Leveraging the Benefits of Digital Health

The Changing Environment

Technology has changed how we think, work and live. The same goes for health care. Patients demand greater accessibility to health care on their schedule. Providers look to grow and provide personalized care to all. Both are real and challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic and rising health care costs have sped up the change and the challenge.

Health care providers can no longer wait to address these challenges. Patients won't wait. Similarly, technology and potential disruptors won't wait. The good news is the wait is over, and the future is already here.

The Challenge.

What is possible

Imagine patients becoming the center of health care rather than providers. They control how they interact with caregivers throughout the entire care continuum.

• This means busy parents can access a doctor online, day or night.  
• This means someone with diabetes or other chronic illnesses can have their vitals continually monitored, knowing they and their provider will be alerted when readings are outside their norms and care can be given virtually.

Now imagine what that could mean to those in more underserved populations. Access to care, experts and services that were previously difficult or nearly out-of-their reach.

• It means the remote, rural patient can have virtual appointments when travel is difficult.
• It means patients can get advanced care and access to specialists and experts outside their geography, all in the comfort and familiarity of their local providers' offices or even their own home.

Today's health care providers can now leverage today's technology to expand services and coverage to their patient base, all without the additional costs of infrastructure or added staff. Through services provided by OSF OnCall, providers can leverage existing processes, tools, technology and deep health care experience.

• This allows a smaller hospital to take intensive care unit (ICU) capacity from three beds to five. Keeping more patients in-facility, increasing revenue and patient satisfaction.
• Through virtual hospitalist coverage, it allows hospitals to deliver the appropriate care to a newly admitted patient at 2 a.m., without tapping into on-call physicians. Thus improving care, staff work/life balance and patient outcomes.

The Vision.

The future is here

Of course, the vision of the future and implementing to achieve optimal outcomes don't always match up.

But the fact is, digital health is more than a vision. It is more than just a different way. It truly is a more effective way. And it's happening today.

Take, for example, what OSF OnCall has done for ICUs. With over 200 ICU beds virtually monitored, participating hospitals have been able to expand their number of ICU patients at any given time. This keeps more patients local without increasing staff. The results are increased capacity and an improved case mix index (CMI), while documenting a 27% decrease in ICU mortality and 20% decline in ICU length-of-stay (LOS). Better operational results and better patient outcomes, all without additional staff.

Broader and more expansive proof has been demonstrated through the OSF OnCall Pandemic Health Worker program implemented during the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leveraging a combination of a telehealth hotline, SMS outreach, an AI symptom checker integrated with an online digital assistant (a chatbot named Clare), remote patient monitoring and 24/7 nurse triage, the program was widely adopted. As if 180,000 managed calls, 38,000 virtual visits and 10,000 enrollees weren't enough, 96% of participants said they would recommend the program and felt relief after engaging.

For everyday needs, OSF OnCall Urgent Care offers 24/7/365 virtual care for minor illnesses and injuries. With literally hundreds of thousands of virtual interactions per year, patients are assured of the appropriate care they need, when and where they need it. All while reducing emergency room visits, controlling costs and providing escalated care when needed.

These are just a few of the real examples of how digital health is changing the health care landscape. From the complexities of ICU and acute care to the day-to-day management of minor illnesses and injuries, digital health is making care more accessible, convenient and scalable.

And the fact is, U.S. consumers are not only getting more and more comfortable with digital health, they now demand it. In 2020, over one-third of all U.S. consumers used digital health services according to a July 2021 Insider Intelligence report. And a whopping 83% of U.S. adults say they want to continue to use digital health post-pandemic, as found in the Insider Intelligence Digital Health Ecosystem report.

It's here. It's in demand. And it's working. OSF OnCall is the future of health care today.

The Reality. The Results.