Galvanized By COVID, "Telemedicine" Grew Exponentially as Did "Remote Care" Medical Services: A Study of Remote Care Services Costing for Oxygen Monitoring Illustrates Challenges, Benefits and Future Potentials of Comprehensive "Remote Care"

Abstract

Remote and at-home medical services continue to increase in popularity in the United States due to workflow and cost advantages.  Remote care is often promoted by providers and policymakers but the actual costs of delivering care are largely unknown.  The recent COVID-19 pandemic gives an opportunity to determine costing of an at-home remote service.  Utilizing time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC), this article examines the costs required for delivering an at-home oxygen monitoring system for recently discharged COVID-19 patients.  Our study sheds light on some of the key cost considerations for delivering this type of care, such as the use of physicians increasing costs relative to using advanced practice providers (APP).  Another important cost consideration is whether the patient needed interpreting services, as it increased costs for the provider.  These results provide both management and reimbursement implications, particularly with regard to the use of interpreting services.  As remote care services continue to grow as a mode of healthcare delivery, it is important for healthcare managers to be aware of the leveraging of APPs when appropriate, as well as what patients may require interpreting services.  Payers, particularly government payers, benefit from knowing the cost implications that exist for providers delivering care to patients requiring interpreting services.  Moreover, such information could impact future reimbursement policies.

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