The Rise of Telehealth Platforms: How They are Changing Healthcare Delivery
The healthcare industry has always been on the verge of sophistication ever since technology has become an integral part of it. Streamlining care for everyone involved is a rough patch, and the traditional healthcare delivery system has made an effort to achieve it. That attempt has been successful in spreading awareness about healthy lifestyles, but it had many loopholes that somewhere marked the failure of some healthcare institutes.
For instance, a study in Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States will probably face a shortage of almost 86000 physicians by 2036. This marks the very first challenge or failure of traditional healthcare practices – accessibility.
Apart from that, an American Hospital Association report states that as many as 3.6 million people miss out on healthcare every year due to transportation limitations. To solve these problems, the frontrunners of the healthcare industry have been on the lookout for a revolutionary approach to find a way out.
Interestingly, at the peak of these problems, healthcare institutes around the world started the telehealth platform adoption trends.
Telehealth platform benefits for patients can potentially solve all the loopholes that existed in the traditional healthcare industry. And that explains the telehealth platform adoption trends amongst healthcare providers.
But while virtual care solutions for healthcare delivery have been on the rise, what will be its impact on the modern-day healthcare landscape?
Well, let’s find that out in this blog below!
Bringing in Convenience & Accessibility in Healthcare
The two major factors that telehealth platform features and functionalities bring in are convenience and accessibility to healthcare services. For instance, remote patient monitoring with telehealth platforms becomes much easier for both patients and providers.
Enabling remote consultations allows healthcare providers to connect with patients virtually in real time, completely eliminating geographical barriers and transportation needs. Along with that, the day-to-day schedules of healthcare providers are often occupied and unorganized. Telehealth platforms benefit patients here by allowing them to be more flexible with their appointments. This helps healthcare providers in streamlining their appointments and reduce waiting times with quicker healthcare delivery.
In underserved areas, access to a healthcare specialist is quite hard to imagine without any struggle. Telehealth platforms used as virtual care solutions for healthcare delivery can bridge the gap between patients and specialists, improving access to care services and, ultimately, their health.
Guide to Common Telehealth Consultations
Free DownloadEmpowering Patients to Actively Participate in their Healthcare Journey
One of the major telehealth platform benefits for patients is that it gives them more control over their health. Along with that, telehealth platform features and functionalities empower them to proactively participate in their healthcare journey. But how do virtual care solutions for healthcare delivery increase patient engagement? Well, here is how telehealth platforms do it:
1. Personalized Care: Telehealth platforms are curated in such a way that they facilitate personalized care plans for patients with personalized dashboards, SOAP notes-taking during consultation, and other features that help providers curate a personalized care plan for every individual patient. Furthermore, telehealth platform integration with EHR systems provides providers with insightful details about the patient’s medical history, which plays a crucial role in developing personalized care plans. Apart from that, sending condition-specific educational material through communication channels further helps provide personalized healthcare services to every patient.
2. Proactive Health Management: Telehealth platform features and functionalities are designed to empower patients to manage their health proactively. For instance, with the use of telehealth platforms, patients can keep track of their health and monitor it in between appointments through features like medication reminders and symptom trackers. This helps patients to easily keep track of their health and make modifications accordingly with increased telehealth platform accessibility and usability.
3. Improved Patient-Provider Communication: Telehealth platform accessibility and usability are among its major advantages. Giving patients control of their health enables easier communication between patients and providers through secure real-time messaging and video consultations. By enhancing communication and bridging the gaps that usually exist between two appointments.
Features You Must Have – Telehealth Platform Feature Checklist
Free DownloadValue-based Care by Increasing Efficiency
Telehealth eliminates the need to travel to the healthcare facility, which helps in reducing healthcare costs. Along with that, telehealth platform reimbursement and insurance coverage comes in co-pay schemes which further adds in reducing the overall expenditure on care services. Afterall with telehealth platform integration with EHR systems, a video conferencing is how providers and patients connect.
On the other hand, it helps providers better manage their resources and reduce the overhead expense by proper utilization of resources. Taking a step further, by improving appointment utilization, telehealth platforms have significantly helped providers in reducing no-shows and appointment cancellations. This has led to an increase in the efficiency of healthcare practice.
