Hybrid care, telemedicine, telehealth, virtual health care—there are a million names for using digital technology to deliver and improve patient care. Regardless of what you call it, hybrid care offers numerous benefits for patients, clinicians, and organizations—convenience, improved access to care, and cost savings, to name a few—but how do you strategically integrate virtual care modalities into existing infrastructures?
A strategic approach requires taking the time to understand your organization’s needs and goals and then choosing the right virtual solutions to meet them.
Maximizing the benefits of integrating virtual care demands more than simply layering a virtual health care platform on top of a traditional in-person approach. The organizations that figure out how to do it strategically will be the ones that thrive.
These six guidelines can help:
Understand patient and clinical needs
Start by understanding your needs: What are your pain points? What are your clinical team’s abilities and receptiveness? Are they comfortable using virtual health care? Do they have the necessary training? What are your patient’s needs? What is your administrative mindset?
Pinpointing these specific needs allows you to customize virtual health solutions to suit your clinical team’s abilities and receptiveness. Aligning these solutions with your administrative mindset and overall organizational goals can ensure seamless integration and effective adoption.
Take a holistic view
Virtual health care is not a standalone solution; it is a part of the larger ecosystem encompassing EHRs, patient outreach efforts, and clinical workflows. Adopting a holistic view requires recognizing that piecemeal methods won’t work and that a comprehensive approach considering the entire health care ecosystem is necessary to drive significant improvements.
Customize and complement
According to a HealthTech Magazine article, operational workflows and policies that made sense for an in-person approach may need clarification when integrating a virtual strategy. The article also says there is a “tricky balance” between managing in-person patients and virtual patients.
“If there isn’t a dedicated virtual team, which patient gets served first: the one in the physical waiting room or the one logging on to the patient portal for a video visit?” the article asks. “If the in-person patient is accommodated first, the virtual patient could end up logging off and seeking care elsewhere.”
That means organizations should customize virtual health care solutions to complement existing care modalities instead of competing with them.
Build a strong infrastructure foundation
Accomplishing the above requires that you have the right infrastructure in place. That may mean working with technology partners who can integrate their solutions with your existing infrastructure to ensure optimal patient and clinical experience.
Identify and leverage existing resources
Assess the resources you already have before implementing virtual health care or reaching out to a virtual care partner. The assessment should include elements like your EHR system, cybersecurity protocols, established patient outreach initiatives, clinician workflow and performance technology, staffing, scheduling, and communication tools.
Leveraging these resources ensures that new solutions complement and seamlessly integrate with your existing systems, optimizing the virtual health technology implementation and avoiding duplicative efforts.
Connect with virtual care specialists
Several companies offer virtual health care solutions, but not all are created equal. Connect with a virtual care specialist who can assess your needs and develop an implementation plan. Before committing, ask questions, gain insights into their offerings, and ensure they have demonstrated experience in strategic integration and customization and only offer HIPAA-compliant solutions.
Benefits of taking a strategic approach to virtual health care
What benefits can your organization expect once you implement these virtual care guidelines?
Benefits to patients
Improved outcomes
For example, a study by the American Telemedicine Association found that patients who received virtual care for chronic conditions had lower hospitalization and emergency department visit rates than those who did not receive virtual care.
Better access
Virtual health care can help you reach patients who would otherwise be unable to access care, such as those who live in rural areas or have difficulty getting to a doctor’s office.
Increased satisfaction
The Mayo Clinic, citing a study by the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, said that patients are delighted with digital health care as a way to deliver care.
Benefits to clinicians
Improved clinical outcomes
Virtual health care can be as effective as in-person care for many conditions. In some cases, it may even be more effective.
Enhanced clinical workflow
Virtual health care can help you enhance your clinical workflow by making it easier to manage appointments and communicate with patients. The November 2020 JAMA Open Network journal found that video telemedicine can help reduce the time it takes to see patients by up to 50 percent.
Benefits to organizations
Reduced cost
Virtual health care can help you reduce costs by lessening the need for in-person visits. According to findings published in JAMA Open Network, telehealth use was associated with an average cost savings of between $147 and $186 per patient visit.
Increased efficiency and productivity
Virtual health care can help you free up your clinical staff’s time to focus on more complex cases.
Conclusion
Taking a strategic approach to virtual health care is essential for organizations looking to integrate digital technology into existing systems and workflows seamlessly and effectively.
That process involves understanding patient and clinical needs, taking a holistic view of virtual care as part of the larger ecosystem, customizing solutions to fit, building a strong foundation, assessing existing resources, and partnering with an experienced virtual care specialist.
If you need help getting started, the SCP Health team is ready to discuss your organization’s current strengths and opportunities, and determine how our extensive virtual health capabilities could help.
