57% of Medicare Plan Members Unsure if Plan Offers Telemedicine, Another 31% Say it is Not Offered, HealthMine Survey
Importance of Telemedicine for Seniors Heightened Following Hurricanes Irma and Harvey
DALLAS, Sept. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, many seniors have more limited access to their doctors and medical facilities. This has heightened the importance of digital communications and telemedicine to help guide patients in need. Yet, a HealthMine survey revealed that 57% of Medicare health plan members aged 65+ said they are unsure if their health plan offers telemedicine; another 31% say that telemedicine is not offered by their plan. The data comes from a HealthMine survey of 500 Medicare health consumers.
The heightened need for digitally connecting seniors to healthcare services has sparked a recent debate on the pros and cons of expanding coverage of telehealth and telemedicine services under Medicare Parts A and B. Mandated by Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission will study the use of telehealth services and report findings by March 15, 2018.
Medicare plan members must be digitally connected in order for telemedicine services to be effective. However, The HealthMine survey also revealed that 79% of seniors do not have easy access to their electronic medical records.
Medicare plan members also revealed their communication preferences: 48% prefer to communicate with their plan via voice/phone, 31% prefer digital communication, and 21% prefer snail mail.
According to Bryce Williams, president and CEO of HealthMine, "These hurricanes have underscored the importance of every person being digitally connected to their health. We are working hand-in-hand with health plans to accelerate digital processes and analytics."
Prior to HealthMine, Williams was president and CEO of the nation's largest private Medicare Exchange. "In running the exchange, we learned every aspect of communicating with seniors including building and operating the most robust fully digitized call centers."
Williams added that collecting and analyzing every piece of data is how plans are driving new efficiencies for their business and better care for their plan members. "Real-time data analytics drives health intelligence. Health intelligence is what enables plans to help members improve their health."
About the Survey
The HealthMine Medicare Plan Health Intelligence Survey queried 500 insured 65+ consumers who are enrolled in a Medicare program. The survey was fielded by Survey Sampling International (SSI) in June/July 2017. Data were collected via an opt-in panel. The margin of error is 4%. Survey Sampling International (SSI) has been the Worldwide Leader in Survey Sampling and Data Collection Solutions, across every mode, for 37 Years.
About HealthMine
HealthMine is a leading healthcare technology company that delivers Health Intelligence for plan members and plan sponsors. HealthMine's cloud-based Health Intelligence Solution facilitates better health outcomes and lowers healthcare costs by providing: 1) insight into health status and risk, 2) clinical guidance on necessary health actions, 3) personalized motivation to close gaps in care and 4) measurement of outcomes. The Health Intelligence Solution derives business value from all clinical and lifestyle health data including data from existing wellness programs. HealthMine has more than 1 million users and has saved health plan sponsors more than $100 million in healthcare costs. HealthMine is on the web at www.healthmine.com.
SOURCE HealthMine, Inc.
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