9 Reasons You Need 24/7 Telehealth Options
COVID-19 forced a paradigm shift already in motion to move even faster. Here are 9 reasons every business and medical practice needs 24/7 telehealth options.
Telehealth visits between healthcare providers and patients have never been as popular as they are now. The current state of the world has pushed these services to the forefront of many providers’ minds and business plans.
This type of visit allows healthcare providers to offer their patients a full range of services and can meet many more needs.
While it can feel overwhelming to dive into a new way of treatment if you haven’t done anything like it before, there are so many benefits that will make the extra effort worth it. We’ve compiled a list of the top nine reasons to add 24/7 Telehealth options to your practice as soon as you can!
1. Easier Scheduling
A major hurdle that many patients face is scheduling a time to get in to see their healthcare provider. Between work and home responsibilities, it’s very hard to find a time that’s free. Let alone a time that also has an opening.
Telemedicine allows the patient to fit in a visit in much smaller time periods. They don’t have to account for traveling to and from the office or for as much waiting room time.
This allows for a much simpler task for the patient which will lead to more regular visits as well.
2. Quick Check-Ins
Many patients will avoid getting into their healthcare providers on a regular basis because they don’t feel a full visit is necessary. Maybe they just need one little thing checked out or have a simple question. Getting to and from the appointment will take longer than the appointment itself.
The short, quick nature of the visits is one of the biggest benefits of telemedicine. This way patients can turn to their provider (or their representative) instead of Google!
3. Customizable Options
Not every healthcare provider offers the same services, so naturally not all Telehealth services should be the same either.
Telehealth can be customized to fit your practice’s specific needs and be altered to give you the ability to give the best treatment you can. You can have full, videoed visits or you could turn to a medical answering service to help treat your patients. Whatever works best for your patients is the right choice.
4. Reduces Infections
Obviously infection and spreading illness is at the forefront of many people’s minds these days and is a reason why you need Telehealth.
When a sick patient can see their provider virtually, it completely eliminates the risk of sharing germs and getting each other sick. Even if a provider decides that the patient needs to be seen in person, more precautions can be taken to reduce the risk since there’s more information upfront.
Telehealth visits make everyone, (patients, providers, aids, and office staff) much safer in the long run.
5. Eases Patient Anxiety
More than 3% of the adult population report feeling anxiety surrounding a doctor’s visit. This can be because they don’t know what to expect, they don’t have their support system with them, or because it’s a new experience overall.
Seeing a healthcare provider remotely can greatly reduce those anxiety levels in many patients.
They have the opportunity to be in control of several aspects of the visit. It also allows them to start to develop a relationship with their provider before seeing them in person and having more interactions.
6. HIPPA Compliant
One of the biggest concerns with most healthcare providers, when they’re implementing a new service, is how to make it HIPPA compliant. Every service needs to fit within the HIPPA guidelines or else the provider can face major negative consequences.
Luckily, it’s relatively easy to make sure your Telehealth or answering service options are compliant.
The system needs to be secured, just like any other in a medical office. And the documentation will use the same program as in-person visits. So most providers won’t have difficulty making the switch.
7. Low Overhead Cost
In many cases, the healthcare office will already have most of the equipment it needs in order to start offering Telehealth visits. They likely have the computers necessary but may need to purchase some software options.
If the healthcare provider wants to outsource some of their Telehealth services, they’ll have to find the right company to work with. Luckily, most services of this nature are relatively inexpensive and won’t add too much to their overhead budget.
The costs are well worth it for the increase in patient satisfaction.
8. Increases Efficiency
The success of a healthcare office depends largely on its ability to work efficiently. Every patient brings in more revenue, so they want to see as many as possible.
Telehealth visits make every aspect of healthcare more efficient. Patients can fill out their check-in forms online, have much less wait time, and documentation is integrated into the visit.
9. Improves Customer Service
Telehealth visits eliminate a lot of the fluff from a healthcare visit and allow the patient to experience better customer service. They often have more access to their providers and can get more specific information.
There’s less of a rush to move patients through and a schedule is easier to keep this way. Most patients will see that the benefits of Telehealth far outweigh the downsides and will come to prefer this option over others or traditional visits.
Offering 24/7 Telehealth Options
The goal of every healthcare practice is to offer their patients the best care possible. Ideally, like a medical answering service, you want service available 24 hours a day. Reaching this aim makes everyone happy and keeps the clinic successful. And sometimes the best way to do that is to change things up and add in new services.
Telehealth is full of great opportunities right now. It can be applicable to every type of healthcare and work for almost every patient, at least in some capacity. Once you’re started it’s easy to adapt and customize to fit the specific needs of your clinic and patients. There are very few downsides, which is another reason it has become so popular.
If you’re interested in adding an answering service to your Telehealth options, contact us today to get a free quote!
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