How Telehealth Video Conferencing Benefits Your Patients Telehealth video is becoming the new normal for healthcare providers across various specialties. As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, many providers and patients are turning to telemedicine outlets and telehealth in general for contactless care. There are many terms within the world of telehealth and telemedicine, and it can get confusing. When thinking of telehealth vs. telemedicine, remember that telehealth is simply the “umbrella” term – health can encompass all sorts of things, including mental health, physical therapy, follow-ups, and much more. Telemedicine involves more specific medical help, including diagnostics, medications, etc. Let’s take a look at three of the major benefits that telehealth video conferencing provides for patients: Telehealth video saves patients time. When patients receive care via telehealth video from their homes (sometimes referred to as telehomecare) it saves them a lot of time. After all, they don’t have to travel anywhere to receive this care – there’s no driving to a clinic or hospital, there’s no waiting in a waiting room, there’s no taking off work or pulling children out of school to make things work in their schedule. It’s all done from the comfort of home without the need for an in-person appointment taking up half of the day or more. It’s one of the greatest benefits of telehealth video conferencing.
Telehealth video saves patient’s money. Studies have shown that telehealth video also provides a substantial cost savings for patients. This is partially thanks to the ability to avoid traveling as discussed above – patients save money that they would otherwise spend on gas, meals, lodging, etc. while traveling to the provider’s facility. This is especially crucial for those in rural areas, who are more likely to need a full day or more to travel to and from a specialty provider far from their homes, as well as low-income patients who can’t necessarily afford the expensive bills sometimes associated with in-person visits. Telehealth video reduces patients’ stress levels. Telehomecare is also typically less stressful for patients, since they can receive the care they need without ever leaving the comfort of home. Going to a healthcare facility can prove quite stressful for many patients, and that’s only gotten worse during the time of COVID-19 when patients don’t want to cram into the waiting room with other people. Telehealth video conferencing eliminates this stress, because a person can speak with their provider from the comfort of their living room. So, telehealth video services can benefit patients by saving them precious time, plenty of money, and all sorts of stress. And it’s been proven to be of particular help to low-income patients or those who live in rural areas far from the brickand-mortar practice. All of this means that you can reach a greater number of patients, including patients in new market areas that may have been outside of your reach before. Telehealth video conferencing can quite literally expand your patient base and open up new revenue streams! These aren’t the only benefits that telehealth video and telehomecare can provide – do your research and learn more about the many great things that this care approach can do for your practice. When you stay ahead of the curve, you’re not just benefitting your practice. You’re benefiting the patients who count on you for care.