Virtual Health and Workflow

Let’s start with some changes:

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First, it’s expected many CMS telehealth waivers enacted during the crisis will be rolled back — HIPAA compliance will be enforced and security issues re-addressed. Other waivers may stick — originating sites could be a thing of the past. Integration begins here.

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Second, patient expectations have changed. Waiting on hold to make an appointment, extended time off from work, and waiting room magazines will largely disappear. Patients expect the “there’s an app for that” experience and the same practice management “machine” to be running no matter the visit modality.

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Third, the practice environment will change. While the goal of providing excellent healthcare remains, there’ll be many channels in which to provide it. This includes face-to-face, asynchronous and synchronous telemedicine channels, and evolving chronic disease and population management capabilities. All require new practice workflows.

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But as exciting as these changes are, imagine a physician using a telemedicine platform to take notes during an e-visit and later having to reenter those notes in the practice management or EHR system. Or need a different application to order scrips or labs. Billings, co-pays, appointments, and follow-ups presenting their own challenges. PDFs (a common workaround) have to go somewhere with required actions taken, all necessitating additional changes in workflows.

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Healthcare practices that adapt to regulatory and patient changes, and who strategically manage practice channels will see more patients, deliver better outcomes, make more money with less overhead, and can even enjoy more balanced lives. The secret sauce will be in your workflows.