While COVID-19 has caused many inconveniences for clinics, there’s one positive to the restructuring occurring in the healthcare industry: accessible telehealth options for clinics and patients. Consumers and patients have been advocating for this option for years, and current circumstances have resulted in an accelerated evolution. For those who are disabled, who do not have reliable transportation, or live in a rural area that does not have a nearby specialty clinic, telehealth has become a welcome change. Not to mention, your average hectic family schedule can benefit from an online appointment.
The benefits to clinics and providers are numerous; offering telehealth during these difficult times and in the future can help their practice scheduling and financial outcomes in multiple ways.
Increase your patient list
As mentioned before, telehealth has become a great solution for providing specialty medical services in rural areas. The necessity of finding a specialty provider becomes much easier for the patient if they can schedule initial appointments with the specialty provider option they need. While an in-person appointment is always an option, the groundwork for a strong patient and provider relationship will be established. This mean that in-person appointments can be focused on those elements that require testing and face-to-face interaction.
Offer a variety of accommodating services
Many people will drag their feet when it comes to setting up an appointment because they have to find the time for the commute and visit—especially if they don’t think it’s an immediate need. However, if your clinic offers online consultations or routine check-in appointments, then that makes it much easier for them do it. Plus, many clinics have already begun to adopt more digital- and remote-friendly additions to their services because patients are demanding a more efficient processes. This will help a clinic stay accommodating.
Inspire a more efficient digital system.
However, to effectively make the change, the clinics need to be prepared for how the services will be billed and reimbursed. Setting the staff up with a digital/online system will allow them to easily communicate with patients, schedule appointments, and log information critical to an accurate claim. Telehealth appointments will be billed differently than an in-person one, so billing them as a normal appointment can cause a claim to be rejected. That’s why it’s important to log them correctly at the very beginning of the process, when the appointment is being made.
Still having issues with your billing as your struggle to figure out telehealth and a new system? The experts at Outsource Receivables Inc. are equipped to help streamline your entire process to improve your clinic’s overall revenue. Give us a call to learn more.