Page 22 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part One

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

1. Do you have a virtual waiting room in the event a patient
no-shows or cancels a visit so you can move on to the next

patient?

2. Do you ask appropriate screening questions?

3. Are your patient intake forms and consents available prior

to the visit?

4. Are educational materials available for the patient?

5. If a patient needs a laboratory or other diagnostic test,
where do you send them?

Keeping these concerns in mind, let’s look at some basics for

implementing telemedicine as a service in a medical practice.

Preparing and Practicing Before Implementation

If possible, pilot or simulate various telemedicine “visits” in
the office prior to launching. Create a dummy account in your
practice management software and send it to staff. You can

practice and adjust before you begin to see patients virtually.

These mock visits allow you to cover the basics such as:
logging in and out, appropriate lighting, privacy, external camera
positioning, audio, and appearance. All of these may affect the

telemedicine experience for both you and your patient.

Prepare patients for the telemedicine encounter beforehand as
well. The patient should be made aware that the virtual visit is

generally problem-focused, and the limitations of the visit should
be well-explained so the patient may opt for an in-person visit

instead.

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