ConnextCare Invests in New Telehealth Platform to Improve Patient Experience

Health provider has used telehealth for more than 58,000 appointments since 2020

ConnextCare in March implemented a new telehealth platform across all of its locations in Oswego County. ConnextCare will now be using Greenway electronic medical record (EMR) to ensure a more efficient telehealth experience for patients.

Moving forward, patients will receive a text message or an email on the day of their scheduled telehealth visit. The text or email will include a link to a video chat that patients will be able to click on and be automatically connected to the telehealth virtual waiting room for admittance to their visit by the ConnextCare team. Telehealth is a critical resource for patients. It enables a patient to be seen by a provider regardless of their ability to physically come in to the office, therefore breaking down a barrier to care.

ConnextCare became aware of the need for telemedicine at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within days of the pandemic, the ConnextCare IT team was able to secure the resources and training to be able to offer this service to patients.

“As we begin to transition back to a level of normalcy in healthcare, the benefit of a telehealth connection has proven to be both effective and convenient for our patients,” said Ken Martin, director of information services at ConnextCare. “With now over one quarter of all healthcare visits being of a virtual nature, ConnextCare looked to streamline the process for both our staff and patients by adopting a single platform. The Greenway telehealth package works seamlessly with our EMR, this eliminates the need for a third-party application which increases the time to create and distribute the virtual appointment.”

Since the beginning of 2020, ConnextCare has used telehealth for more than 58,000 appointments and continues to use telehealth for 85% of the patterns of cause-and-effect can aid parents in developing strategies that work. For example, if lunch is late on the days a child has a meltdown, it’s apparent that it’s tough for the child to cope while hungry. Scheduling lunch earlier or serving a larger breakfast may represent ways to prevent the meltdown.

“ABA has a place in the toolbox of working with kids with autism, but it’s not for everybody,” Scharoun said. “When working with families, you need a different set of tools that meets that family’s needs.”

For some, ABA works for a while but then the children fail to generalize the skill they’ve learned. For example, they stop “stimming” — engaging in a self-comforting but meaningless repetitive and disruptive behavior — at school, but continue to do so at other places. Scharoun said that generalizing may improve if each caretaker agrees to work on the skill with the child in the same way. Previous versions of ABA used punishments to minimize unwanted behavior.

“ABA still focuses on compliance with demand and rarely considers the meaning of behavior for the autistic individual,” said Christine Ashby, Ph.D. and professor at Syracuse University and director for the Center on Disability and Inclusion. “Often the focus is on moving the autistic individual to more non-disabled ways of interacting and behaving.

ABA positions autism and the ways that autistic individuals engage with the world as problems to be solved through remediation and treatment, rather than recognizing and valuing the diversity of human experience.”

She also pointed out the intensity of this intervention, usually offered in a one-on-one setting which may isolate students from the inclusive learning opportunities that happens in classroom of peers.

“Many autistic people have spoken and written about the damage of ABA, considering the practice harmful and even abusive,” Ashby said. “Instead of promoting ABA, my approach to supporting autistic students is grounded in listening to autistic people, ensuring all students have means to communicate effectively, attending to sensory and movement needs and fostering inclusive educational and social opportunities.”

Nicole DeRosa, PsyD, chief clinical officer with the Kelberman Center in Syracuse, cited ABA’s “longstanding history of evidence-based practice. But like any other therapy, it has to be a good fit,” she said. “Any type of service should be in a strong, trusting therapeutic relationship with the therapist and family remaining key players.”

This includes the children themselves, who must understand on some level that gaining these new skills or dropping unhelpful behaviors will help them. Without motivation, change is difficult.

“It has to be the right fit for that family and individual,” DeRosa said. “They have to have an understanding as to how the therapy will work and the goals they’re working on. That has to align with your values as an individual and as family members.” its scheduled weekly mental health appointments. The investment in this new service will greatly improve not just the patient experience when it comes to telehealth visits, it will also be a much more structured experience for ConnextCare staff, according to official.

The Pulaski office is the first location to pilot this new platform, which began March 2. Every other main site and the school-based health centers are scheduled to transition throughout the coming month.