In the world of new technology, the temptation is to run full speed towards innovation.

But as we have seen time and again, sometimes the early adopters don’t fully succeed to capture the market. Think Altavista, sixdegrees.com, or pets.com and remember that all that glitters is not gold. Sometimes the ‘start slow and grow’ method yields better results.

When it comes to Telemedicine, the field is full of promise. The concept of saving cost and time when meeting with a doctor is extremely enticing to patients. Not sitting in overfilled waiting rooms, filling out extensive medical forms, or dealing with insurance is a future we all dream about.

While there is definitely interest and appeal in the market, following these guidelines will help you improve your successful implementation of telemedicine.

1) Offer Telemedicine Only to Patients of Record

To begin your introduction to Telemedicine, the best course is usually your most well known patients. If you have a familiarity of who the person is, and what you have treated them for in the past you are more likely to be able to be effective via the telemedicine network. As the virtual consultation model is new for both you and the patient, having a familiarity with each other first will ensure a smoother experience.

2) Set virtual visit fees according to outcomes

One temptation with telemedicine is to under or overprice your services, based upon what you feel the service is worth. Remember that patients will tend to view your consultations as a valuable time saver and will be willing to pay accordingly. Set fees according to the outcome your consultation will deliver.

If patients in your area are more driven by price, or insurance reimbursement, then setting a fee around their base deductible can be a good start to getting them to trial the service over an in-person office visit. But remember that telemedicine can also be positioned as a premium service, and patients will often pay more for the convenience.

3) Prepare the Patient Records Before

There can be a tendency with online patients to begin reviewing the clients past records while on the call. Taking two minutes to familiarize yourself with the patients history before starting your call will ensure you are focussed and informed during the time together.

4) Connect with the person one-to-one first

All doctors have incredibly busy schedules, and unfortunately with the proliferation of computer use in medical offices, this has caused patients to feel disconnection. When communicating through video and audio chat, there is a huge need to connect personally with the patient, even for a few minutes before going into diagnosis. Ask a few personal questions, let them settle and give them a sense that you are engaged by looking in the camera to give virtual eye contact.

5) Be Clear about the outcomes of the call

Often patients may have a misconception about what can be done via telemedicine visits. If you are willing to offer e-prescriptions, then be clear with patients this is available. If it is simply a preliminary screening before they book a full office visit, then be clear about this fact.

The more the patient understands the focus of the telemedicine visit, the more they will be satisfied and likely to use the service.

6) Make Arrangements for a Follow Up

One risk with telemedicine is that the initial consultation may not create a favorable outcome. Just as a precaution, it may be wise to check in with the patient via email, text or follow up phone call with 5-7 days to ensure that the virtual visit was effective.
This will also enable you to build trust in the format, and deepen your confidence in its effectiveness as an alternative to in-person visits.

The evidence is that telemedicine is here to stay, and someday it will be the standard.  As Dr Ray Dorsey, director at Johns Hopkins Medicine says:

“There are certain things you can’t replicate that you can do in person. You know, the human touch is very powerful. And certainly there’s portions of an examination that we can’t do remotely, that we can do in person. But we have found that, through our experience and randomized controlled trials, that providing care to patients remotely offers tremendous value to patients.”

If you are ready to implement Telemedicine into your practice, start slow, be strategic and consistent and you will find patients gain tremendous value from the service you deliver.