5 Signs You Need Telemedicine in Your Office

Telemedicine (also interchangeably called “telehealth”) is revolutionizing the healthcare industry and it shows no signs of slowing down. In one recent study, 77% of people said they would consider seeing a provider virtually. Such a high demand does not go unnoticed. 44% of medical practices made introducing and improving telemedicine their top priority in 2017.

We’ve identified 5 signs that you need telemedicine in your office. If any of these signs sound familiar, it’s time to seriously consider integrating telemedicine soon.

1. Your Practice Needs Some Growing Room.

Let’s look at the benefits of telemedicine from a business perspective. Without telemedicine, your practice is greatly limited by geography. You might be the most knowledgeable and capable expert in a certain specialty or condition, but you may very well miss the opportunity to work with a patient just because you operate in a different zip code.

Telemedicine eliminates geographical boundaries and enables your practice to expand organically to serve the patients that most need your assistance.

2. Your Customers Need to Reach You.

Sometimes, patients become critically ill, or even die, because they can’t readily access their healthcare provider’s office. Whether at-risk patients happen to be elderly, disabled, isolated or impoverished, they can benefit from telemedicine visits as an alternative to ignoring or suffering potentially serious medical issues.

Telemedicine makes medical assistance just one internet connection away. Patients who can’t travel or have accessibility issues would now be able to connect to your office and receive assistance with minimal effort.

3. You Have Patients Who Could Benefit From Ongoing Support.

Telemedicine really does have a life-or-death impact on patients, especially with the availability of remote monitoring. With the right tools, doctors can constantly follow up on patient analytics.

A recent report found that using remote monitoring technology to keep tabs on a patient’s blood sugar or cardiopulmonary disease can reduce the risk of patient mortality by up to 45%.

4. You Want to Streamline Operations and Satisfy Customers.

It turns out that making life more convenient for your practice, and saving more lives, makes both your employees and your customers extremely happy to work with you. The satisfaction rates for telemedicine are remarkable.

86% of doctors and 83% of patients have reported that they were satisfied with the level of care given/received. That’s good for keeping your patients and your practice healthy.

5. You Want More Cost-effective Tools.

Incorporating virtual capabilities into your business almost always comes with cost savings. For instance, if you perform 30% of your business via telemedicine, you can increase your volume without extra expense for office space and equipment to accommodate those patients.

You and your customers will also save time and money with reduced travel and schedule disruption. Some routine appointments, such as prescription refills for example, can be handled over a patient’s (or provider’s) lunch break.

Telemedicine is typically covered by insurance plans at the same rate as an in-office visit, so you can apply that savings over a quarter/year to see the quantitative benefits.

Do You Need Telemedicine in Your Office?

At this point you probably know that you’ll need to incorporate telemedicine in one way or another. Not only do you want to remain competitive, but, more importantly, you also want to embrace any opportunity to improve your business and the lives of your patients.

RWA has experience providing network solutions specifically suited for telemedicine and HIPAA compliance. If you are interested in learning more about telemedicine for your practice, please give us a call or send us a message and we’ll be happy to chat with you.