The three institutions profiled in September/October issue of Healthcare Executive provide their advice and recommendations for providers that may be newer to the telemedicine journey.
Nirav V. Kamdar, MD, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center: First, I suggest that organizations planning to invest in an EHR system ask potential vendors if their system has a telemedicine product attached to it or when they might be unveiling a telemedicine product in conjunction with the EHR.
Second, just go for it with a third-party commercial product that has a HIPAA-compliant version of the platform rather than building your own system, because the programming investment is high.
Third, the one full-time equivalent most important for organizations to invest in is a new administrative telemedicine scheduling employee. Scheduling in telemedicine is a little bit tricky. It can be painful for a clinician to handle both the visit and patient scheduling.
Christopher Pelt, MD, University of Utah Health: Try not to reinvent the wheel, but rather identify a partner, or if more than one technology is needed, partners, with whom you can work. That can be less costly than trying to develop the technology internally. But be thoughtful about and critical of external products and technologies. A lot of them are not all that helpful and could only add costs and complexity to the health system. Don’t lose sight of the importance of using telemedicine only in a way that adds value by reducing costs and improving the quality of care.
Daniel Barchi, New York Presbyterian: In an area involving innovation in technology like telemedicine, I advocate the idea of starting fast and failing fast. This is not something on which to spend months or years creating a business plan. Simply start with the modality that you think will work best for you and your patients. Do a small trial—it could be as small as five or 10 patients (who you inform of what you’re doing)—and then see what works. This process gains you so much more information than trying to paper it out ahead of time.
Learn more about telemedicine and virtual medicine, read the September/October The Rise of Virtual Medicine.
Susan Birk is a freelance healthcare writer based in Chicago.