Although some people may have thought that telemedicine was just a temporary stopgap solution that grew popular by necessity during the pandemic, we now know that this way of providing health care is here to stay.
As a medical services professional with your own practice, you may have rushed into a relationship with the first telemedicine merchant account provider that came along back in 2020. But now, with the insight that time and experience provide, you are wondering if you made the best choice for the long run.
Think of the following as red flags that you should heed as you make the important decision of whether to upgrade or stick with your current telehealth care billing package.
1. Your current solution is not HIPAA-compliant
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been put in place to protect patients and their health and payment data from security breaches and unauthorized access.
If you are conducting virtual telemedicine visits with your patients, you absolutely must find a high risk payment processor that is in full compliance with these federal mandates.
To that end, the online platform that you use in your telemedicine visits must be secured and completely HIPAA-compliant in order to protect the patient health information (PHI) being discussed.
If your current telemedicine merchant account and payment processing provider cannot guarantee that they and the systems they use are in full compliance with HIPAA, there is no question that the time has come to shop for another option.
2. Your current solution is not integrated with patient electronic health records
Initially, it may have seemed that outsourcing to a stand-alone third-party vendor was an efficient way to conduct your telemedicine practices. However, this arrangement subjects your patients’ electronic health records (EHR) to privacy risks if it accesses or even stores these digital documents. Also, the service might require patients to pay a subscription fee in order to gain access, an arrangement that not everyone can afford.
Finally, the stand-alone platform might not offer integrated data entry, resulting in your staff needing to input and re-input patient information on different platforms.
3. The system is confusing and hard to use
Ideally, every patient should be able to join their virtual visit without a hitch. The experience should not be frustrating or cumbersome and should be accessible to those at all technical experience levels.
Top-tier telemedicine account providers offer software that is easy for patients to use. They should be able to participate seamlessly by clicking on a link sent to them in an email or text message, with no need for creating an account, logging in or remembering complicated passwords.
Think of it this way: If your grandmother finds your current system to be too complicated and overwhelming, it might be time to take a look at the solutions that are now on the market.
4. Your existing system does not integrate with the other platforms in your practice
Although insurance companies now cover most of the cost for telehealth visits, your patient may still be required to provide a copay.
If your third-party system is not integrated with your practice’s EHR, billing and practice management platforms, your staff might be spending extra time collecting payments over the phone, helping patients to enter data into a payment gateway or offering guidance on how to fill out a payment processing form.
The bottom line is that you no longer need to be content with the fragmented workflow that happens with these stand-alone systems.
5. Your current system has skimpy features
If the solution you are now using has little to offer beyond a calendar and video call technology, you are missing out on a world of possibilities. Today’s top-shelf platforms are designed to help you not only provide HIPAA-compliant visits and billing but also support the other clinical, administrative and patient services your practice provides.
For example, did you know that modern solutions can assist you in scheduling appointments, checking patients in and out, processing payments and recurring invoicing?
Furthermore, providers can log into visits using various technologies: iPhone, android and personal computers. Other clinic staff can join in on the call if the situation warrants, and the patient can sign all forms and even make their payment in advance.
Being able to take care of these tasks ahead of time enables them to focus fully on the visit.
6. You’re not getting your money’s worth
As telemedicine becomes a standard part of most modern practices, merchant account providers have reacted by raising the prices of their software and services.
Worse still, many have continued to offer the same meager packages without enhancing them as innovations come to the fore. If you are paying more every year for the same paltry features, now is the time to investigate the difference that just a few years can make in what is available to you.
The ideal telemedicine merchant account provider will furnish you with a solution that makes telehealth approachable and accessible to all. Its features should enable you to streamline your processes to serve patients and accept their payments, all in a way that is in total compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Telemedicine is becoming more popular with every passing year, a trend that shows no signs of reversing anytime soon. Since you have embraced this treatment format and are using it to serve the most remote and vulnerable of your patients, you should invest in a telemedicine merchant account company that can furnish you with the best that modern telehealth technology has to offer.
Partner with an integrated telehealth solution, and you will find that your practice is transformed and your patients’ payment and personal data is well-protected.
Best of all, you can rest assured that all of your systems are in total compliance with HIPAA, alleviating any worries you may have had in the past about hefty financial penalties.
