Telemedicine: The Five Best Practices for Implementing an Online Visitation Program

Living in a world that requires strict physical distancing has turned telemedicine from an interesting option into an essential service seemingly overnight – and has given rise to a large group of telemedicine experiments that are being conducted by teams that have little to no familiarity or training with it. Although modern technology has made it easier for people to get in touch quickly and conveniently over the Internet, medical practitioners still need to undergo basic training and briefing in order to know how to implement virtual visitation effectively for both patient and doctor. The great news is that because of how cost-efficient this solution is, telemedicine is expected to gain even more ground in a world affected by what is now known as the “new normal”. Following are five of the best practices for implementing an effective online visitation program.

  1. Know The Technology Behind Telemedicine – One of the most important commitments to providing telemedicine services is staying updated with the latest trends in online communications technology. Investing in big-screen high-definition (HD) monitors can help physicians get a good look at the patient on screen, making it easier to identify key symptoms and/or other identifiers in the patient’s conscious or subconscious behavior. Provide patients with easy-to-use technologies that read and report vital signs, glucose levels, temperature, and more directly to a medical practice’s electronic health record (EHR).
  2. Compliance Is Key – It is very important to remain compliant with Privacy and HIPAA standards. It helps to make sure that only technologies that comply with both federal and local law are used and to never fail to backup and encrypt patient data/EHR. If there are any questions about this, consultation with HIPAA experts is strongly recommended to avoid the headaches of compliance.
  3. Maximize The Financial Benefits Of Telemedicine – Generating revenue with telemedicine services is all about maximizing time spent in “billable encounters”. This means handling follow up consultations, questions about prescriptions, and other non-income generating tasks should be done as fast as possible in order to make space for virtual sessions that can be billed as a service. One good example of a billable service is a “stop smoking” program that requires a sequence of online visitations that are each chargeable to the patient.
  4. Form Implementation Committees – Having an organized group of people work towards successful implementation of telemedicine is key in figuring out how to get the best of the program. Involve personnel from all departments (IT, hospital staff, doctors) to sit down and discuss how things can be made better for everyone. Doing this may help medical providers figure out how to best approach their own brand of telemedicine service without having to seek external advice from third party experts.
  5. Concentrate On Making Patients Satisfied – The improvement of patient experience is, ultimately, the biggest goal of telemedicine. The race is on to provide a convenient, but efficient, way to provide medical services without forcing a patient to leave the comforts of their home or office. Heading in this direction makes it much easier (and cheaper) for more and more people to reach out to health providers and quickly get checked up. Once people get used to speaking with their physicians through online visitation, there is little doubt that it will become the preferred mode of healthcare in America and the world – that is, until the situation requires an actual physical visit.

TukkoMed helps keep physicians updated with the latest trends in medical service. We also assist those who are interested in Qualified Medical Evaluation for the State of California. If a life in service of the American worker is what you seek, you’re in the right place. Contact us now!