The last several months have brought a lot of change in the world of healthcare and telemedicine. Even if you are not in a hospital or working in the ICU, you have seen serious disruption to the way you “normally” provide care to your patients. For many clinics, that rapid switch from a mostly face-to-face model of care to one that had to be done virtually whenever possible meant that you needed new technology and you may have rushed into a decision on which one to use.
The Rush for Telemedicine Software
At the start of the pandemic, a significant portion of clinics were not prepared to conduct telemedicine visits. That forced clinics to find telemed software solutions that they could quickly and easily implement. It worked alright to treat patients in a crisis (CMS even relaxed its rules surrounding technology requirements for these services), but in the long run, it’s important to have the right technology in place. Right now is the time to set yourself up for the future, exercising caution to get the best technology for you and your patients.
The Risks of Implementing Telemedicine Too Quickly
Technology has tremendous potential to help medical clinics run more efficiently and to provide care in situations where patients can’t be at your clinic in person. However, it also comes with risks that you must address.
- Cybersecurity – one of the biggest challenges of implementing technology too quickly is foregoing the required risk assessments. Without proper security in place, new technology will always pose a risk of hacking and other intrusions.
- HIPAA violations – in addition to cyber threats, it’s also critical to ensure proper HIPAA protections. As mentioned, CMS relaxed some of its rules around which technologies could be used to provide telemedicine visits during COVID-19, but once the immediate crisis has passed, platforms like FaceTime and Zoom won’t provide the level of security necessary to meet CMS, commercial payer, and HIPAA requirements.
- Interoperability – another concern with rushing to get new technology is choosing something that doesn’t work well with your other systems. You may have created decent workarounds in the interim, but long term you need something that works with your other systems seamlessly for the best patient, provider, and staff experience.
How to Move Forward
As patient care stabilizes and many clinics can reopen for some in-person visits (with appropriate social distancing, masks, and other safeguards), now is the time to take a step back and make sure your telemedicine software is right for your clinic. AdvancedMD offers telemedicine software that:
- Easily integrates with your EHR, scheduling, practice management, and medical billing software so patient visits via telemedicine are seamless
- Provides the highest level of cybersecurity protection and encryption, safeguarding your patient records and your clinic from threats
- Complies with HIPAA regulations to avoid fines and fees from non-compliance
- Offers additional telehealth features like patient portals, remote patient monitoring, and more
To learn more about our telemedicine software, contact AdvancedMD today for a demo.
