The ROI of Telehealth: Measuring the Financial Benefits for Your Healthcare Practice


META-8-1024x538 The ROI of Telehealth: Measuring the Financial Benefits for Your Healthcare Practice

Many healthcare organizations hesitate to move ahead with healthcare software development due to the presumptions of lower return on investment. Given the higher cost of custom telemedicine software and other concerns, the concern and hesitation is fair.

However, this statistic might prove you wrong. With JeffConnect—Jefferson Health’s telemedicine platform—the practice managed to save somewhere between $300 to $1500 per visit for the hospital. And at the same time, with the custom telemedicine software, the practice also helped its patients save from $19 to $121 per visit.

Though there are many challenges in operating a healthcare practice from increased overhead costs to costly healthcare equipment, everything only adds up to the increasing expenditure of the practice. However, with telemedicine software development, healthcare practices can significantly reduce their spending and save on operations, which will indirectly result in a higher return on investment for healthcare practices. Furthermore, an interesting finding by the Federal Communications Commission states that with telehealth technologies, the US healthcare industry can save up to $305 billion annually.

But how does telehealth offer these financial benefits by reducing operational costs, improving patient outcomes, and increasing revenue for healthcare practices?

Well, in this blog post, we’ll overlook the benefits of custom telemedicine software over off-the-shelf and how it helps healthcare practices to reduce their operational costs, improve patient outcomes and increase their revenue.

So, without further ado, let’s dive deep into the intricacies of telemedicine solution development and why it offers higher ROI for healthcare practices.

Reduced Operational Costs Through Telehealth

Reduced-Operational-Costs-Through-Telehealth-1024x576 The ROI of Telehealth: Measuring the Financial Benefits for Your Healthcare Practice

In a traditional healthcare setting, the operational cost of a healthcare practice is quite high with rent, utilities and staff, etc. All these are the necessary needs of a healthcare practice, but with the option of virtual care delivery, it is now possible to save significantly on the operational costs of running a healthcare facility.

For instance, with custom telemedicine software development, you can literally run your healthcare practice from anywhere, and patients can connect with you without even needing to visit the clinic. This eliminates the need for a physical space, which reduces the need for in-person visits.

This way you save on rents, utilities and even on staff members, which reduces your expenditure with high margin of cost saving based on average costs per patient visit.

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Increased Efficiency and Productivity

When you develop custom telemedicine software for healthcare, it has the potential to become a one-stop solution for managing your healthcare practice contributing to increasing the overall practice’s efficiency and productivity.

For instance, most of the time-consuming tasks involved in traditional patient care, such as appointment scheduling, documentation, and travel, can be streamlined. With patient portals, you give patients the freedom to book their appointments and reflect that directly into your calendar. Apart from that, all the documents can also be accessed over the patient portal with EHR integration. And given the virtual mode of care delivery, there is no need for both parties to travel anywhere.

All these automated processes in telemedicine solution development allow healthcare providers to consult more patients in less time, leading to increased efficiency and productivity. This increase in patient volume will directly lead to increased revenue. Furthermore, with the factor of convenience you’re giving to your patients it leads to higher patient satisfaction, increasing patient loyalty.

Improved Patient Outcomes and Reduced Costs

Improved-Patient-Outcomes-and-Reduced-Costs-1024x594 The ROI of Telehealth: Measuring the Financial Benefits for Your Healthcare Practice

Everything in healthcare is some or the other way connected with patient outcomes. If you are delivering results to your patients with improved outcomes it will automatically reduce healthcare costs. Furthermore, with telemedicine software customizations you get enough means to increase patient engagement with their healthcare journey.

For instance, with custom telemedicine software, you can improve patient adherence to treatment with custom reminders, alerts, and other remote monitoring features. Apart from that, to empower patients to make necessary lifestyle changes, you can provide them with specially curated educational material. Along with that, to encourage self-management, you can equip them with remote monitoring tools to help them keep track of their process.

In this way, with custom telemedicine software for hospitals, healthcare practices can easily reduce hospital readmission and emergency room visits which makes up most of the healthcare practice’s expenditure. Along with that, with improved patient outcomes you create a splendid image of your practice reputation which will not only encourage other patients to take healthcare services from you but also result in optimum utilization of resources.

Expanded Patient Reach and Increased Revenue

Other than the many financial benefits of custom telemedicine software for hospitals, the major of it is that it allows the healthcare practice to expand their reach to underserved and rural areas. This would be almost impossible in a traditional setting where the patients would have to travel to the hospital to recieve care.

