The next time you or your employees need to see a healthcare professional, think about what it would be like to not have to sit in a waiting room or take time off work. You can get these benefits (and more!) when you meet with a telehealth vendor.
Telehealth services allow employees to meet virtually with a doctor or therapist from their office, remote workplace, or wherever works best for them. Telehealth vendors work to reduce barriers to healthcare, improving doctor-patient relationships and ensuring conditions are treated before they become serious. Essentially, investing in telehealth services can keep your workforce healthy and more productive.
With less time needed off work, lower appointment fees, and a diverse range of physical, mental, and emotional healthcare services, many employers are starting to view telehealth services as a key part of their benefits plan.
In this guide, we cover what you need to consider when evaluating telehealth vendors to minimize costs while maximizing your benefits.
Understanding Types of Telehealth Services
In order to get the most benefit for your business, you need to choose telehealth services that fit your employees’ wants and needs.
Synchronous telehealth refers to real-time patient-physician meetings via video or voice calls. This is a popular alternative to in-person doctor visits. It is mostly used for patients who need appointments for primary care, follow-up visits, urgent care, or medication management.
Another form of telehealth is the store-and-forward model. This service involves sharing information with a physician or specialist in another location. For example, you can share lab reports, test results, or imaging studies with a radiologist, dermatologist, or specialist in another state. This helps patients, primary care providers, and specialists collaborate in a secure, time-efficient, and cost-effective way.
Remote monitoring or telemonitoring allows healthcare professionals to track high-risk patients and chronic conditions from any location. Healthcare professionals use data from blood pressure readers, oximeters, pacemakers, and glucose meters to monitor their patients’ health.
Finally, mHealth vendors use smartphones and third-party apps to support their patients between visits. Push notifications, specific care instructions, and education materials are used to help keep patients in the loop.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Telehealth Vendor
A telehealth vendor equips healthcare professionals with the right networking solutions. At the same time, it provides patients with instant access to healthcare. This includes secure video chat software, patient dashboards, medical carts, and virtual clinics.
Like any other healthcare program, there are important aspects to consider when choosing the right telehealth vendors for you and your employees.
1. Security and Compliance
Data security is one of the most critical aspects to look for when choosing a telehealth platform. These services deal with personal medical and patient information, so you should make sure your vendor will keep your employees safe. Before choosing a telehealth vendor, it’s important to confirm how they store and share patient information within their system. Check whether the provider is HIPAA, PHIPA, or PIPEDA compliant. Additionally, make sure they include end-to-end encryption to prevent unauthorized third-party access.
2. Platform-Agnostic Software
Platform-agnostic software can run on multiple operating systems or devices. This means that the service will operate smoothly regardless of the device that the patient or healthcare provider uses.
Web-based and cloud-based platforms are the most flexible for a wide variety of devices. They are easily accessible on desktops, tablets, laptops, and smartphones, and don’t require downloads or installations.
3. Support
It’s important to look for a telehealth vendor that is willing to collaborate with your business. Ideally, you want a platform that works with your existing management benefits. A chatbot can’t offer guidance on cost-saving configurations and setups. That’s why you need to make sure your team has access to a support team that will provide real-time assistance throughout their telehealth journey.
Consider whether your telehealth vendor offers ways to educate employees on how to effectively use the platform. This will help them better understand all of the features that come with their telehealth service.
4. Administrative Requirements
Managing employee benefits is no small task. Choose a telehealth vendor that is not administration intensive. The more complicated program management is, the more likely it is for inaccuracies to occur. This can then affect payments, claims, and annual reports.
5. Ease of Use
If the platform isn’t easy to use, your employees won’t use it. It’s that simple. Not all of your employees are equally technically minded. In order for your entire team to benefit from a telehealth service, it needs to be easy to both access and navigate.
6. Comprehensive Service
A telehealth service that allows you to meet online but still requires in-person script collection doesn’t quite make sense. An efficient platform should be more than a webcam application. Besides real-time healthcare access, the following features are essential:
- Intake and forms management
- Medical history logs
- Scheduling and notifications
- Easy onboarding
- Electronic scripting
- Symptom checker
- Medication tracker
- Payment modes
Know Which Benefits Marketplace to Explore
Your current insurance might offer a telehealth benefit as an add-on. It’s important to consider whether this will merely increase premiums with little to no value, or offer a comprehensive solution.
An independent telehealth vendor can dedicate their attention to your employees. The service also comes with a range of features that can enhance your employees’ wellness awareness. In addition, integrating the best telehealth solution into your benefits management workflow can help minimize the administrative burden on your HR staff.
ADP
ADP integrates into your management system to simplify your workflow. When you add an employee to the system, their information easily transfers to the combined telehealth solutions platform. Being able to sync your employee data with the telehealth vendor system can enhance your information management. This makes it easier for your employees to access the care they need. With the right information at your fingertips, you can run a more efficient benefits program.
Marbles HR
Marbles HR offers a streamlined HR ecosystem that keeps resources accessible to employers and employees alike. With API integrations that seamlessly connect with telehealth vendors’ systems, you cut down on the red tape on both sides and make healthcare all the more accessible to your team.
Pair With Doctegrity for Better Benefits
While a comprehensive telehealth program is beneficial and convenient for employee health, it can also impact your bottom line. With improved access to healthcare, increased productivity, and reduced downtime, taking care of your staff means taking care of your business. Additionally, simplified benefits data management ensures accurate records and information transfer.
With increasing medical costs, day-to-day healthcare is a financial burden for many. Doctegrity provides a better solution at a lower cost. Contact the Doctegrity team today to transform the integration of healthcare in your benefits plan.
