7 Ways to Create Better Telehealth Experiences

Help enhance patient satisfaction and streamline practice ops with easy healthcare tips

As telehealth continues to evolve, physicians can optimize their practices’ procedures to provide the best possible experience for patients and staff.

At ModMed^®, our telehealth solution allows you to engage patients with audio and video capabilities that are fully integrated with EMA^®, our specialty-specific electronic health records system (EHR). You can document visits in real time, maintain existing clinical workflows and provide continuous care to patients who may experience barriers to in-person visits.

Here, we share seven tips for improved telehealth visits.

Before Your Telehealth Visits

Incorporate these ideas into your standard operating procedures to support high-quality telehealth experiences on a regular basis.

1. Train your staff

Physicians aren’t the only ones using telehealth. Physician assistants, nurses and other providers can take certain visits or parts of visits to help keep the day moving smoothly for everyone.

Train staff in how to use your telehealth functionality, including how to connect with patients, document visits and follow up. ModMed provides ongoing support to our customers so that you can get answers to questions, while you keep your staff up to date with telehealth best practices.

2. Create a positive patient experience

There are a few previsit steps you can take to ensure the video experience is as positive as possible for your patients:

• Test your audio and video a few minutes before the visit begins.
• Make your office setting professional and allow patients to see you clearly.
• Focus lighting on your face, while keeping the background well-lit.
• Tidy up areas patients may see behind you, including private information.
• Position yourself so patients can see your entire face and shoulders.
• Wear professional attire, as you would for your in-person visits.

By providing telehealth with the same decorum you offer in person, you can build rapport with your patients and help them feel confident in the quality of remote visits.

3. Set patient expectations

Communication can help ease any concerns for first-time telehealth patients and provide a simple reference for what to do before, during and after a visit.

Some items you may address include how to log in, how it’s similar to their in-person visits,  and what you’ll do if the visit disconnects. When patients make appointments, you can automate certain messaging to them, including confirmations, log-in information and tips around what to expect.

You can also provide instructions on how to reach out if they have questions ahead of the visit or what to do if they have trouble connecting. For the most part, connectivity issues are rare across internet and cellular users, but it can be calming to know that your practice is there to help them.

During Telehealth Visits

Once the visit begins, follow these tips to make the most of your telehealth capabilities.

4. Leverage integration with your EHR

Telehealth visits are most effective when you leverage the ability to connect with your patients and document visits as you go.

The ModMed interface allows you to use the same log-in for visits and make notes, use image-based tools, select diagnostic codes and other functionality, similar to how you would document an in-person visit.

Telehealth visits are automatically noted in the patient’s chart, so you can easily tell which visits were online versus in-person.

Combining the documentation capabilities of your EHR with the remote connectivity and patient engagement strengths of telehealth helps your physicians save time and keep their focus where it belongs — on their patients.

5. Communicate while you work

As you speak with your patients in a telehealth visit, try to add another layer of communication: Tell them what you’re doing as you work. This could be something like, “Thank you for telling me. I’m documenting that now.”

This prevents the silences that can become awkward or uncertain for patients when they can’t see what you’re doing. In an office, they see what you are doing (e.g., tapping on your tablet). Plus, the familiarity of in-person visits provides context for your activity.

Over a video call, patients may not know if you’re still engaged. Show them you are by continuing the conversation.

After Telehealth Visits

Wrap your telehealth visits with these steps for simple finalization and follow-up.

6. Finalize visits immediately

Finalizing visits can help keep your entire practice running smoothly. When you say goodbye to your patient, finish up your documentation in EMA right away. The workflow is designed to help make it quick and easy for you to close out visits as you go. Take a few minutes to finish strong, so you can move the visit into billing.

7. Trigger patient engagement workflows

By finalizing your telehealth visits using the easy ModMed interface, you can trigger next steps. Discover how patient engagement tools can help deliver returns to your practice when you ask for feedback on the quality of visits or solicit reviews for reputation management purposes. This type of data can help inform high-impact growth strategies.

Getting Started with Telehealth

With its convenience and ability to connect, telehealth can benefit providers and patients alike. Is your practice helping fill the demand for remote visits? Our telehealth solution is built into our EHR, so it’s easy to get started. Book a demo now.

This blog is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Please consult with your legal counsel and other qualified advisors to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards.