From electronic health records and telemedicine to "internet-driven physical therapy," Dr. Richard Rothman, founder of the Rothman Institute, says providers of medical care are embracing the promise of the digital age.
In an interview at the 2014 Forbes Healthcare Summit, Rothman talks about how a health care system with more than a half million patient visits annually is moving into the digital health space with “disruptive technology,” reducing costs by moving therapy online, conducting telehealth consults with patients and using eletronic health records to improve patient experience.
“We are very pro disruptive technology,” Rothman said in his interview, which can be seen in its entirety below. “We are into disruptive technology that will lower costs and improve convenience for our patients.”
As insurance companies like Aetna (AET), Cigna (CI), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Humana (HUM), and others push away from fee-for-service medicine to accountable care and bundled payments, Rothman said digital health can achieve what the insurers want in lower costs and better quality. As one example, the Rothman system is practicing “internet-driven” physical therapy that will reduce costs by 80 percent.
As the Affordable Care Act and trends in insurance payment move away from paying for quantity to reimbursement based on quality, Rothman believes health plans and government health plans will, in turn, embrace provider ideas in digital health.
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