Related Experiment Videos
Clinical encounters costing for telemedicine services
Gail Barker1, Kevin M McNeill, Elizabeth A Krupinski
1Arizona Telemedicine Program, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona 85724-5105, USA. barkerg@u.arizona.edu
Summary
The Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP) developed a costing model to compare telemedicine versus in-person healthcare costs. Telemedicine services were found to be more cost-effective for patients traveling 127.5 miles or more.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Healthcare Economics
Background:
- The Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP) has established a comprehensive costing model to determine the per-encounter cost of telemedicine services.
- Previous iterations of the model were developed in 1999, with this study analyzing data from fiscal year 2000/2001.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the cost-effectiveness of clinical services provided via telemedicine compared to traditional face-to-face encounters.
- To identify key factors influencing the cost of telemedicine service delivery.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the established ATP costing model to calculate weighted costs for telemedicine services.
- Compared calculated telemedicine costs against the costs of in-person "face-to-face" service delivery.
- Analyzed contributing cost factors, including those that are difficult to quantify.
Main Results:
- Telemedicine services were found to be more economical than face-to-face services when patients required travel of 127.5 miles or more.
- The study identified and analyzed various factors impacting the overall cost of telemedicine provision.
Conclusions:
- Telemedicine can offer significant cost savings, particularly for patients facing long travel distances.
- Further exploration of cost-reduction strategies within telemedicine programs is warranted.