How To Increase Patient Engagement With Telehealth?
Today the healthcare organizations are actively using telehealth as the best solution to connecting with patients online. Some of the top healthcare practices reported that they found it difficult to connect with patients via telehealth during the initial stages when they were making the transition to virtual patient encounters.
They found the first few telehealth visits disengaged also dealing with more technical issues. Understanding the real benefits and how to use the features at the best helped them to easily adapt to the telehealth solutions effectively. Are you facing the same kind of issues and looking for simple strategies to work it well. An article provides you the 6 best ways to improve patient engagement with telehealth.
Top 6 ways to improve patient engagement with telehealth
1. Provide access for patients to their health records online
According to a recent report, 57% of patients say they would be engaged in their healthcare if they had complete access to their medical records online. In the same way, 41% of patients who can’t able to access their medical records online would consider switching their physicians to get access.
Nowadays patients are more interested to know and understand everything about their health records. As people started adopting the telehealth option for accessing healthcare, providing patients the right access to their medical records will help to improve patient engagement.
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2. Use e-mail communication for engaging with patients
Reaching your patients through the technology they know very well is the key to patient engagement, and email is one of the most effective ways to reach patients of all ages.
As new tools are popping up every day to connect with patients, sometimes it seems like communication technology has to change quickly that we can keep up with. This led some hospitals to rush into creating an app to connect with their patients. Others continue with the old paper and telephone-based primary communication methods to engage patients.
But some hospitals clearly understand that patients want to communicate the way they wish to do in their daily life. An email has an important place in patient-provider communication and it also remains to be the patient’s top choice for connecting with their doctors.
Creating and maintaining a complete email list will help you to send appointment reminders to your patients, sharing updates on your patient portal, and sending out necessary health information.
3. Use mHealth technology to drive patient engagement
According to a recent report, 96% of patients believe mHealth will help them to improve their care online. Similarly, 30% of patients are currently using apps to monitor their health conditions online.
mHealth is an important tool for enhancing patient engagement. From patient portals to smartphone apps and home monitoring systems, mHealth stays everywhere in a patient’s life. As these are easily available through wearable devices, they can also be used for remote patient monitoring and telehealth. This leads patients to easily monitor their health and interact with their providers as they wish.
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4. Virtual care visits improve patient engagement
The patient satisfaction levels help both payers and providers to view telehealth as a reliable option for quality healthcare delivery. And in recent study researchers found that patients are as satisfied with virtual visits as they are with in-person healthcare visits. So, offering virtual care visits is one of the great ways to engage your patients easily and strengthen your practice’s profitability.
5. Make use of mobile-friendly healthcare software
A report reveals that nearly 64% of American adults are using smartphones. Most Americans live out their daily lives with their phones in hand. Take advantage of that. Make your practice website mobile-compatible. Create an app for your practice. Send out appointment reminders and other notifications via text.
6. Build your online presence
Patients are more likely to be engaged when they trust you and can interact with your “brand,” even when you’re not around! Cultivating your reputation online through review sites, blogs, and social media can help build your presence.
Ready to get started? Always remember to get your staff on board, and put together a solid patient engagement framework for your practice for long-term change. And of course, include your patients in the discussion. Ask them what would help them get more engaged in their care.
Vozo offers you the best telehealth software that helps you to connect with your patients in real-time. Schedule a free demo with Vozo experts today to know more about improving your patient engagement with Vozo telehealth solutions.
About the author
With more than 4 years of experience in the dynamic healthcare technology landscape, Sid specializes in crafting compelling content on topics including EHR/EMR, patient portals, healthcare automation, remote patient monitoring, and health information exchange.
His expertise lies in translating cutting-edge innovations and intricate topics into engaging narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.