Nowadays, many healthcare providers are asking themselves the same question: “which is better for my practice, telehealth or in-person care?” The answer depends on your patient population, practice setting, as well as your own personal preference on how you want to deliver care.
Though both methods have their own unique advantages, it’s imperative that you consider the above factors in making your decision to offer one over the other. In this blog post, we will discuss telehealth vs in-person care and help you decide which option is right for your practice.
In Person Care: Why It Still Matters
In-person care has been the traditional method of healthcare delivery for as long as medicine has existed. In this type of setting, a patient will arrive at a clinical setting to receive care from a provider who will spend time with them, diagnose their condition and provide treatment. Unquestionably, a major benefit of in-person care is that the patient has direct access to the healthcare professional. This gives them the opportunity to ask questions about their health condition or any pressing concerns. In addition, physical contact may be absolutely necessary in order for the patient to receive proper care.
Different care types that require an in-person visit include blood tests, imaging tests, physical examinations, surgeries, and more. For these reasons, in-person care will never be completely eliminated from the healthcare landscape. There is always going to be a need to conduct in-person care for certain medical conditions. Although, when determining whether you should keep your practice to strictly in-person care, you should consider how a virtual solution can also improve patient care experience when in-person contact is not necessary.
In-person care hasn’t often been regarded as a convenient means of healthcare delivery, however. Patients must travel to the clinical setting, which may result in missed work, or other scheduling challenges. Lengthy wait times are another hindrance to the patient experience as well. In fact, studies show that the average waiting time for patients can last up to 40 minutes. These long wait times in combination with tedious paperwork and traveling requirements can cause the patient to have a negative perception of their visit, which in turn leads to lower satisfaction rates.
Telehealth: The Modern Way Of Healthcare Delivery
Telehealth is a modernized form of healthcare delivery that has become increasingly popular over the years. It can include any form of remote healthcare, such as virtual visits, phone calls, asynchronous digital communication, e-consultations and more. With the help of a secure platform, providers can offer care to patients in their homes or other remote locations. It offers a wide array of advantages over traditional care, such as convenience for both provider and patient, flexibility of scheduling, travel savings and more.
Perhaps one of the apparent benefits to telehealth care is the time savings it offers patients. Studies show that the average telehealth visit lasts between 13 – 15 minutes, a far cry from the total time one can spend receiving in person care. Moreover, it improves accessibility of care. Patients may be limited in their ability to travel, they may live in rural areas or have transportation issues. Telehealth allows them to still receive care and eliminates geographical and health-related obstacles.
For physicians, the right telehealth platform will offer total HIPAA compliance, reliability, and even improved workflows through tools like E-Documents or easy scheduling. Other advantages include the ability to remain more in touch with patients – as the nature of telehealth enables providers to follow-up on a patient’s condition more easily and assess their progress. This results in lower patient readmission rates and ultimately, improved patient satisfaction.
SecureVideo: Trusted By Providers & Patients Alike
Overall, telehealth has revolutionized the healthcare landscape and is here to stay for the foreseeable future. It is becoming more and more popular, due to its convenience, cost-effectiveness, and ease of use. Telehealth platforms like SecureVideo enable providers to offer quality care remotely and securely, backed by HIPAA compliance and advanced features designed to ensure patient privacy and satisfaction.
With features like a secure chat function, file transfer, E-Documents, custom notifications and reminders, a virtual waiting room, among many other telehealth must-haves, SecureVideo provides an optimal provider-patient experience across the board. The platform is highly robust and stable, meaning providers can always count on it to provide secure and uninterrupted sessions.
While in-person care still has its place in healthcare delivery, SecureVideo ensures that the telehealth session never compromises on quality of care. To learn more about SecureVideo’s telehealth solutions, get in touch with our team today.