Stay Ahead of Competitor Healthcare Organizations with Telemedicine Services

Healthcare is a very competitive field, and the only way to get ahead of the curve is to invest in innovation. Forbes mentions that embracing technological development could help the American healthcare system immensely. Innovation is only as good as the human element, however. For healthcare providers to compete, there are a handful of areas that they should look into to make them a more attractive choice for consumers:

· Cutting-edge technology to deal with routine services

· A focus on customer satisfaction through Patient-friendly services

· Diagnostics with proven accuracy and reliability

· The efficiency with which the business serves customers

These elements may seem unrelated, but a single unifying field can help healthcare organizations link all of them together — the area of telemedicine.

Understanding Telemedicine

Telemedicine, according to Healthline, requires the exchange of information between two or more connected information and communication technology (ICT) systems. Even though the technology has been around for decades, it’s only recently come to prominence because of the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of doctors endangering themselves, several practitioners have opted for telemedicine for many of their everyday examinations. The CDC mentions that telemedicine has helped expand access to essential healthcare services during the lockdown in many regions of the world.

Telemedicine may be the future of how doctors and other healthcare professionals interact with patients.

Why Does Telemedicine Matter?

Aside from the obvious use of telemedicine during the pandemic, it also has many additional benefits to doctors and patients alike.

· Availability for Remote and Disabled Individuals: Telemedicine makes medical treatment available to disabled individuals as well as those who are geographically remote. In lesser developed parts of the world or areas where roads’ impassability is a common occurrence, the availability of telemedicine can save lives.

· Easy Access: In more developed parts of the world, healthcare providers need to compete on convenience, including telemedicine services, which gives them an edge on other providers. People like convenience, and the ability to get a checkup from the safety and comfort of their own home shouldn’t be overlooked as a significant selling point.

· Fast yet Effective: Doctor’s appointments can take time out of a person’s day and might even require them to take time off their job. Telemedicine offers patients a chance to have an efficient doctor’s visit that doesn’t waste most of their time commuting to and from a facility. This change in approach also means less time spent in a waiting room and conveniently reschedule if an emergency happens. The American Hospital Association (AHA) mentions that telemedicine managed to reduce readmissions from the Veterans Health Administration post-cardiac arrest care system by as much as 51% for heart failure.

· Less Exposure to Disease: Waiting rooms are notorious for being places where one could catch an infection. The less time spent there, the less exposure one has to disease, which results in healthier and happier patients. In the case of those with weak or compromised immune systems, lower exposure to infection might improve overall health.

· Preventative Care: Many patients don’t conform to the twice-yearly provision for checkups. As a result, conditions may occur between their yearly checkups that practitioners won’t usually be aware of. Regularly scheduled appointments with doctors help deal with these issues as they occur, ensuring that doctors spot problems before they become unmanageable.

The telemedicine industry is growing at a rapid rate, as well. Medgadget notes that the global telemedicine market is expected to reach $16 million by 2024. Organizations will likely ask themselves if the benefit to customers is worth the cost of investing in telemedicine. The answer lies in the fact that customer benefit is only half the story. Telemedicine innovations stand to benefit the organization as well.

How Telemedicine Can Benefit a Medical Organization

Telemedicine already offers an excellent methodology to help medical organizations compete by assisting them in dealing with the needs of consumers proactively. However, the benefits that telemedicine brings to organizations are far less well-explored. Among the benefits that the technology offers to interested medical organizations are:

· Increased Administrative Efficiency: Data entry at a front desk is such a 90s way to deal with patient data. Telemedicine can speed this process up by applying optical character recognition (OCR) to aid in updating patient data collected through forms. This advancement allows patients to be processed quicker, with the data stored on the secure central database.

· Better Patient Outcomes: The American Journal of Managed Care notes that, for established patients, telemedicine provides a more effective method for ensuring follow-up visits happen. Additionally, patients are less likely to have last-minute cancellations or rescheduling because of unforeseen circumstances.

Embedded gamification systems can help to engage patients as well, setting and meeting desired healthcare goals as part of their consultation. An in-depth analysis of consumer data can also help patients get highly personalized suggestions on reaching their goals.

· Advanced Preventative Care: AI-based analysis enables doctors to detect otherwise complex health issues or prevent them altogether. Data can be collected continuously and periodically transferred to a professional. If they spot a problem, they can immediately inform the patient.

· Dealing with Travel and Remoteness: Some patients hate going to the doctor because of the travel times associated with their doctors’ visits. Other patients simply can’t get to the doctor because of their remote location.

Telemedicine deals with both of these, allowing organizations to connect and deal with patients that are either geographically unreachable or unwilling to go through the stress of driving in traffic. Convenience is also a decisive factor in competing against other companies.

· Increased Revenue: Businesses that incorporate telemedicine can start offering appointments on weekends and holidays. The doctor’s stress is also less, as they can meet their assignments in the comfort of their home office, increasing the work-life balance of professionals.

An additional decisive factor is worker retention and less medical employee burnout resulting from better working conditions.

Getting Funding for Telemedicine

As one of the new methodologies being implemented, telemedicine still has a few issues to work through. One of them is how expensive it is to implement it. As technology costs come down, it will become more accessible to more institutions. Unfortunately, at the moment, hospitals and clinics that intend to implement telemedicine have to source funding themselves.

Institutional savings or investors are a good place to look for funding, especially as an investment into your organization. Communities such as Startup House offer a solid network for entrepreneurs to contact and secure funding from angel investors.

Partnering with device manufacturers is also a unique method of approaching the funding problem.

Telemedicine may be expensive, but by supporting its growth, an institution shows itself to a pioneer in the development of new techniques of patient interaction.

The Power of Telemedicine

Advanced tech solutions provide the best way to approach the problem of competition. Telemedicine offers a complete system that can integrate data, analytics, and customer care in one package. Whether your business adopts it or not, the march of technology can’t be stopped, and it’s better to be on the innovative edge of the industry than playing catch-up to your competitors.

Consider applying the latest in AI, machine learning, and computer vision technologies with the help of a reliable service provider today. Waiting too long could mean missing out on the chance to become a leader in the industry.