With the pandemic limiting access to in-person healthcare, telehealth has surfaced as a popular platform for care delivery. New analysis indicates telehealth use has increased 38X from the pre-COVID baseline. A lot of these appointments initially involved a combination of voice and video interactions between the provider and patient. However, many people are now moving to voice-only live phone calls for many reasons.
Why patients prefer voice-only telehealth
Some patients prefer to interact with providers without feeling compelled to be on screen. This is especially true if the patient has a condition that impacts their physical appearance or abilities. Furthermore, it’s easier for a bed-ridden patient to talk on the phone than to appear on video or in person. (1)
On top of that, patients dealing with chronic health problems may find that it’s not always easy to leave the house and drive to in-person appointments. Many people have also admitted to putting off care to avoid the hassle of in-person appointments. (4)
The voice-only appointment option eliminates the hardship of leaving the house and driving to an appointment. This is especially true if the patient is not feeling well and is prone to get more stressed from a trip to the doctor’s office.
Fewer issues with missed appointments
One of the biggest inconveniences to health providers is missed appointments and last-minute cancellations or rescheduling. With voice-only telehealth, missed appointments are much less likely to happen because the patient does not have to drive to the physical location. They don’t even have to leave the comfort of their home!
With telehealth, the limitations of not being physically well enough to travel or having a condition with restrictions are not an issue. Providers can gain efficiency when interacting with patients if there are fewer missed appointments.
Other positive outcomes with telehealth
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends telehealth for chronic health mediation due to reduced risk factors that typically come along with chronic diseases. (1) Based on its reviews of telehealth systems, the CPSTF identified the following key positive outcomes:
- More patient adherence to medication and treatment programs: Patients are more accountable to providers for following care instructions when appointments occur more frequently.
- More focused one-on-one conversations: A telemedicine encounter eliminates all of the distractions of a busy medical office environment. The patient and the provider can focus on the present concern. (5) The option of voice-only visits makes it easier for the provider and patient to craft a comprehensive treatment plan that may address needs not always met in an office setting.
- Better health outcomes: The use of telehealth for both routine and intervention appointments reduces health risks associated with chronic conditions and increases patient health outcomes. Moreover, during a voice-only visit, a contagious person can be assessed without exposing other patients or office staff to the ailment. Patients who don’t have a communicable condition benefit by being seen remotely because they don’t come in contact with contagious people who must be seen in the office.
UCaaS systems provide quality healthcare
Today’s health providers need to be able to operate faster than ever, with access to specialist support on a range of channels. The only way to ensure business continuity and efficiency is with a unified approach. UC keeps specialists, institutions, and experts aligned on the same network to collaborate efficiently on complex health issues. This allows for faster diagnosis, treatment, and care management.
With a unified communications solution, you can more efficiently manage phone calls with patients, take and organize notes during the calls, and send follow-up instructions. (1) A unified communications solution also enhances opportunities for collaboration between primary doctors and specialists. Patients can visit with specialists who might not be in their area, who can then interact with the primary doctor to discuss care plans.
Professionals in the healthcare landscape spend a lot of time on their feet while rushing between patients. With the workforce now more distributed than ever, mobile clinics, in-home care specialists and telehealth providers need to extend the workplace. The traditional office must expand to merge with a new era of care – one driven by unified communications.
Trust the data
The data shows that telehealth can not only be as effective as in-person care, but that it actually contributes to better patient outcomes when compared to the traditional approach. Since the pandemic began, telehealth has offered a bridge to care, and now offers a chance to reinvent virtual care models. The main goal is that of improved healthcare access, outcomes, and affordability.
Around 40 percent of surveyed consumers stated that they believe they will continue to use telehealth going forward—up from 11 percent of consumers using telehealth prior to COVID-19. On the provider side, 58 percent of physicians continue to view telehealth more favorably now than they did before COVID-19. With innovators focusing on creating value through personalized virtual care experiences and need fulfillment, it’s clear there is a promising path forward for telemedicine.
Sources
(1) Ring Central
(2) McKinsey
(3) Rock Health
(5) Chiron Health