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It’s well-known that telemedicine has gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. One partnership is helping to expand the reach of this technology. 

Let’s Talk Interactive and Arkos Health recently have united to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations for post-acute care patients. Matt Robinson, operations manager at LTI, and Erin McGill, vice president of business development at Curavi Health, which is part of Arkos Health, work together to provide targeted telemedicine software services for a variety of older adult populations — including those being cared for in their homes.

Customizable services

The ultimate goal is to serve the patient wherever they may be located. While Arkos Health provides a vast network of providers, LTI comes into play here with its software and hardware offerings.

“What really sets us apart from other software companies is we’re truly customizable,” Robinson said. 

Services offered from LTI include scheduling for providers, electronic document sharing, file transfers, and retaining clients’ files within the system. One of the biggest assets is the live bioanalytics component. 

“Whenever a provider needs to see live blood pressure, pulse ox, EKG, exam scopes, use a stethoscope to track heart auscultations or whatever it may be, we’re able to push that information live through the remote provider,” Robinson added.

LTI’s telemedicine software also tackles primary care. This includes comprehensive health assessments, annual wellness visits and capturing HCC’s. Specialty chronic care, such as cardiology and diabetes management is also available. 

Hospital-at-home

One of the goals of LTI is to reduce hospitalization rates. Now more than ever, a lot of people are looking to be cared for in hospital-at-home settings rather than go to a hospital or emergency room, McGill noted. Through the LTI software and equipment, that service is available as well.

“Very often, it requires daily scheduled visits with the provider,” said McGill, “so what we would do is schedule a visit with those patients during the day, and if they happen to need anything on demand, they can get a hold of us if they need to schedule an appointment. Every hospital-at-home [encounter] is a bit different, but we have the technology, providers and the ability to manage these patients outside of the hospital.”

COVID-19 

Before 2020, while telemedicine was an innovation that people had maybe heard of in passing, the pandemic made it a necessity. 

Robinson and McGill have witnessed the market completely shift during the pandemic, and the need for people to receive treatment from their homes, rather than venture to hospitals and risk infection, rose greatly. 

“Prior to COVID, telemedicine was a buzzword,” said McGill. “Now it’s a household word.”