Impact of remote pulmonology case observations on cost and time expenditures for providers

B. Benn*^a (Dr), J. Kurman^a (Dr)

^a Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, UNITED STATES

* bbenn424@yahoo.com

Background

Given the wide-reaching impact of physician shortages, clinician burnout, and a global health crisis, the need to broadly disseminate specialized knowledge is essential to deliver effective, global interventional pulmonology care. This demand is compounded as novel, quickly evolving pulmonology technologies come to market. This analysis evaluates the role of remote case observation in untethering physicians and clinical teams from traditional scheduling constraints, limited provider access, and travel burdens when introducing a new medical technology within a health system.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis following the launch of a peripheral lung navigation platform, Illumisite (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA), which employed the Explorer Surgical (Global Healthcare Exchange, Louisville, CO, USA) digital case management platform to remotely broadcast procedures and enable collaboration among physicians. We collected data on 10 remote case observations from April through November 2021 and analyzed its impact on travel costs and time away from practice.

Results

18 individual physicians remotely observed 10 Illumisite procedures. U.S. cost estimates were $2,000 per case observer, including airfare, lodging, transportation, and meals, and an average of 72 hours away from a visiting physician’s practice. Estimated cost savings were $36,000, and time savings were 1,296 hours (54 days away from a provider’s practice).

Conclusion

Our analysis demonstrates that remote interactive case observation offers a unique opportunity to increase access to procedural expertise, while saving money and time for observing physicians. Time gained by providers avoiding travel may lead to additional patients treated and procedures performed at their institutions. The cost savings allow for additional investments in procedural training and product innovation. This technology has the potential to create a paradigm shift in medical education and procedural training. The applications of this analysis are global in nature, setting the stage for additional research in interventional pulmonology and across other specialties.

Disclosure of funding source(s): none