Telemedicine: The Art of Connecting Doctors and Patients in a New Age
By: Stevens Stokes | COO
Doctors and patients need to connect more than ever before, but it’s not exactly possible to do this face to face right now. The ability for doctors and patients to connect remotely has been around for a few years now, but has not yet been adopted on a large scale. Many legal barriers have temporarily been lifted, making it easier than ever before for doctors and patients to stay connected.
Now is the time for physicians to adopt this practice in order to continue to care for patients during this time of need. It is also imperative for doctors to do this to keep their practices alive and growing in the future. The World is faced with an unprecedented situation, so let’s adapt and move forward despite the obstacles that have been placed in front of us.
This article will cover telemedicine platform options for use, procedures, and protocols for online consultations, as well as, a look into the future of telemedicine.
Platforms for Online Consultations
What is Telemedicine? Telemedicine is simply caring for or consulting with a patient remotely using HIPAA compliant video software. It works especially well for ophthalmologists.
There are many options for services that provide HIPAA compliant platforms and assistance for practices, however, they can be very expensive. But don’t worry, there are some more affordable solutions available. We recommend Zoom for Healthcare or Skype for Business. Vision Care Connect is now offering services for integrating and facilitating these telemedicine platforms into your practice. For more information on Zoom for Healthcare, please read the bottom of this article.
Here is a list of approved or temporarily approved platforms from the US Department of Health & Human Services:
Skype for Business / Microsoft Teams
Updox
VSee
Zoom / Zoom for Healthcare
Doxy.me
Google G Suite Hangouts Meet
Cisco Webex Meetings / Webex Teams
Amazon Chime
GoToMeeting
Protocols and Procedures
Telemedicine is just a simple video chat, right? Right, but there are some things that may be overlooked and can cause an unpleasant experience for the doctor and patients. Not to mention, your FaceTime app is not encrypted and not compliant with the rules and regulations. Following a simple step by step method can help you get the most out of your video consultations.
Testing - It is important to make sure that your staff, doctors, and technicians, are well versed in the process and ready to use the software. The last thing you want is to be testing your procedures on patients. That will not instill them with confidence. So be sure to have some test sessions with your staff, doctors, and anyone involved with the virtual consults.
Checkin - A remote consultation should be treated the same as a physical consultation. Any sort of check-in or pre-screening that takes place in a physical consultation should be mirrored in a remote consultation.
The very first part of this is making sure that a staff member facilitates the video call. We recommend:
Send all links to video software and patient forms the day before.
Call the patient 10 minutes before the appointment time and ensure that audio and video are properly working.
Collect all patient information needed at a regular check-in.
Wait for the physician to join for the consult.
Consult - Once all technical aspects and check-in procedures are finished, the staff member can then pass the consultation over to the doctor. The doctor then conducts a consultation as usual. Obviously the patient cannot receive a full examination, but you can go over things like the following:
History
Current Symptoms
Current Contact Lens or Glasses Prescription
Patient Goals
Financing
We have found that an online consultation can gauge within an 85% accuracy of what procedures can be offered to a patient. At the end of the consultation, a physical in-person consultation can be scheduled as a follow-up. An added benefit here is that a usual two-hour technical exam should now only take about half as much time.
Insurance and Billing - Telemedicine services are billed under current CPT and HSPCS codes. Medicare-covered telemedicine services are reimbursed as if provided in-person. Most large insurance companies are currently paying reimbursements for virtual visits for medical consultations as if they were physical in person. Please check for the insurance companies your practice works with for more information.
Legal Restrictions
The information in this article is intended as a guide for recommended practices. Please check with your local governing bodies for specific legal restrictions.
Many restrictions have been lifted, but state and local governments still have the final say. The telehealth waiver is in effect until the public health emergency is declared over by the federal government. For more information from the US HHS please click here.
More on Platforms
ZOOM (Healthcare Version)
Zoom for telehealth delivers a powerful, reliable, and compliant solution for doctors. The software is priced around $200/month, and is free for patients to use. It works on iOS, Windows, Apple, and Android devices.
Enhanced collaboration features
Collaborate with other doctors and specialists by annotating directly on the shared screen so that notations are visible to all attendees.
Integrates seamlessly with Epic
Launch a video visit directly from the Epic applications’ telehealth workflows.
Compliance and security
Achieve HIPAA (signed BAA) and PIPEDA/PHIPA compliance with complete end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption.
HD Video and Audio
Consistent high-quality video, even in low-bandwidth environments.
Medical device integrations
Examine and treat patients virtually with far-end camera control, EHR and medical device integrations, and intraoperatively in telehealth carts.
Recorded session review
Save your meetings for consultation and review (local desktop recording with HIPAA BAA for clinical application, or in the cloud for non-clinical applications).
A Look Into The Future
We live in very uncertain times. We’re not even certain what will come in the next week. But there is one thing certain, and that is that patients will still need to connect with physicians whether it is virtually or in person. Vision Care Connect is here to help facilitate this.
Many unforeseen things will come from the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The advancement and widespread adoption of telemedicine is one of the very good unforeseen outcomes that have emerged from these negative circumstances. A technology that has been available for a while now, will finally have its time to shine. Care for patients will be able to happen instances never before possible. Vision Care Connect is now offering Telemedicine as a service to providers and members. For more information please email support@visioncareconnect.com.