5 Reasons Why Integrating EHR is Essential for Telehealth Success

Telehealth has seen exceptional growth recently, especially during and after the pandemic. A big chunk of this growth is because of the integration of advanced electronic health records (EHRs) software. As per a report published on the official website of The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, "nearly 4 in 5 office-based physicians (78%) and nearly all non-federal acute care hospitals (96%) adopted a certified EHR".

The benefits of adopting this system include the following:

• Enhanced Quality Care
• In-time and Accurate Patient Information
• Increased Efficiency
• Interoperability
• And much more

Before we discuss the benefits in detail, let's take a look at the definition of the term telehealth EHR integration:

What is Telehealth EHR Integration, and how will it Benefit Healthcare Practices?

It is a solution designed by industry-leading experts to deliver quality care services. Healthcare facilities get the most out of this method as it will help them in enhancing clinical processes. One of the most vital benefits of employing this solution is to make sure that the patient's medical data is secured and available across all platforms. This technology assists patients in easily signing into their medical facility's system and getting all their health information.

Both the patients and providers benefit from the integration of the latest technologies because it streamlines the workflow and helps practices meet their revenue goals. Some of the core advantages of integrating telehealth EHR software are stated below:

• Practices can easily schedule online visits using practice management systems
• No-shows can be reduced significantly by sending automated reminders, emails, and much more
• Practitioners will get notified when the patient is ready to meet
• Providers will have access to all the vital information that is necessary to deliver quality care services

Tips for a Successful Telehealth Healthcare Practice

• The first thing a practice should do is to establish the scope of telehealth services. Mark the services you want to offer the patients and the roadmap for making them happen. There are some specializations that always want patients to visit practices physically.
• Creating workflows will help practices to enhance the efficiency of telehealth services. Therefore, it is recommended to create a virtual process to get the most out of this solution.
• To meet revenue goals, practices need to transform phone calls into virtual meetings. It is helpful for patients living in remote areas as they can connect virtually with their providers in critical conditions.
• Ease of access is another major tip that healthcare facilities need to keep in mind. For this purpose, they can switch to a patient-centric application where the patients can have access to all the medical records. Medical practices can also add other important features such as scheduling online appointments, viewing lab results, and a lot of other exciting features. With the help of integrated telehealth solutions, patients can now enjoy quality care without any hassle whatsoever.

Top Reasons Why Integrating EHR systems with Telehealth is Mandatory

Below are the top advantages of integrating electronic health record systems with telehealth.

• Increases Workplace Efficiency

Implementing this system allows healthcare practices to minimize administrative burdens, resulting in enhanced workplace efficiency. All the patient's health data is updated in the health record, and there will be no duplication issue.

• Synchronized Patient Information

With the help of EHR (electronic health records) integration, practices can easily verify a patient's eligibility even before setting up a virtual session. It makes sure that the practitioners are timely compensated, and there will be no delays. This way, practices will keep running because they will guarantee constant revenue generation. Many EHR developers add insurance databases into their solution, making it quite easier for doctors to look at the patient's eligibility quickly.

• Provides Real-time Access

The best thing about integrating EHR solutions with telehealth is that it provides real-time access to patients' health data. In this way, providers can deliver quality services without any hassle.

• Enhances Patient Experience

One of the most vital advantages of integrating this system is that it enhances patient experience. It gives patients the freedom to not log in with separate platforms as everything will be available on a single tool.

• Minimizes Data Errors

With the implementation of these solutions, medical facilities can make a patient record error-free. Data entry is quite easy, and there will be no issues of duplication as well. The providers will have access to the latest data, resulting in minimized data errors.

Summary

In this article, we have briefly explained the top five reasons why integrating EHR systems is essential for telehealth. Starting from the benefits of employing these systems, we have also written down the tips for a successful healthcare practice. These systems' top five advantages, such as minimizing data errors, enhancing the patient experience, providing real-time access, access to synchronized patient information, and increasing workplace efficiency, have been discussed thoroughly.