Virtual care is the new face of healthcare. Here are five reasons why you must integrate telemedicine at your practice.
The healthcare industry is evolving at a rapid pace as practitioners embrace digital technology and look for innovative ways to enhance the delivery of care. Telemedicine today has become the buzz word of the global healthcare industry. With the increasing competition in the sector and squeezed revenues, virtual care is breaking down barriers that can potentially impede patients’ access to medical care.
As virtual care takes the industry by storm, traditional physician visits are declining at an astounding rate. The average number of annual in-person physician visits has declined since 2001, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The only glaring reason underlying this trend remains the strengthening of virtual care and increased patient access to care through online services. Americans are embracing telemedicine to a surprising degree, for a range of medical concerns, including primary care follow-ups, psychiatry, obstetrics, chronic pain management, and so forth.
Here are important reasons as to why physicians must include telemedicine as an integral component of their healthcare services to reap mutual benefits for both the physicians and the patients:
Convenient Healthcare Solution
As technology has evolved, it has paved the path for the evolution of safe and effective platforms whereby patients can comfortably communicate with a doctor certified medical certificates to seek advice, very conveniently through their devices, such as a smartphone or a computer. It breaks away geographic barriers to make healthcare access much more accessible. From the perspective of the provider, video conferencing capabilities allow treating multiple patients at the same time frame. Providers can remotely evaluate their patients’ symptoms, diagnose their illnesses, and prescribe effective treatment plans in real-time. Networking and collaboration with other specialists are also facilitated with telemedicine. Hence, virtual care is a convenient healthcare solution for both the patients and the provider.
Enhanced Patient/Provider Satisfaction
The patient satisfaction aspect of telemedicine primarily hinges on convenience and the quality of care delivered. According to a recent patient satisfaction survey conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), 68 percent of the patients rated telemedicine as 9 or 10 on a ten-point scale[1]. At the same time, it improves patient engagement in personal health, encouraging them to stay healthy and fit. The flexibility offered by this care model, coupled with real-time interaction with the provider, all collectively help enhance patient satisfaction.
Interestingly, healthcare providers are also more satisfied with telemedicine as compared to traditional in-office visits. They face less burnout and can better achieve work-life balance, hence enjoying higher job satisfaction. According to FPM, physicians typically spend 50.7 hours per week on work, with only 67 percent of the time spent on face-to-face patient care. The remaining 33 percent is directed towards administrative tasks. Telemedicine allows the combining of these tasks, thereby freeing up time to accommodate more virtual patients during regular work hours.
Reduced Healthcare Costs
Telemedicine has proven to improve the quality of care while simultaneously reducing the cost of healthcare. Owing to the efficiency of care delivery associated with telemedicine, the patients save numerous costs of care, including transportation, expensive hospitalization, time and effort related to ER visits, and so forth. According to a recent study, telemedicine care had 19 percent savings over inpatient care costs[2]. Another study identified that with telemedicine, patients experienced 38 percent fewer hospital admissions, and 31 percent fewer hospital re-admissions, thereby enjoying considerable cost savings[3].
Improved Patient Outcomes
With improved access to care and reduced healthcare costs, patient outcomes are significantly enhanced via telemedicine. Preventive care is mainly facilitated by this care model, improving their long-term health. This is especially true for people with geographic or financial barriers to quality care. At the same time, it reduces the exposure of patients to other dangerous infections that they have to face during inpatient visits. Hence, telemedicine eliminates the risk of picking up germs at the physician’s office, especially for people with weak immune systems. Moreover, since it is convenient and accessible, it makes it easy for people to seek medical advice amid their busy work schedules.
Increased Practice Revenue
Telemedicine offers a road to higher revenue. As physicians can see more patients through virtual platforms, they tend to make more money. At the same time, they are reimbursed for several interactions during telemedicine that does not necessitate the patient’s in-person presence. Moreover, telehealth allows the physicians to replace uncompensated phone calls with virtual visits, and document and bill for that time. Also, as telemedicine boosts patient satisfaction levels, your patients become loyal and prefer to stick to you, again increasing your revenue. Finally, you can reduce no-shows through telemedicine, which can otherwise cost your practice tens of thousands a year.
Telemedicine is increasingly becoming a mainstream healthcare tool, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). As the global crisis has forced healthcare institutions to turn towards alternative care delivery models, telemedicine has presented itself as the ideal solution for the delivery of convenient and quality healthcare.
[1] https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/virtual-video-visits-may-improve-patient-convenience-without-sacrificing-quality-of-care-communication
[2] https://www.todaysgeriatricmedicine.com/archive/0313p20.shtml
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