As things continue to change minute by minute, and people are encouraged to stay at home, primary care physicians must meet the needs of their patients wherever they are. Telehealth or telemedicine has been around for years, but with recent temporary changes to privacy and security rules, it’s making it easier for primary care providers to reach their patients.  However, amid these challenging times picking the right Telehealth application shouldn’t be one of them. Before selecting a Telehealth application,  primary care physicians may want to consider EMR integration and ease of use.

EMR Integration

Most primary care providers and staff have spent years mastering workflow within their EMR. Consider researching a Telehealth application that can be embedded with your existing technology, some of the most common EMRs support Telehealth, including, eClinicalWorks, EPIC My Chart, Kareo, and NextGen. This option allows your practice to work within an established framework and ensures that medical records are not duplicated.

User Friendly

Implementing any new workflow is a challenge. The Telehealth application must have buy-in from both your colleagues, patients, and staff. Everyone involved should feel comfortable using Telehealth, including your most vulnerable patients (i.e., elderly, high risk, and low-income households). To promote successful implementation, look for a Telehealth application that’s intuitive, easy to use, and are supported across all devices. There are many options out there to pick from, some of our OSP providers are using applications such as doxy.me and Zoom for Healthcare.

Lastly, keep in mind though CMS has relaxed the privacy and security rules during our public health emergency, it’s still important to keep your patient information secure. OSP encourages you to choose a Telehealth application that meets HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules to ensure that once we are no longer in a public health emergency, your practice may continue to offer flexible and convenient healthcare services anytime and anywhere.

For more information or assistance, please call your OSP Practice Representative, or contact OSP at 248-357-4048 or email contact@aniosp.com.