AVIA's COVID-19 Resource Hub, which aims to create collaborative workspace around topics such as telehealth, communications, workforce and capacity planning, supply chain, and patient flow, has three new members – and is seeing an uptick in demand as providers look for help and best practices for digital health deployments during the pandemic.

WHY IT MATTERS
The COVID-19 Resource Hub, which is open to all U.S. hospitals, has added American Telemedicine Association Conifer Health Solutions, which focuses on revenue-cycle management, and Gensler, the design and planning firm – bringing in three more diverse perspectives for digital health strategies.

AVIA says the collaboration with ATA will broaden the resources available for hospitals nationwide as they strategize about telehealth, and begin to integrate it as a more fundamental and long-lasting component of their business plans.

ATA's thought leaders can help providers better follow fast-evolving regulatory policies and reimbursement rules and chart best practices for integration of telehealth into clinical workflows, financial modeling and more.

Meanwhile, the addition of Conifer Health Solutions can help hospitals manage the financial burden and new strategic imperatives facing health systems during the pandemic and beyond. And Gensler, which specializes in human-centered design, can offer perspective on patient experience and help with safer back-to-work strategies for healthcare employers.

THE LARGER TREND
AVIA first launched its partner network this past October as a way to expand health systems' access to digital Insights from a disparate group of industry stakeholders, including the American Hospital Association, Cerner, Deloitte and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

The addition of ATA, Conifer Health and Gensler to the COVID-19 Resource Hub bring yet more voices into the mix.

AVIA notes that such perspective is useful to hospitals and health systems during this fast-moving time, as many of them are quickly expanding use of new technologies – AI-powered chatbots, virtual visits, remote monitoring, advanced patient-engagement tools and more – to a scope and scale they may not be used to.

ON THE RECORD
"The pandemic created an imperative for global knowledge sharing," said Bruce Brandes, general manager of AVIA's digital and partner network. "By learning from each other and leveraging the best thought leaders in the industry, hospitals can act faster in the face of this quick-moving virus.

"Emerging stronger in the new normal requires virtual business strategies, significant cost cutting and revenue enhancement," he added. "Our Members' go-forward strategies are catalyzed by the AVIA Connect COVID-19 Resource Hub and the expertise of our Partner Network."

"We must build upon the important gains telehealth has made during the pandemic and ensure that healthcare providers can continue to provide quality care to more people, where and when they need it," added American Telemedicine Association CEO Ann Mond Johnson.

"Now is the time to integrate virtual care into long-term business operations and care models," she said. "With this partnership, the ATA and AVIA are bringing the necessary industry leadership and insights for providers to successfully transition to a new world where healthcare delivery will significantly depend on telehealth, remote monitoring and home care."