New Telemedicine Partnership Provides Revolutionary Healthcare Access to People with IDD
People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD) tend to have more complex medical needs, are subject to significant health disparities, and experience poorer health outcomes. Traditionally, they’ve required more emergency care and are more likely than the general population to experience adverse complications or death while hospitalized. To combat this, IntellectAbility has partnered with StationMD to use its Health Risk Screening Tool (HRST) to provide specialized, remote care to people with IDD by empowering providers with vital health risk management data.
(Clearwater, FL) December 5, 2022
IntellectAbility and StationMD have partnered to provide health-risk-informed telemedicine for people with IDD using StationMD’s telemedicine platform and IntellectAbility’s Health Risk Screening Tool (HRST). This partnership allows telemedicine providers access to web-based health risk information for their patients with IDD.
Over 7 million Americans live with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD).(1) Stigma, exclusion, and inadequate access to disability-competent healthcare providers contribute significantly to the lack of appropriate medical treatment for people with IDD.(2) Communication challenges for people with IDD further compound this imbalance. In hospitals, people with IDD are 2.7 times more likely to experience harm and have higher hospitalization death rates than the average population.(3)
While telemedicine has been a growing trend in healthcare, it has not been as accessible for the IDD population, even though people with IDD are disproportionately more likely to visit the emergency department (ED) and more often report unsatisfactory ED care.(3) Telemedicine programs tailored to IDD patients result in better care and fewer ED visits, as evidenced by a study that showed 91.6% of telemedicine calls resulted in patients being treated remotely, with only 8.4% visiting the hospital ED.(4)
The HRST is the most widely used and validated Health Risk Screening Tool for people with disabilities. This specialized web-based instrument identifies health risks often missed in people with IDD and those at the highest risk of preventable death. Based on a simple 22-item scale, the tool measures and quantifies health risks for people with IDD and other at-risk populations. The HRST also generates “Service Considerations” when clinical follow-up is indicated, as well as staff “Training Considerations” for supporters designed to mitigate identified risks.
Founded by emergency room doctors, StationMD’s doctors are experts in the care of people with IDD. The StationMD telemedicine platform provides 24/7 client portal access and is HIPAA-compliant. StationMD resolves 88% of the calls they receive without the patient needing to leave their home.
Through the innovative partnership between IntellectAbility and StationMD, an interface has been created, allowing StationMD clinicians immediate access to the person’s HRST findings during a telemedicine visit. This dynamic interface provides concise information to support clinical decision-making, promote accurate documentation of medical complexity, and reduce unnecessary testing and diagnostics, ultimately contributing to greater ED visit avoidance and better health outcomes for patients with IDD.
Dr. Craig Escudé, President of IntellectAbility, states, “Our company is made up of people who understand and care about this field. Our mission is to assist people with IDD and other at-risk populations in achieving a health status and quality of life comparable to that of the population at large. We do it every day with our one-of-a-kind Health Risk Screening Tool and our educational products. Our company’s offerings empower others with knowing how to identify early signs of health destabilization in people who may not be able to recognize it themselves and teaches them when and how to act to reduce health risks.”
Dr. Maulik Trivedi, Chief Strategy Officer of StationMD, affirms, “IntellectAbility is an experienced and respected partner that aligns with our mission of providing the best medical care and improving the quality of life for individuals with IDD. Many of our partners rely on the HRST. We value the concise, targeted information our clinicians can use to provide effective telemedicine consultations to ultimately improve health outcomes for individuals with IDD.”
To learn more about this innovative partnership and how it can benefit the people you support,
please contact Lorene Reagan at Lorene (at) ReplacingRisk.com.
About StationMD
StationMD is a healthcare solution that delivers sophisticated medical care through telemedicine, offering immediate access at any time to high-quality, board-certified doctors who are specially trained in the care of individuals with IDD. Through HIPAA-compliant two-way video technology and with the use of Bluetooth medical tools, StationMD physicians can assess individuals in their home setting. They can provide treatment plan recommendations and quality medical care to keep patients safe, healthy, and in place whenever possible. Learn more at StationMD.com and follow along via Twitter (@StationMD) and on Facebook and LinkedIn (StationMD).
References:
1. National Disability Navigator. “Population Specific Fact Sheet – Intellectual Disability.” Accessed November 19, 2022, NDNRC, nationaldisabilitynavigator.org/ndnrc-materials/fact-sheets/population-specific-fact-sheet-intellectual-disability.
2. Johnston, Kenton J. PhD; Chin, Marshall H. MD; Pollack, Harold A. PhD. “Health Equity for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.” October 7, 2022, Jama Network, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2797393.
3. Friebel, Rocco; Maynou, Laia. “Assessing The Dangers Of A Hospital Stay For Patients With Developmental Disability In England, 2017–19.” October 2022, Health Affairs, healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00493
4. Jercich, Kat. “Telemedicine as a tool to keep people with disabilities out of the hospital.” Healthcare IT News, March 16, 2021. healthcareitnews.com/news/telemedicine-tool-keep-people-disabilities-out-hospital