EP320: Is Telehealth vs In-Person Care Like Some Kind of Winner-Takes-All Cage Fight? With Christian Milaster From Ingenium

In Episode 320, Stacey Richter talks with Christian Milaster, founder of Ingenium Digital Health Advisors, about why treating telehealth versus in-person care as a winner-takes-all fight misses the point — and why telehealth is best understood as a clinical tool, not a rival care setting.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

✅ Why telehealth is best understood as a clinical tool, not competition for in-person care

✅ The biggest mistake provider organizations are making with telehealth right now

✅ Why organizational change management is essential to incorporating telehealth well

✅ How organizations can use telehealth strategically to redesign care delivery workflows

✅ Why digital inclusion is itself a social determinant of health

WHY THIS MATTERS

Asking whether telehealth or in-person care is "better" is like asking whether an X-ray or an MRI is better — the right tool depends on the patient and the clinical pathway, decided before you pick the setting, not after. Post-pandemic demand for telehealth is reshaping how patients, especially commercially insured ones with real choice, evaluate their providers, but it's worth remembering that the very patients telehealth was meant to serve — those with transportation or access barriers — are sometimes the least able to take advantage of it due to gaps in internet access and digital literacy.

=== LINKS ===

🔗 Show Notes with all mentioned links: Episode Page

🔗 Healthcare Industry Acronyms and Terms

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00:00 Introduction.

06:53 What's the biggest mistake provider organizations are making in regard to telehealth right now

08:50 Is there a downside to not investing more in telehealth?

12:28 "There's no more geographic boundaries."

15:25 What's a provider organization's first step in making telehealth a cornerstone of care?

17:20 Why is organizational change management essential to incorporating telehealth?

19:00 "Everybody involved in the in-person care experience needs to be involved and play a role in the virtual care experience as well."

19:22 What does the patient flow look like for organizations that do telehealth well?

21:12 How does an organization use telehealth as a strategic tool?

23:55 "Telehealth gives us an opportunity to redesign the workflow of the care delivery experience."

24:38 How is the provider reimbursed in telehealth?

26:29 "It's really about the outcomes and it's about value-based care … when I can just wield telemedicine … as a clinical tool."

28:19 "Telemedicine … is vital for value-based care; it's vital for better patient outcomes."