July 6, 2022
The footprints of telemedicine date back to the late 1960s. As per the researchers of Saint Louis University and Bentley University, it was first used due to the needs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Telehealth isn’t a new idea, but the pandemic has changed everything. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a national public health agency in the US, there was an instant surge of 154% in telehealth visits during the last week of March 2020. Since then, telehealth has been among the top trends in the healthcare industry and has become a potential solution to address healthcare problems. The incorporation of new technologies provides better security and top-notch features to help the providers deliver quality care.
Below are the 6 important reasons to employ telehealth in your practice to not only transform your ways of providing services but also enhance patient outcomes:
There is a misunderstanding among the masses that telehealth is quite difficult and time-taking to set up, but the reality is quite the opposite. It’s plug-and-play technology that will quickly link with your EHR.
Very little upfront payment is required for all the nimble, high-growth practices already having an integrated EHR. With this little investment, not only can you set up telehealth technology in your practice, but you also can increase your revenue to many folds. Keeping the advantages in mind, some of the practices related to mental health have fully converted to virtual-only services.
Telehealth assists practices in delivering services to more patients during the day. Administrative task efficiency increases as it allows the patients to book their appointments. Telehealth solution helps the practices to have a better workflow, resulting in increased efficiency and enhanced quality of care.
The practices are bearing many losses in the name of patient no-shows. Not only does it frustrate the administrative staff, but it also takes a big chunk out of providers’ revenue. But with telehealth, the losses can be mitigated using many methods – confirmation calls, auto-reminders, and quick rescheduling are all the perks of this technology. Patients can even show up to the appointments at the very last minute. As per a recent study, the percentage of patient no-show at virtual appointments were far less (7.5%) as compared to the in-house visits (36.1%).
Patients prefer telehealth solutions because of the convenience this technology provides. Imagine patients with a tough work schedule, how will they manage it? For those people, this technology has done wonders. It is also quite popular among those with disabilities as now they don’t need to be physically present at every appointment.
At the start of the pandemic, telehealth was still a new concept for the majority of patients and providers. The nation went into lockdown, and this technology was the only solution to provide healthcare services. But things have changed quickly, and with the availability of integrated platforms, the providers can access all the medical-related information during the visit. It not only improves the quality of care but also improves the patient's experience.
Employing the latest technologies is changing the healthcare landscape rapidly. Security of medical records was a major concern, but now, these concerns are addressed with the adoption of cloud services. It is the right time to integrate a robust telehealth solution into your practice to not only streamline your workflow but also increase the practice’s revenue.
