Starting a telehealth program in your practice: Know the steps

Computers, smartphones and tablets increasingly offer new and potentially effective channels for delivering healthcare services. However, as telecommunications has revolutionized society, have healthcare organizations kept pace with the ability to offer telehealth services?

Healthcare organizations that have adopted telehealth services have touted the relative ease of getting their patients to understand and accept telehealth. For some patients, these services can be as easy to use as the video-call features, such as FaceTime or Skype, on their phones or home computers.

A recent MGMA Research & Analysis report, Telehealth: Adoption and Best Practices, outlined strategies for starting up a telehealth program within a medical group practice. These are the key takeaways:

Reimbursement barriers, patient focus

In the MGMA 2017 Telehealth Survey, about 41% of practice leaders said their organizations don’t offer telehealth services. When asked why, they largely pointed to not knowing how to get paid for the services: