Telehealth has seen progressive adoption over the past several years, with COVID accelerating adoption even faster than anticipated. However, in a rush to implement virtual visits, many practices operate telehealth visits as an “exception process” to the existing bricks-and-mortar business model. In other words, the only digital component other than the patient portal is the actual telehealth technology visit itself.
Virtual doctors’ visits are not going away. Consumer expectation for high-quality, convenient, and efficient digital access to care will only increase over the long term. Many organizations are reviewing lessons-learned from recent telehealth implementations and seeking to improve the virtual visit business model for both patients and providers.
Virtual Visits and the Virtual Business Model
The best virtual visit technology solutions start with developing the virtual business model for the digital services being offered. Understanding the complete end-to-end process of a virtual visit, including all pre-visit and post-visit processes, is key to designing a simple, efficient, and continuous solution that makes sense. For example, having to manually call or visit the office to register, fill-out paperwork, or schedule a virtual visit with a primary care provider, increases friction for both the office and patients.
Once the complete end-to-end process, including all pre-visit and post-visit activities, have been identified, the technology components required to enable each step in the process can be identified.
Technology Needed to Enable the Virtual Visit Business Model
Many health organizations are moving towards technology solutions that address all of the end-to-end process components of a typical virtual visit, including:
- Self-intake and Registration
- Self-scheduling and Appointments
- Online Payments
- Virtual Visit/ Tele-video
- Device Integration
- EMR Integration
- Patient Health Record
- Post Visit ePrescriptions, Treatments and eReferrals
- Post Visit Surveys
- Advance Analytics and BI Reporting
Learn how the Healthfully telehealth solution simplifies hospital and doctor visits.
Tele-Video Is Not the Only Communication Technology Needed
Most virtual visits are often synchronous tele-video sessions between the patient and the provider. However, communications including both synchronous and asynchronous are usually required to support the pre-visit and post-visit components, including:
- Secure messaging
- Notifications, Reminders, and To-dos
- Direct private calls (e.g. WhatsApp)
- Group video (e.g. add a family member, translator, or another provider)
- Moderated Health Communities
- Surveys
For most health organizations, enabling virtual visits is more than simply deploying telehealth technology on top of a patient portal. When considering telehealth solutions, consider the end-to-end process of a virtual visit business model, including pre-visit and post-visit activities that should be supported through a unified technology platform.
Are you still trying to decide how to implement telehealth? Contact our team for a consultation today.