Implementing Telehealth as Part of Your Patient Engagement Strategy

The hectic pace of life - such as juggling kids, home and work schedules - can make going to see a doctor inconvenient.

Despite providers’ best efforts to reduce no-shows and improve the healthcare experience with tools such as automated appointment reminders and online scheduling, patients still struggle to make their appointments. Some face added difficulties in getting in to see their physician, including those who are elderly, dealing with chronic care conditions, lack reliable transportation or live in rural areas.   

Patients today require a multi-pronged approach to cut through their hectic daily schedules. Providers need to find new and innovative ways to meet them where they are – through digital tools and virtual consults as part of an integrated patient engagement strategy.  

The Challenge of Missed Appointments

Missed appointments pose three main problems: 

1. Patients may not get the care they really need
2. Providers lose the chance to connect with patients 
3. There is loss of revenue through fewer reimbursement opportunities

How can providers fill this gap in patient engagement and care? Integrating telehealth, or secure video chat, can add flexibility and convenience for everything from follow-up appointments, quick questions, consults, and ongoing treatment of chronic conditions. Telehealth has shown an incredible rate of growth among all age ranges, geographies, practice types, etc. but many physicians still don’t yet have a grasp on how exactly it will help them grow their practice, or where to start.

The Solution – Video Consults

About 60 percent of individuals under the age of 55 say they would be very likely to switch to a provider who offered video consultations and online booking, among other consumer-friendly options. So, if you’re looking for a way to easily implement telehealth into your practice, look no further.

Updox’s Engagement tools, part of the Updox all-in-one collaboration platform, provide everything you need to get started with telehealth. Implementation is simple and easy, so you can start offering virtual visits in no time. There’s no logging in and out of different solutions. You’ll have the ability to review faxes, send appointment reminders, text patients, video chat, respond to email and send messages to other staff – all within the same workflow.

“Updox offers an incredibly user-friendly telehealth experience for my patients and for me,” customer Andrew Barbash, MD, said. “There’s nothing to download and it’s easy to use. I just need a cell phone number and, from there, I can text anyone a link. With just a click, we’re able to securely video chat. It’s that simple.” 

Ready to spend more time with patients, offer service times that are more convenient for your staff and patients, capture new revenue, reimbursement opportunities and more?

Learn more about Updox patient engagement solutions by watching our recorded webinar "Telehealth in the Real World.