Banty Co-Founder and Medical Director, Dr. Richard Tytus, provided the subject matter and direction for this article. The author would like to thank Adam Grant for his editorial assistance in writing the article. Dr. Richard Tytus takes responsibility for the content of the article.
By no means are telemedicine services a new concept for medical clinics. For many years now, technology that allows doctors and patients to connect remotely has been widely available. Day-by-day, however, this technology continues to improve and give healthcare professionals the ability to practice virtual medicine easily and securely.
Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, online doctor’s appointments became a necessity for various medical facilities, due to health and safety protocols that encouraged people to stay home as much as possible.
Even though this global health crisis encouraged many medical clinics to accept and implement a steady telemedicine solution, not all of them have chosen to continue using them, or sign up for one in the first place.
This is what a medical clinic risks by not offering telemedicine services to its patients:
Missing Out on Helpful Technology
While some technology can arguably complicate a person’s day-to-day, the technology used for online medicine solutions have the exact opposite effect.
For instance, Banty Virtual Clinic has been designed with ease-of-use in mind for both doctors and patients. Doctors get to create a unique Banty room address (i.e., Banty.com/MyClinic). This link is then shared with patients. When it comes time for a patient to have an online doctor visit, this is the only link they’ll need in order to gain access to the appointment.
What’s more, Banty Virtual Clinic is HIPAA/PHIPA compliant and uses end-to-end encryption to ensure all conversations between a doctor and their patients remain private. As for the solution’s video call functionality, it has been built in a way that calls will remain online no matter the strength of someone’s Internet connection. If the signal is weak, a call can be easily converted into an audio-only format with just the click of a button.
Not Recognizing the Future of Patient Care
In a lot of ways, the future of virtual medicine is now. As more and more patients are becoming aware of how to see a doctor online, comes the expectation that their physician will offer such treatment versatility.
When a medical clinic opts to not get onboard with a telehealth solution, it is showing that it either does not recognize the future of patient care, or simply doesn’t have any interest in breaking routine for the sake of providing better treatment.
No matter the reasoning, not giving patients an option to have a video call with their doctor is a very bad look.
The Loss of Patients
Patients could simply see that their doctor does not offer online doctor’s appointments and begin to wonder if it’s time to find a physician who does.
Individuals like convenience and understand that certain forms of technology offer it. Once patients know that not all doctor’s appointments need to be held in-person, why continually force them into the clinic?
In a lot of ways, this is a very selfish move for a clinic. By not taking the leap and adopting an easy and secure telemedicine solution, a clinic is not just inconveniencing patients, they also run the risk of incidentally causing them harm.
Depending on the ailment of an individual, getting to and from a doctor’s office can take a lot out of them physically. By the time they reach their in-person appointment, that recently repaired knee is sore from the strain put on it, or that flu bug will get worse due to more exposure to the elements and too much unnecessary exertion.
All of this can be avoided by making a live video chat online with a doctor available to patients. If such services are not being offered, prepare yourself for a loss of patients.
A More Flexible Practice
Welcoming a telemedicine solution into a clinic also creates flexibility for those who work at one – especially doctors.
If a doctor is venturing off for a week-long conference but still has patients that need to be checked in on during that time, having a video conference option serves everyone well.
What’s more, making doctor-patient video calls a priority at a practice can help keep waiting rooms leaner, and allow for office hours to not be so rigid.
Tap here to learn more about Banty Virtual Clinic!
