By: Mary Crosby, Community Health Worker at SoNE HEALTH 
As modern healthcare delivery via digital platforms continues to grow, telehealth capabilities are enabling interactions and enhancing outcomes for our patients. Telehealth services allow patients to connect with their healthcare team virtually for medical advice, intervention, education, monitoring, and care coordination without requiring them to go into an office. Lack of transportation, mobility limitations, busy schedules are just a few of many barriers that often prevent patients from attending appointments with their care team. Telehealth services provide convenience and comfort, allowing patients to meet with members of their healthcare team when and where it is most convenient for them.
Recently, I had the great pleasure of assisting a patient in their 80’s with coordination of care via telehealth. The patient had been experiencing ongoing abdominal pain for several months and was encouraged to schedule a colonoscopy by the gastroenterologist. The patient expressed feeling overwhelmed with the number of providers, procedures and appointments needed, causing reluctance to schedule the procedure. The patient consented to my assistance with coordinating a colonoscopy.
Prior to the procedure, the gastroenterologist requested the patient pick up a stool collection kit at a nearby laboratory. After doing so, the patient contacted me expressing confusion about the stool collection kit instructions as the kit came with multiple specimen containers and was having difficulties deciphering which specimen container top was orange. Thankfully, due to telehealth and video capabilities, the patient and I were able to connect face to face via video. The patient held up each of the containers and I was able to help properly identify the specimen containers needed for the stool collection.
The patient was able to complete the stool collection without having to make a trip back to the lab for clarification/identification of the correct container. This saved the patient time and stress of having to travel back to the lab for assistance, as well as preventing the patient from not performing the procedure at all. Meeting the patient face to face—albeit virtually–helped gain trust which has allowed me to assist with additional care coordination services. The lab results returned as abnormal, leading to further testing that showed evidence of a precursor to cancer. The patient received preventive and diagnostic care in a timely manner that helped with getting the right care and treatment at the right time.
Telehealth services became more necessary and utilized with the COVID pandemic with state and federal regulations improved to allow for increased access to care. As part of the extended Public Health Emergency benefit, the Telehealth service is scheduled to end for some Medicare members at the end of 2024. Absent action by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), members who are home-bound seeking access to quality health care will no longer have telehealth as an option to communicate and interact with their healthcare providers.
Contact your State Representative to learn more on how to keep Telehealth services as a covered healthcare service benefit option long term.
