How to invest in telemedicine software
June 23, 2022
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Telemedicine has become an essential part of healthcare. The uptake of remote care delivery, accelerated by COVID-19, is set to continue beyond the current pandemic as patients have come to expect timely access to specialists without the need to travel. Healthcare providers are increasingly investing in telemedicine software to help improve their range of care delivery models.
There are a wide variety of telemedicine vendors on the market offering different products and solutions. As a healthcare provider, finding a software provider with the solution that best suits your practice can seem overwhelming. How do you choose the right telemedicine software partner?
How to find the right telemedicine software partner?
Before you invest in or upgrade your telemedicine software, you will need to do your research. It is worth taking time to find a reliable provider that will provide not only the best telemedicine software for your needs but also excellent customer service.
This step-by-step guide will help you through the process:
- Identify your organisational needs and goals
Discuss how telemedicine fits into your practice and workflows with your team to identify issues you want to improve. The ideal telemedicine software should complement your practice to enhance efficient, high-quality care. If you have an existing telemedicine platform, are there any integration issues or missing capabilities?
- Decide on the digital capabilities you require
Make a list of features you require in a telemedicine platform, keeping quality of care and patient satisfaction in mind. This will help focus your discussions with potential providers.
These may include:
- Online appointment scheduling and management
- In-patient or virtual consultation options
- Automatic notifications and reminders
- Virtual check-in and virtual waiting room
- Online consent management
- Group consultation option to allow family members, carers, or other health professionals to join a video consultation
- Secure document upload and sharing
- Ability to record notes on the same screen during a call
- Secure billing and payment system
- Secure messaging
- Feedback management
- Research telemedicine software products and providers
Create a shortlist of telemedicine solutions to explore further. The ideal telemedicine software should be able to integrate with your existing IT systems, such as electronic health record (EHR) and other databases, to reduce your administrative load. If you are looking for an all-in-one telehealth
solution, next generation virtual care platforms offer a complete range of telehealth services for the management of both in-person and virtual medical care and a patient engagement portal. Consider the provider’s expertise and reputation, recommendations and testimonials.
- Ensure data protection and security compliance
Ensuring data security is essential whenever personal and healthcare data is stored or shared. Systems must comply with the relevant data protection regulations, such as HIPAA and GDPR. Among other requirements, telemedicine platforms must ensure:
- Data access is restricted to authorised users only
- End-to-end encryption to prevent third parties accessing private communications or sensitive data
- Action is taken to prevent security breaches or to detect and correct them if they occur
- Ask for a demonstration or trial
A full demonstration or trial is required to understand a system’s features and capabilities. This will enable you to assess the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). The ideal interface is easy and intuitive to use for both staff and clients, even those with limited technical knowledge. Software should operate effectively on all devices, such as PC, tablet or smartphones. This is best achieved with both web-based and cloud-based platforms.
- Evaluate cost-effectiveness
Consider not only the up-front costs but also the long-term return on your investment. Can a solution be scaled-up as your practice grows? Does a system offer features that will improve your efficiency and productivity? The best telemedicine vendors offer customisable packages with different pricing plans, so that you only pay for what you need.
- Make sure reliable and responsive customer support is in place
Ask providers about the support they offer before, during and after implementation of their services. Technical support for staff and patients should be easily accessible and ongoing. If issues occur, reliable and responsive customer support should be available.
Remember: Choosing a telemedicine software provider wisely will enable you to provide a safe, secure and efficient telemedicine service and expand your practice.
Are you looking for the ideal telemedicine software?
Medoment is the comprehensive solution for the management of both in-person and virtual medical care. Designed by the experts in healthcare informatics at HT Works, Medoment offers online consultation scheduling, teleconsultations, an innovative patient engagement portal and more, within a single platform.
Why choose Medoment?
MEDOMENT enables providers to optimise their capacity and reach. Physician search enables care-seekers to connect to the most appropriate healthcare providers. Streamlined appointment scheduling and management, secure
messaging, file sharing and follow-up improve overall experience and outcomes. Automated appointment reminders minimise delays and cancellations. Plus many more features, including customisable and personalised content.
MEDOMENT can be deployed on cloud or on-premise and can be accessed via the Web as well as dedicated Mobile Apps on Android and iOS. Medoment seamlessly integrates with existing electronic medical records (EMR) or hospital information systems. Security and Privacy of Data are built into the design and deployment of Medoment, which complies with international standards for data protection (HIPAA).
The HT Works team behind MEDOMENT has a collective experience that spans over 100 years in the health care informatics sector. They offer proven, integrated and affordable solutions to the current challenges in healthcare, as well as excellent service and responsive technical support.
To find out more, or book a demonstration, contact us today.
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