Friday, September 9, 2016

Reduce Wait Times For Your Patients With Telemedicine



In today’s busy world, people feel like they don’t have time to be sick. So when they DO have an ache, pain, sprain, or sniffle, the modern consumer wants to see a doctor and get treatment, STAT. Plus, they want the service to fit their budget.


For those who live in urban areas, there are many outlets to choose from, including Urgent Care, the Emergency Room, and retail pharmacy clinics. In rural areas, there aren’t as many options, and it may require extensive travel to see a doctor. Thankfully, today there’s MyOnCallDoc to bring patients and doctors together over the Internet. Availability is 24/7/365, and studies have shown that 75% - 80% of ailments that people are seen in person for can easily be attended to with a virtual visit. Here are five reasons why adding MyOnCallDoc telemedicine software to your menu of services is not only good practice, but good business, too.


1. Reduced wait times for your patients with acute medical needs


Primary care providers can be notified of their patients’ virtual visits, and add the details to their patient’s medical record. But why let other doctors get paid to see YOUR patient, when you can easily establish a virtual visit with them on the MyOnCallDoc platform? Since you have already established a relationship with your patients, the risk of medical errors and adverse medication events is greatly reduced when you make telemedicine a part of your practice. The result is better continuity of care, and enhanced patient satisfaction.


2. Keep your patients in YOUR care


Patients are willing to pay to see a third party provider, instead of waiting two to four weeks to get an appointment in your office. This presents an opportunity cost for your practice. By offering the same convenience to your own body of patients, you keep their healthcare dollars as revenues for your practice. The MyOnCallDoc program is so affordable for patients, and if they want to see you virtually, you can oblige their request at no cost to you. In addition, many states reimburse for virtual visits, so you’ll achieve higher marks in quality reporting, and maximize your practice’s reimbursement.


3. Conduct follow-up appointments on a secure system with ease


Do you want to optimize your clinical workflows, and improve patient satisfaction? Then consider using telehealth as a solution for conducting follow-up visits with your patients. Being able to interact with you via videoconference improves efficiency for your patients and your staff. With so many remote tools to monitor patient’s vital signs and activities, they can easily share their health information with you in real time. You can reduce cancellations and no shows, too. Patients are more likely to keep their appointments if it’s convenient, especially if they know they can avoid the dreaded waiting room. Efficiency is multiplied with the MyOnCallDoc e-prescribing feature. Once the call is ended, the patient can go get their medications from their pharmacy.


4. Spend more quality time with each patient


In the traditional clinical workflow model, your patient waits in a room with other sick people. The nurse takes vital signs and history, and your patient is usually waiting for another 10, 15, or 20 minutes before they can see you. By the time you enter the room, you may have 5-7 minutes to spend with them, reviewing their history and physical, prescribing a treatment, and out the door you go. From the patient’s perspective, they feel like they just spent a lot of their valuable time and hard-earned money for a few minutes of your time. Patients may be left feeling at a loss given the time they sacrificed to conduct that visit. With My OnCall Doc, you can spend a full 15 minutes with your patient, and provide them with undivided attention, which serves to enhance your relationship with each other. Better patient-physician relationships also lead to better health outcomes.


5. Conduct live specialty consults


Why delay your patient’s care with a referral to a specialist? The MyOnCallDoc platform allows you to conduct a three-way videoconference between you, your patient, and a specialist in the same visit. This added convenience of providing the right doctor at the right time and in the right place dramatically reduces the time it takes for patients to get on the road to wellness. In addition, you and the specialist can communicate together about the patient’s plan of care and ensure medical contraindications are avoided.


These five reasons are just a snapshot of the value telemedicine in general, and MyOnCallDoc, specifically can offer to your practice. There are ways to increase revenue streams by offering workplace wellness programs to local employers, chronic disease management programs, and expansion of access to care for patients in rural locations. Stay tuned to our blog as we continue to share information about the benefits of telemedicine to the health care delivery system.







Heather Zumpano heather@telehealthsuppliers.com


About The Author

Heather is a patient advocate and telehealth ambassador, with a vision to make a positive social impact on health quality through technology. She’s an experienced clinician, and the Co-founder and Project Director of IMST Telehealth Consulting, LLC. Heather’s work in diverse clinical settings fostered a deep awareness of opportunities for improvement in health delivery systems. She has experience leading successful projects in business and health care. She enjoys business development, marketing, finance, research, and managing project teams. The company specializes in end-to-end telehealth program development, from assessment, to identifying a solution, and creating market awareness. IMST Telehealth Consulting, LLC helps its clients increase access to quality health care, reduce costs, and increase revenues. Heather holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance from the University South Florida, Tampa. She also earned a Master of Science in Health Informatics from Walden University, Minneapolis, MN. Heather is a member of the Florida Telehealth Work Group, the American Telemedicine Association, and the Pinellas County chapter of Better Living for seniors.