us to text her but John prefers in
- 02:33app notification whereas Elizabeth
- 02:35likes interactive voice response,
- 02:37but Laura doesn't want to do anything
- 02:39but see someone in person or talk to a
- 02:42live customer service agent on the telephone.
- 02:44By customizing our responses to our
- 02:47patients through the channels that they
- 02:49have identified work best for them,
- 02:51we reduce the friction and we make
- 02:54more cognitive space available to
- 02:56meet the patient's actual needs.
- 02:58I think it's so easy to forget we go to
- 03:01work every day in a healthcare environment.
- 03:03Healthcare is not scary for us.
- 03:05Walking through the hallway of
- 03:06a hospital isn't scary for us.
- 03:08We we arrive there and we feel at ease,
- 03:11but so many of our patients don't.
- 03:13And the more we can free up space for
- 03:16them to be able to focus on their own
- 03:18problems and share that with us quickly,
- 03:21safely, effectively,
- 03:22the better we'll be able to meet
- 03:25their actual healthcare needs.
- 03:27So this is a really exciting
- 03:29area in healthcare.
- 03:30This is a really exciting time in our
- 03:33society where we see both the promise
- 03:36of digital technology but also many of
- 03:39the challenges of digital technology.
- 03:41We're on the cusp of a real.
- 03:43The revolution and artificial
- 03:44intelligence and machine learning,
- 03:46where automation may start to be one
- 03:48of the first things that patients
- 03:50experience before they get to us.
- 03:52And we have to make sure that we
- 03:55are not disintermediated from our
- 03:58patients by third parties who seek
- 04:01to filter and triage patients to us.
- 04:05So we have to maintain a direct
- 04:07connection to our patients.
- 04:08But that means we can't be
- 04:10slow adopters here.
- 04:10We have to be fast followers,
- 04:13and we have to work together.
- 04:15Particularly among the nonprofit,
- 04:17AM C, and Community Hospital community,
- 04:20we have to work together to figure out how
- 04:23to create mechanisms that will be fair,
- 04:26that will not disadvantage certain groups.
- 04:28We need to be, you know, rural,
- 04:30free delivery like the US Post Office,
- 04:32and not just, you know,
- 04:33name your favorite,
- 04:35expensive.
- 04:35Direct to consumer delivery service
- 04:37that doesn't go to large parts of the
- 04:40country where it's not profitable.
- 04:42So I think we have so much to think
- 04:45about if so many wonderful new avenues
- 04:48to help deliver care and if patients
- 04:51have really found this service valuable,
- 04:54they will vote with their feet
- 04:56and reimbursement will continue.
- 04:58Because patients will demand that this
- 05:00kind of access and capability continue.
- 05:03If we haven't done our job well and
- 05:05these services are failing our patients,
- 05:07they will all revert back to coming
- 05:09in person where they find value.
- 05:11So I think we have a real litmus test
- 05:14coming up and we will understand the
- 05:16value of the service we provide when we
- 05:18see whether patients vote with their fingers,
- 05:21I guess or their feet.
- 05:23They vote with their fingers.
- 05:24We'll keep seeing them over video.
- 05:25If they vote with their feet,
- 05:26we'll be seeing them all in person.
- 05:27Unless your patients can type on the
- 05:29computer with their with their toes.
- 05:31I don't think mine can.
- 05:32So I want to once again thank all
- 05:35of you for joining us and we're
- 05:37really excited to continue this work.
- 05:40We will be summarizing the contents
- 05:42of this workshop as well and
- 05:45hopefully producing another manuscript
- 05:47that we will publish.
- 05:49That will share some of the and condense
- 05:51some of the wonderful observations
- 05:53from from this year's symposium.
- 05:55And I just want to end by wishing
- 05:57you all a wonderful week.
- 05:59I hope you all have a safe and
- 06:02healthy end to the year and can enjoy
- 06:05some family time over the holidays.
- 06:08Have a wonderful night.
- 06:09Thanks everyone.