Seeking a virtual care platform? Here are seven critical questions to ask your vendor before you make your choice.
Telemedicine has inevitably reached its pinnacle during the recent public health emergency. Virtual care has evolved as the new norm in the healthcare industry. However, it is subject to technological barriers and limitations, which must necessarily be addressed to deliver quality care.
Start with these vital questions with your telemedicine vendor to hone in on the best telehealth solution for your practice:
Is the platform configurable to my needs and workflows?
You don’t want software that acts as a bottleneck to your existing workflows. Instead, your virtual care platform must necessarily enhance your existing patient workflows – scheduling, patient intake, billing, prescribing, discharge, etc.
How quickly can I implement a virtual care platform?
Time is of great essence in the healthcare delivery process. Immediate implementation of an enterprise-wide telemedicine solution is of utmost importance to deliver timely care to your patients. You must seek a robust virtual care platform with embedded specialty features to make virtual care efficient. And this platform must be scalable to the entire organization for efficient management of the telehealth lifecycle – from scheduling and waiting room management to video exam, discharge, billing, and reporting.
Is the virtual care platform HIPAA compliant?
Delivering care online is subject to numerous security and privacy concerns. But you don’t want to waste your time and effort looking into this, do you? You want to focus on care instead. Hence, when selecting your telemedicine solution, make sure it is HIPAA-compliant so you can avoid any violation penalties.
Can the virtual care platform adapt to my security protocols?
Your practice’s security and privacy are incredibly critical. Hence, you need a virtual care platform that doesn’t require complicated workarounds to manage stringent security protocols that you already have in place. Make sure you pose this question to your telemedicine vendor before you make the purchase decision.
Will the platform compete for my patients?
When choosing your telemedicine vendor, make sure their solution enables you to see your patients. More than often, these vendors are healthcare providers themselves with direct-to-consumer offerings that eventually compete for your patients. Make sure you don’t fall prey to this tactic.
Will the platform enhance my productivity?
There is no point in deploying a virtual care platform if it doesn’t enhance your productivity at the end of the day. You can potentially save an average of 30 minutes per patient with a televisit. This is an in-built feature of virtual care platforms that enhance organizational efficiency, reduce administrative load, and hence improve the overall productivity. However, many telehealth products lack robust provider and patient features. You must ensure you are not paying for a negating solution.
Delivering healthcare to everyone everywhere is the ultimate objective of deploying virtual care platforms. There are dozens of telemedicine vendors for you to choose from, but make sure you make a wise decision. Consider all of the questions above and select the platform that offers you the most optimization and value for money.
Will the platform integrate well with my EHR?
The integration of your virtual care platform with your existing EHR is of paramount importance. Since your clinicians use EHR software every day for every single patient encounter, this integration feature is a must-have. You want to have all the necessary information ready at your disposal when you’re conducting the televisit.
