Benchmark Data collection - Lost Revenue due to failure of implementing Telehealth Services for the company

Original problem or focus question

The demand for substance abuse and mental health counseling is increasing. Because of COVID-19, many companies were forced to switch to Telehealth services. Results showed approximately 8.4 million (8.3%) of 100.9 million ED visits in the U.S. during this time period were for psychiatric or substance use-related diagnoses (Gramigna, 2020). COVID-19 and not being able to offer Telehealth services has resulted in a revenue loss for the company and potentially might lead to layoffs. The implementation of Telehealth services will provide the company with the opportunity to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment remotely, thus generating revenue for the company and mitigating the loss during and after the pandemic.

Telehealth systems will be important long after COVID-19. It is estimated that The global market size for behavioral/mental healthcare is projected to be around $240 billion by 2026 (K, 2020). Therefore, it is important for the company to acquire a Telehealth system so that the loss of potential clients can be mitigated, and the company can make adjustments to the growing demands of mental health and substance abuse individuals wanting to use Telehealth services.

Stakeholders who are most affected by the problem

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clinics

Type of problem

According to the NCBI (2012), the barriers to entry are money, regulations, hype, adoption, technology, evidence, and success. Money: The company needs to make an initial investment to purchase the software and to setup their internal infrastructure to support telehealth services. Regulations: Each state has different regulations which need to do be considered when performing telehealth visits. The company needs to be aware of all the regulations.

Adoption: The adoption of the new system needs to be easy and new and existing client data and information need to be accessible as before.

Security: Platform and software security has to be taken into consideration in order to guarantee the privacy of the client and be compliant with all the regulations.

Suspected cause(s) of the problem

· Since Telehealth is a relatively new application, many professionals with need to learn a new system

· Telehealth software is expensive

· Little is known about the long-term effectiveness of telehealth

· Regulations are different from state to state and not everyone can practice in every state

· Individual providers may resist solutions to licensing barriers because they do not want competition from another state’s telemedicine network.

Goal for improvement and long-term impact

· The business will be able to expand into a new area and generate more revenue.

· The business will be able to recuperate some of the losses during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering Telehealth services.

· Acquisition of new clients and existing client retention.

Impact to stakeholders

· Loss Revenue

· Loss of new and existing clients

Proposal for addressing the problem and determining impact from Christian worldview perspective

· Apply for Telehealth Licensure with the states

· Train staff.

· Research and acquire telehealth software.

· Introduce telehealth concept to the employees.

Impact from a Christian Worldview perspective

· Additional way to serve God and the needs of others.

· Ability to provide services for those that cannot afford to go into a clinic but need special attention

Internal impact from the Christian Worldview

· Managements should adopt Servant Leadership style within the organization and should train their staff on servant leadership

· Management should introduce servant leadership values.

Final problem statement

In the United States, the mental health and substance abuse industry is estimated to be $18.7 billion by the end of 2020. In March of 2020, demand went up by 50% when people were mostly looked up under stay at home orders. This resulted in approximately 8.4 million (8.3%) of 100.9 million ED visits in the U.S. during this time period were for psychiatric or substance use-related diagnoses (Gramigna, 2020).

CNBC reported that virtual health-care interactions were on pace to top 1 billion by the end of 2020 (Coombs, 2020). The demand for substance abuse and mental health counseling has been increasing steadily over the last couple of years but has really picked up stem during the pandemic. Many companies were able to quickly adopt to switch to online counseling via Telehealth Services. By the company not being able to offer Telehealth services, it saw a decline in inpatient activity which resulted in a revenue loss. The loss of revenue could potentially result in cost cutting measures which would most likely affect the workforce, which is already strained. As of today, the Telehealth Services will provide the company with the opportunity to provide mental health and substance abuse treatments remotely, thus generating revenue for the company and mitigating the loss of revenue during the pandemic. Even after the pandemic, it is estimated that revenue for mental health and substance abuse disorder services will be around $240 billion by 2026 (K, 2020).

Some of the problems and concerns that need to be addressed with the implantation of telehealth services will be money, regulations, adoption, and security. The company’s leadership also needs to take into consideration the internal and external factors, such as employee training, service accessibility, and security. Because of the complex implementation, management needs to be sensible to the employees and clients and should address and solve the problems from a Christian Worldview perspective.

Documentation of sources

Coombs, B. (2020). Telehealth visits are booming as doctors and patients embrace distancing amid the coronavirus crisis. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/telehealth-visits-could-top-1-billion-in-2020-amid-the-coronavirus-crisis.html. Gramigna, J., MA. (2020). ED visits for mental health have increased significantly in past decade. Retrieved from https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20200813/ed-visits-for-mental-health-have-increased-significantly-in-past-decade. Hambrick, B. (2020). Towards a Christian Perspective on Mental Illness. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/resources/articles/christian_perspective/Towards-a-Christian-Perspective-on-Mental-Illness.pdf.

K, S. (2020). Telehealth Services and Mental Healthcare. Retrieved from https://start.askwonder.com/insights/one-questions-break-internationally-usa-how-people-using-telehealth-service-uj9wmzu7vNCBI. (2012). Challenges in Telehealth. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207146/