Partners in Care: Avel eCare and TytoCare

“Everyone deserves healthcare, no matter where they are.”

Avel eCare has been a pioneer in the realm of telemedicine, providing virtual medical care since 1993. Avel is dedicated to providing accessible, affordable telehealth to millions of people living in rural and underserved areas across 32 US states.

Telehealth supports the needs of Avel’s patients in different settings throughout the provider’s vast coverage area. Avel seeks to improve outcomes for patients by allowing them to reach skilled clinicians whenever they need, from wherever they are.

We spoke with Josh Hofmeyer, VP and General Manager of Avel eCare’s Senior Care Services and Sheila Freed, Avel eCare’s eSchool Health Director, to learn more about Avel’s goals and why they chose TytoCare to help achieve them.

Avel had been using a platform that fell short – technical difficulties and latency issues prevented Avel from helping its partners deliver high quality, seamless care. Avel needed a reliable, user-friendly platform that would provide fully remote exams and assessments.

With TytoCare, Avel eCare is able to offer its members and providers a high standard of telehealth that meets their needs. TytoCare’s intuitive and easy to use solution had none of the downtime or delays Avel had struggled with in the past. TytoCare’s HD-quality video and extensive line of peripheral tools enable Avel eCare clinicians to get the full-view picture of the patient they are assessing. The results have allowed Avel to minimize transfers to emergency departments, improve quality outcomes, and increase patient and staff satisfaction.

A is for Access

Avel eCare helps school nurses use telemedicine to treat children and provides support for school faculty in settings where there is no school nurse. Connecting with an experienced clinician allows Avel’s partner schools to treat students’ urgent health needs and monitor chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and allergies. School-based telehealth maintains a safe school environment and keeps students in class whenever possible.

As Sheila shared, school healthcare can address the needs of students who live in remote geographical locations where they lack easy access to quality healthcare. Budget constraints in education mean that not every school can afford to hire an on-site nurse. TytoCare is easy enough for non-medical school staff to use, without being intimidating. For schools that do have a nurse on-site, TytoCare connects nurses to eCare clinicians who can confirm their diagnoses and provide additional support.

The “WOW” factor

School nurses use TytoCare to connect them with Avel eCare clinicians. Sheila explained that whenever nurses see what TytoCare’s peripheral tools are capable of, they are blown away by the clarity of the audio and images that provide strikingly clear diagnostic data. With telehealth for schools, Avel’s partners save time and money. Partnering with TytoCare reduces schools’ stress by providing affordable, scalable care with a limited budget and resources.

The quality assessments Avel provides through TytoCare are game-changing. Parents are able to remain at work and enjoy peace of mind knowing that their children’s health needs are being effectively met at school.

Safety first

Avel eCare provides 24/7 telehealth access for seniors in long-term care, skilled nursing, and senior living facilities. Josh discussed how remote physical exams with TytoCare enable Avel to treat seniors in their residential facilities, providing superior, safe medical care. Senior care residents are a vulnerable population. Avel eCare works with dozens of senior facilities across the country to provide remote care that improves patients’ health and quality of life.

TytoCare’s state-of-the-art tools like the stethoscope, otoscope, and camera allow clinicians to feel as though they are right in the room with patients. As Josh explained, TytoCare provides caregivers with the closest thing possible to an in-person visit. This allows seniors to stay out of EDs and urgent care clinics where they risk harmful exposure to secondary infections.

Expanding reach

Avel’s business goals are enhanced with TytoCare. Its video capabilities and quality metrics expand Avel’s market share to provide services to more partners. TytoCare is known for its openness to brainstorm and collaborate, with comprehensive support services to help resolve any issues that come up for Avel eCare. TytoCare is a differentiator that supports Avel eCare’s expansion across more healthcare systems throughout the US.

Better telehealth outcomes

When it comes to results, the numbers speak for themselves. In schools, TytoCare helped Avel achieve a very low rate of visits that weren’t resolved using technology. Avel went from 5% of cases to fewer than 1% of visits not fully resolved remotely. Seniors have been able to stay in their care homes and safely out of the ED in record numbers with TytoCare. By choosing to work with TytoCare, Avel has been able to grow and expand while providing seniors and students with affordable, easy-to-implement, superior virtual care.