Benefits of telehealth: 9 advantages for patients, providers

Skepticism about telehealth 

Initially, providers and patients were wary of transitioning to telehealth. There were process questions that needed answers. How would providers measure typical patient health data such as height, weight, or temperature as they would at in-person appointments? Could they rely only on patient reports about symptoms to make accurate diagnoses? How would they be reimbursed for the services provided?

For patients, aside from having to expand their symptom reporting skills, other challenges needed to be addressed. Connecting to the internet required adequate bandwidth to support the necessary technologies. Elder patients’ use of technology was another challenge with which to contend, along with the appropriate locations (at home or otherwise) that would allow patients sufficient privacy. How would it all work?

How telehealth benefits patients and providers

Flash forward to August 2021. A survey of Greenway clients revealed that 96% of providers conducted some form of telehealth visits, and most planned to continue to do so. Telehealth has remained a preferred method of providing and receiving care across the United States.

Although practices launched virtual care to provide appointments amid an outbreak, they have stayed with the technology for a variety of reasons. These include the usefulness of telehealth for mental or behavioral health appointments, lab reviews, and the many other appointment types that do not require in-person encounters.

What are the advantages of telehealth for patients?

Patients have voiced their desire to continue using telehealth to receive care too.

Aside from the obvious benefit of avoiding unsafe in-person interactions at the height of a pandemic, how does telehealth improve patient care?

The following are reasons patients prefer telehealth.

1. Improved access to providers. Patients have become more open to seeking medical care in general now that it is more readily available. Now they can visit providers from the comfort of their own homes.
2. Greater convenience and flexibility to schedule visits. The availability of appointments during workday hours makes telehealth an attractive alternative. Not having to attend in-office appointments means patients no longer must request time off from work or seek extra child or elder care.
3. Reduced financial burden. Having to attend in-office medical appointments meant patients also had to consider additional expenses such as tolls, parking, and gas. Now patients can avoid these expenses.
4. Reduced stress. Patients who were at risk of losing income from having to take time off from work or being absent altogether see substantial advantages with telehealth. Additionally, because patients no longer need to travel to in-person appointments, there is no need to rush, worry about traffic, or sit around waiting for appointments, which may also run late at times.

Use of telehealth benefits providers and enhances patient care

With telehealth on the rise, providers have spent more time with patients and become more productive as a result. This is a hallmark of a more patient-centered approach to care that is known to improve outcomes.

Furthermore, provider satisfaction is a major contributor to treatment success, better quality of care, and better outcomes across specialties.

About 75% of polled clinicians said telehealth enabled them to provide quality care and 68% said they were motivated to increase telehealth use, according an American Medical Association (AMA) report from October 2021.

Let’s examine the benefits of telehealth for providers in greater detail.

5. Schedule flexibility. During the pandemic, the number of in-office visits often was reduced to avoid potential exposure among patients. Telehealth sessions in between in-person visits helped to compensate for schedule lapses in a typical office day, and continue to do so.
6. More billable hours outside of “regular” hours. Providing telehealth services using an integrated, secure system also means that providers can remain on call after hours for sessions that are billable, but that do not require them to be in an office setting.
7. Reduced no-show rates. Since patients are now able to attend their appointments on their own terms, in schedules that align with their own daily activities, they are less likely to cancel last minute or not show up at all.
8. Better continuity of care and improved compliance with follow-up visits. Offering telehealth services means that follow-up appointments can be more easily planned. Providers are better able to check in with patients remotely to discuss laboratory test results for example, rather than having to travel between locations or asking patients to come back to the office.
9. Managing chronic conditions, post-hospitalization care, and medication management. Similarly, for the management of chronic conditions or for post-acute care and post hospitalizations, telehealth allows providers to safely attend to convalescent patients in the comfort of their own homes. This concept has also given rise to the hospital-at-home and post-acute care programs which, along with Chronic Care Management, are now part of the overarching value-based care system  managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

When patients can see their providers on their own terms, this increases their sense of empowerment and satisfaction, as well as their willingness to engage in their own care.

Telehealth has made medical care more accessible. Importantly, patient outcomes are improved with telehealth as a standard method of care delivery. So, in addition to the obvious benefit of reduced exposure to contagious illnesses, providers, practice staff, and patients can derive additional benefits from the long-term use of telehealth.

Continued success in patient outcomes requires the support of an innovative telehealth solution. Greenway Telehealth™ will support providers and help improve patient outcomes, with these added benefits:

• Offers independent providers and practices an all-in-one telehealth platform that supports the provision of virtual care without interrupting established workflows.
• Allows providers and patients secure access from anywhere using multiple types of devices.
• Supports patient engagement and care coordination services.
• Integrates with EHR and practice management tools, thus reducing provider workloads and allowing ease of access for patients.

Learn more about an all-in-one, HIPAA-compliant telehealth solution.