“Can everybody please mute your mics?”
“Did you send her the meeting link?”
“Sorry I’m late, I couldn’t access the software. Can you recap what I missed?”
From the virtual morning team meeting to the Zoom happy hour at the end of the week, we’re getting used to asking a new set of questions in the workplace thanks to social distancing. It is a healthcare provider’s job to ask questions during a patient visit, but the questions above have no place in that conversation. It is your job to ask the right questions now to find a virtual care platform that will securely and consistently connect providers with patients. To hone in on the best telehealth solution for your network, start with these questions:
1. How quickly can we implement a virtual care platform that the whole organization can use?
Time is of the essence as lives hang in the balance. The immediate implementation of an enterprise virtual care solution is necessary to deliver care to all of your patients. It may be tempting to jump for a free video-only product, but such products don’t have robust features, making virtual care inefficient. Enterprise virtual care platforms are created to manage the lifecycle of telehealth, from scheduling and waiting room management, to the video exam, discharge, billing, and reporting.
2. Will the telehealth solution compete for our patients?
Many vendors in the virtual care market are themselves healthcare providers with direct-to-consumer offerings that compete for your patients. You need a telehealth solution that enables your providers to see their own patients.
3. Is the platform HIPAA compliant?
You need to focus on care, not worry about the privacy and security of patient information and you should never have to worry about HIPAA compliance with a telehealth platform. You don’t want to be left scrambling to replace your non-compliant platform once the current state of emergency is lifted, and violation penalties will be enforced for those still using those products for telehealth.
4. Will the telehealth platform adapt to our security protocols?
Your organization’s security and privacy are paramount. You need a platform that doesn’t require complex workarounds in order to work within the stringent security protocols you’ve put into place to protect patient data.
5. Is the platform configurable to our needs and workflows?
Whether scheduling, intake, billing, or prescribing, your processes are unique and your network should be in control, with your telehealth platform enhancing your existing patient workflows, not acting as a bottleneck.
6. Will it integrate with our EMR?
Your clinicians use your EMR every day, so integration between your EMR and virtual care platform is a must-have. eVisit consolidates it all, giving providers all of the information they need, so they can focus on what’s most important. The platform works with over 50 supported EMRs to bring virtual care into your data collection and workflow.
7. Will the product enhance productivity?
Your staff and providers can save an average of 30 minutes per patient visit with eVisit. This built-in efficiency gives your organization the potential to reduce the administrative load on office staff. Many free telehealth products don’t have robust provider and patient features, which may negate the built-in efficiencies of a paid virtual care product.
Are you ready to get started with eVisit?
The novel coronavirus pandemic requires healthcare organizations to answer the question of how to deliver healthcare to everyone, everywhere. eVisit is a HIPAA-compliant, non-competitive, highly configurable, integrated, and adaptive solution that will allow your providers to conduct billable appointments with patients. Even better, eVisit offers unlimited access to their Customer Success and Technical Solutions teams for you and your patients.
