Integrating telemedicine with a healthcare practice can seem daunting and is a big decision to make. While there is no doubt telemedicine provides a wide range of solutions and advantages for providers and patients alike, it can be hard to reconcile it with a more practical outlook, and you might find yourself wondering whether telehealth can generate any revenue at all.
However, here are three ways in which telemedicine can help bring down your costs and boost revenue.
1) Reduction of costs at Dept. of VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides care to veterans and covers multiple, diverse areas – this means that traveling long distances for appointments often becomes inevitable for service members. To mitigate this problem early on, the Department of VA put a system in place which provides travel reimbursements for eligible patients. This cost can be greatly reduced through telemedicine.
2) Increased Healthcare Efficiency Leads to Greater Revenue
Telemedicine can lead to greater streamlining of the care provided by overcrowded departments of mental health. Mental health hospitals and clinics are usually deluged with a large number of patients’ requests for appointments, and overburdened capacities often mean that patients have to wait up to a year for their appointments. Owing to the extended wait period, most patients either forget their appointments or neglect their care completely – this results in additional costs for the institute, in terms of time, results, and overall efficiency. By offering the option of telehealth consultations to patients, providers have the chance to greatly increase their productivity. Providers can conduct faster and more efficient examinations of patients through customizable care offers, sessions conducted via video conferencing, and hours that are more flexible.
3) Mississippi Pilot Displayed Cost Savings in Diabetes Treatment
As per an article in the Health Data Management, a Mississippi telehealth pilot program reported savings with over $300,000 in the treatment of 100 patients of diabetes during six months. Not only did the results display lowered blood glucose levels and early diagnosis of eye disease linked to diabetes, but there were also reductions in travel expenses, and no instances of hospitalization or visits to the emergency room owing to diabetes.
The situations outlined above occur all over America, and you can also come across them on a global level.
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