However, with custom telemedicine software development, all the patients in rural and underserved areas require is an internet connection. Having said that, with increase in reach the patient volume will naturally increase leading to better revenue generation and significant cost saving venture for both patients and providers.

With additional healthcare services provided to the patients and an increase in patient volume, the cost of developing telemedicine software would be easily covered, leading to a steep increase in revenue and better healthcare practices.

Leveraging Data Analytics for Financial Optimization

Leveraging-Data-Analytics-for-Financial-Optimization-1024x576 The ROI of Telehealth: Measuring the Financial Benefits for Your Healthcare Practice

Last but not least, as the healthcare industry continues to move towards a completely digital landscape, data analytics will be the major factor contributing to its success. These data analytics will not only help the practice in enhancing their operations but also imbibe data-driven healthcare practices.

Along with that, the custom telehealth software creates a digital record of your every health visit and care activity. This includes what the patient says, what the healthcare provider says, and sometimes, measurements like blood pressure or weight. This information then can be used by healthcare providers to understand the patient’s health better, track changes over time, and find patterns that can improve care for everyone.

Along with the data collected for patient care, the custom telemedicine software also acts as a healthcare software where it will also generate reports on the operational side of the practice. This data can be used to identify the potential gaps in care delivery which can be used to identify cost-saving opportunities and make changes in your practice to increase the return on investment.

Conclusion

Custom telemedicine software has many advantages, from allowing healthcare practice to better resource allocation to reducing overall healthcare expenditure. However, to achieve that, you need to partner with a reputed telemedicine software development company that can help you in harnessing all the benefits of custom telehealth software.

Along with that, by ingraining data-based healthcare delivery to improve patient outcomes, the ROI of telemedicine software goes beyond the financial advantage that it provides. However, to enjoy the maximum benefits, you need to know the benefits of custom telemedicine software over off-the-shelf software, but that is a topic for another blog.

Until then let’s get started by improving ROI for your healthcare practice with telemedicine app development.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between custom and off-the-shelf telemedicine software?

Custom telemedicine software is tailored to a specific healthcare provider’s needs, offering precise features and integrations. It’s more expensive and time-consuming to develop but aligns perfectly with unique workflows. Off-the-shelf software is a pre-built solution with standard features, offering quicker implementation and lower costs. However, it might not fully meet specific requirements.

2. Why should I consider custom telemedicine software over an off-the-shelf solution?

Custom telemedicine software offers tailored solutions aligned with your unique practice needs, ensuring better patient experience, efficient workflows, and seamless integration with existing systems. This flexibility often outweighs the higher initial cost compared to off-the-shelf alternatives.

3. How can I measure the ROI of custom telemedicine software?

Measure ROI by tracking increased patient volume, reduced overhead (rent, staffing), improved patient satisfaction, and higher revenue. Analyze software usage data, patient feedback, and financial metrics. Compare these results to pre-software figures to calculate ROI.

4. What is the typical cost of developing custom telemedicine software?

Developing custom telemedicine software typically costs between $40,000 to $300,000. The exact price depends on factors like features, complexity, design, platform, and development team location. Simpler apps with basic features cost less, while advanced solutions with many integrations can be more expensive.

5. How long does it take to develop custom telemedicine software?

Developing custom telemedicine software typically takes 4-8 months. The exact timeline depends on factors like complexity, features, integrations, and team size. Smaller, basic platforms may be built faster, while comprehensive solutions with advanced features require more time.

6. What essential features should a custom telemedicine platform include?

Essential features for a custom telemedicine platform include:

  • Secure video and audio conferencing
  • Patient and provider portals
  • Electronic health record integration
  • Appointment scheduling
  • E-prescribing
  • Secure messaging
  • Patient data privacy
  • Compatibility with various devices
7. Can custom telemedicine software be integrated with my existing practice management system?

Yes, custom telemedicine software can often be integrated with existing practice management systems. This integration allows for seamless patient data transfer, appointment scheduling synchronization, and streamlined billing processes, improving overall efficiency and patient experience.

8. How do you ensure patient data security in custom telemedicine software?

Ensuring patient data security in custom telemedicine software involves:

  • Robust encryption for data transmission and storage
  • Strong access controls
  • Regular security audits
  • HIPAA compliance
  • Secure data disposal
  • Employee training on data handling protocols
9. Will my custom telemedicine software meet industry compliance standards?

Whether your custom telemedicine software meets industry compliance standards depends on rigorous adherence to regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and state-specific laws. Key areas to focus on include data security, privacy, patient consent, and electronic health record interoperability. Consulting with legal and healthcare IT experts is crucial for ensuring compliance.

Ganesh Varahade

Founder & CEO of Thinkitive Technologies.

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