Telehealth platform regulations and compliance require providers to develop telehealth software that can streamline clinical workflows. By integrating themselves in the very first step of healthcare delivery, telehealth platforms streamline appointments and, while defining the clinical workflow, also streamline every aspect of care delivery. Along with that, automating most of the administrative tasks and improving data accessibility helps providers provide value-based care with personalized care to improve patient outcomes.
Cost-Effectiveness
Telehealth consultations have proven to be a successful venture to reduce healthcare costs for both patients and providers. For instance, patients get to save on transportation and missed work hours and providers can save on overhead costs associated with in-person visits and put their time and resources to better use.
Along with that, the telehealth platform benefits for patients by instilling preventive care measures in its care delivery workflow. Especially in chronic disease management which leads to fewer hospital readmissions and emergency visits.
Conclusion
Remote patient monitoring with telehealth platforms helps patients, providers, and the healthcare system as a whole by changing the nature of healthcare delivery from reactive to proactive. It enables personalized care and encourages patients to participate proactively in their care journey.
In a nutshell, telehealth platforms help streamline the entire healthcare industry, enhancing usability and accessibility. Telehealth platform privacy and security measures, along with EHR integration, have already initiated the revolution of the healthcare industry, and further advancements in technology and its integration can literally change the way we receive care.
Telehealth platforms have lucrative benefits that have inspired healthcare providers across the globe to adopt them in their clinical workflows. However, their integration and implementation can be as complex as they simplify care. But worry no—we’ve got you covered. Click here to book a free consultation, and let’s start developing your virtual healthcare practice today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Telehealth is nothing but the use remote technologies like video conferencing for consultations and other healthcare services, while traditional care happens in person at a doctor’s office. So, instead of traveling to a clinic, you can see a healthcare provider from the comfort of your home.
Various telehealth platform privacy and security measures are employed to ensure patient privacy and data security. These include:
- HIPAA compliance: Telehealth platforms must adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, safeguarding patient medical information.
- Secure data encryption: Sensitive data is encrypted during transmission and storage, rendering it unreadable by unauthorized individuals.
A wide range of medical services can be accessed through telehealth platforms, including primary care, mental health counseling, dermatology, and chronic disease management.
Scheduling telehealth appointments can be done through a provider’s online portal or phone call, or self-scheduling options can even be offered. Once scheduled, communication usually happens through video chat or secure messaging within the provider’s telehealth platform.
Telehealth platform reimbursment and insurance coverage varies by insurance plan. Some plans cover it entirely, while others require a copay. Billing is similar to in-person visits, though you may be charged a facility fee.
The key technical requirements for telehealth consultations are:
- Stable internet connection: Reliable internet with minimum download and upload speeds is crucial for a smooth video call.
- Device with camera and microphone: A computer, tablet, or smartphone with a webcam and microphone is essential for the video conferencing aspect of the consultation.
These basic requirements will allow you to participate in most telehealth consultations.
Telehealth platforms address healthcare disparities by:
- Increasing access to specialists in remote areas
- Reducing transportation barriers
- Offering more flexible appointment scheduling
- Providing language translation services
Telehealth platform regulations and compliance cover privacy, licensing, prescribing, and reimbursement. HIPAA governs data security. Each state has licensing requirements for telehealth providers. Controlled substances may have restrictions for telehealth prescribing. Reimbursement varies by payer.
Telehealth platforms integrate with existing healthcare systems and electronic health records (EHRs) through various methods:
- Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): APIs allow secure exchange of data between telehealth platforms and EHRs. This enables transfer of patient demographics, medical history, medications, and other relevant data.
- Direct integrations: Some EHR vendors offer built-in telehealth functionalities, allowing seamless data exchange within the same system.
- Data standardization: The adoption of standardized formats like HL7 FHIR facilitates smooth data flow between telehealth platforms and disparate EHR systems.
These integrations improve care coordination, enhance data accessibility for clinicians, and promote continuity of care for patients.
Telehealth adoption faces hurdles like patients lacking access to technology or digital literacy and concerns about privacy. Solutions include infrastructure investment in underserved areas, training programs to improve usability, and robust security measures to protect patient data.
