The health care world is changing. New technologies are moving the field in new and different directions, all of which is good news for patients.

Take, for example, how hospitals and health systems are using telehealth to expand access to care, improve outcomes for patients and reduce costs. We released a report at last week’s AHA Leadership Summit that shows how seven hospitals and health systems are using telehealth to expand access to opioid recovery programs, early intervention services for people with chronic conditions and specialty care for patients in underserved communities, among other benefits, often at lower cost.

Just one example: The first 100 patients enrolled in a diabetes telehealth pilot at the University of Mississippi Medical Center saved Medicaid more than $300,000 during the first six months of the program.

Hospitals are embracing telehealth because it offers such benefits as virtual consultations with distant specialists, the ability to perform high-tech monitoring without requiring patients to leave their homes, and less expensive and more convenient care options for patients. They can provide mental health services to areas without access, expanding the availability of these services to smaller, more remote areas.    

The innovations taking place throughout the health care landscape ultimately come down to how they benefit patients and communities – whether by improving access to care or sharing data to help them make a more informed decision about their health care. Telehealth illutrates how hospitals are continuing to keep their promise of care in new, non-traditional ways that extend well beyond their four walls.

 

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA July 3 released the Health Care Plan Accountability Update for the second quarter of 2025. The update covers the latest developments in Medicare…
Headline
Jon Ulven, Ph.D., behavioral health psychologist and chair of adult psychology at Sanford Health, details the fragile behavioral health landscape in rural…
Headline
The Supreme Court June 27 voted 6-3 to uphold an Affordable Care Act provision creating an independent task force charged with making recommendations of…
Headline
Kevin McEwan, DNP, R.N., chief nursing officer at Madison Memorial Hospital, shares how Medicaid provides vital behavioral health and maternal and child care…
Headline
Boston Medical Center’s Jeff Schneider, M.D., associate chief medical officer, designated institutional official and chair of the Graduate Medical Education…
Perspective
In the next few days, Senate Republican leaders plan to unveil and vote on their updated reconciliation bill, which, as currently constructed, would have far-…