HEALTHCARE INTERVIEW
Coming together Cooperation among health networks proved key throughout the pandemic
Amy Mansue President & CEO – Inspira Health Network
How important is Inspira Health to the South Jersey community? The last year has been a traumatic experience for many people in the healthcare community. This reminds us that no matter how long we do this job, there are events that rock us to our core. For Inspira, being able to serve our community and be there in a time of need has been a real gift. I cannot imagine how much more difficult this would have been had we not had our new state-of-the-art facility, which opened two months prior to the pandemic. This was a test for everyone, but we were able to better care for our patients. All of the region’s health networks came together and worked collaboratively, and that sense of collaboration and information sharing is a testament to how much we all had each other’s backs. That will continue in some ways as we move forward. 126
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How has demand changed for telehealth services after its emergence during the pandemic? You cannot talk about COVID-19 without talking about telehealth. As we look at the demand for that primary care service, the segment that has boomed is behavioral health services. People who have had behavioral health services over time actually prefer this medium of treatment. We are now seeing almost an elimination of patients not showing up to their appointments. Since the beginning of COVID-19, March 2020 through April 2021, we have had 178,464 telehealth visits, and almost a third of those were related to behavioral health. It’s difficult, especially for adolescents, to manage in this environment of isolation. The long-term impact of a lack of socialization is a significant issue, and parents need to be alert to how serious this is. We’re also seeing a dramatic drop from pre-pandemic levels in people who have been diagnosed with serious issues because there is still a fear of attending hospital appointments. The American Cancer Society estimates that 35% of Americans missed routine cancer screenings due to COVID-19-related fears and care disruptions when many facilities reduced or suspended services. What is Inspira doing to control healthcare costs? Part of the conversation is giving people the information they need to better manage their care. We’re trying to identify the risk factors that end up exacerbating health concerns. A lot of that is using our data and AI, which allows us to model healthcare outcomes. That may drive up costs in the short term because they will be accessing more primary care but, in the long term, this will generate massive savings. We want to continue proactively conducting those screenings. Our breast screening department has been awarded a grant to carry out the outreach for breast screenings that will hopefully prevent long-term health issues.
