Teleconferencing has become increasingly common for health practitioners and patients across the world. It’s convenient, cost-effective, and easier than ever for people to utilize. Despite the advantages, many doctors have chosen not to implement teleconferencing in their practice, as some challenges come along with doing so.
Luckily, these challenges aren’t insurmountable to overcome. Here are some best practices on how your practice can overcome the four most common challenges with teleconferencing.
1. Reimbursement
As a doctor, it’s your duty to heal and help people through your medical practice. However, at the end of the day, you’re still running a business and there are expenses to be paid at the end of the day. Unless you make money, you can’t stay open. This means you need to make your business successful and attract patients to your practice. And what’s the best way to do that?
By convincing your prospective clientele of the value and effectiveness of your services, you can drive them to your practice by promising a positive experience. Implementing teleconferencing in your practice shows that you’re up to date with the industry and care about your patient’s convenience. You also need to make sure your technology platform can track expenses and patient records as well. Also, keep in mind that because of COVID-19, Medicare was extended to help cover patients costs for telemedicine visits.
2. Connection
In teleconferencing, the connectivity between the two parties is of utmost importance. Whether it’s on your side or your patient’s side, a failure to connect for technological reasons can ruin a health teleconferencing visit immediately. Make sure your teleconferencing and WiFi platforms are fully implemented and understood by your employees. Ensure your internal staff is well-trained for using health teleconferencing software and hardware. You also need to make sure you have a solid, consistent process for onboarding and setting up new patients before you see them. One of the pioneers in the telehealth industry is OTTO Health conferencing technology, an organization that has focused on improving teleconferencing technology for several decades.
3. Physician Buy-In
It's human nature to hang on to tried and tested solutions. This is also true in the medical industry as well. Even though physicians are well-educated, it doesn’t mean they’re always eager to try the latest thing. This is why despite its popularity and effectiveness teleconferencing hasn’t become the norm in the medical industry. Many physicians are either set in their ways or conservative about the kind of care they offer. If you’re one of them, then you might want to reconsider the pros and cons of teleconferencing.
Many industry experts have forecasted in the last few years that teleconferencing would become the standard in the future. And in light of the current pandemic, it seems that remote healthcare might become the norm. A teleconferencing setup definitely involves some upfront payment, but considering the cost savings, time saved, and convenience, it’s a worthwhile investment. Depending on your practice, per minute charge for a teleconference call session can range from five to seven cents which is quite affordable. If you’re looking for video conferencing facilities, then the price can range between 15 to 40 cents on average.
4. Integration
One of the most significant issues that many medical practices face once they expand is handling the large number of records and financial documentations. In most cases, the basic record-keeping systems are not sufficient and the lack of efficiency is caused by software limitations. However, integrating a new big system can be too much for many medical practices. This is where the telehealth systems and services in the market come into play. The best telehealth systems have robust API’s that can be programmed to integrate with a variety of systems.
Many of them are capable of being integrated into patient and payment recordkeeping alongside providing teleconferencing services which take a huge load off your back. They can also be integrated with other record-keeping services as well if required. Thus, the limitations turn into strengths when you can leverage additional software power to offer better services and run your office more efficiently.
Leverage Teleconferencing At Your Practice
Teleconferencing has long been touted as the future of healthcare and it has been proven correct. By harnessing the power of teleconferencing you can easily sustain your medical practice even during tough times. There might be some challenges at first getting acclimated with the system itself and training your employees, but the long-term benefits are definitely worth it.