Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers developed an EHR-embedded calculator that identifies patients who are likely to need technical assistance before a video visit, Harvard Business Review reported Aug. 10.
The "video visit technical risk" score tool automatically calculates a patient's technical risk based on their stored EHR data. The score ranges from zero to four, with zero illustrating the lowest risk that a video visit would be unsuccessful and four representing the highest risk it would be.
The risk score can be added as a column on a schedule template and is color-coded based on the level of risk, with zero assigned green, one to two shown as yellow, and three to four as red.
Researchers used the following risk factors to assign scores: two points for the patient not having an active MyChart patient portal account; one point for the patient not having completed the hospital's virtual check-in process in the previous week; and one point for either the patient not having had a telephone visit in the last three months or no video visits, according to the report.
The research team recommended the calculator be used by either a central IT support team or by front-line clinical and front desk staff so they know for which patients to proactively provide tech support before their telehealth appointments.