The idea of remote patient monitoring has existed since the 1960s, when it was used to monitor astronauts’ health in space. However, it was only in 2020 that, with the coming of COVID-19, people realized its potential even more and adopted it widely. Lockdowns across the globe sped up the adoption rate of telehealth services. Experts in custom healthcare software development services believe that the kind of benefits telehealth offers, such popularity is not a surprise when the world is going remote!
Be it storing patient information, emergency doctor consultancy, chronic disease monitoring, or appointment booking, telehealth services make all of it convenient. An eminent medical software development firm is of the opinion that hospitals and healthcare centers are reluctant to integrate telehealth into their EHR despite such benefits. In this blog, we will understand the benefits of integrating telehealth into your existing EHR and more!
Why you should integrate telehealth into existing EHR healthtech solutions
Adding a telehealth solution is indeed essential because even without it, your doctors are using some or the other features of telehealth. Whether they are calling the patients, responding to emails, or checking test results on messages, doctors are always at work! When a doctor is already using so many features of telehealth, integrating it into your EHR does make great sense. It will save time and bring every action of the provider and the patient in one place, and it will streamline patient care extensively.
During the pandemic in 2020, patients promptly refused to visit healthcare centers that did not have telehealth services.
There are clinics that use an EHR and a telehealth system as well, and this can be confusing as well. Having two systems will require the concerned medical professional to log into two different systems and be mindful of which has what records. On the other hand, if you club both systems, it will save time and help in keeping all patient records in one place.
Think of the doctor’s convenience when he/she gets all the appointment details in the EHR system after the telehealth call is over. This keeps providers away from high-risk patients and also saves patients time from unnecessary physical visits.
Some of the other benefits of telehealth systems are:
- Reduced exposure to complex viruses for both doctors and patients
- Effective health information exchange
- Alternative access to relevant healthcare providers
- Greater flexibility for patients
EHR integration also helps in removing the need to enter repetitive patient data. The automation of data recording makes it a major benefit for the administration of a hospital or healthcare center.
What to consider when integrating telehealth into your EHR software
By now, you have understood the benefits of the telehealth system. However, to reap the rewards of these benefits, integrating it into the existing system is the need of the hour. Here’s what you need to keep in mind for such telemedicine feature integration:
EHR Standards
Integrating telehealth into our healthcare systems is like trying to blend two distinct flavors into one seamless recipe. Most hospitals in the U.S. are still clinging to the somewhat outdated HL7 v2 standard. This standard is all about the messaging, kind of like sending letters without worrying about the color of the envelope. It focuses on transferring information between systems but doesn’t get into the nitty-gritty of how data should be neatly stored or organized – that’s where openEHR steps in. Then there’s the newer kid on the block, FHIR, which plays a similar game but doesn’t make the process any less complex.
Here’s where custom healthcare software development services shine. They understand that even if a hospital’s EHR system speaks HL7 v2, it’s like having a phone that can only send texts in an era of smartphones. To truly integrate telehealth, these services often suggest building a bridge – an intermediate layer that helps these systems talk to each other more effectively. Imagine using the FHIR LIHT standard to catch all the data from medical devices and then translating that into the HL7 v2 language.
HIPAA Compliance
When it comes to HIPAA, think of it as the guardian of patient data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act isn’t just a suggestion; it’s the law for protecting sensitive patient information. This is a big deal in custom healthcare software development, especially for systems that handle electronic health records (EHR), digital prescriptions, lab systems, and more. In 2018 alone, slipping up on HIPAA compliance cost healthcare organizations a whopping $28 million. To avoid becoming part of that statistic, many turn to HIPAA-as-a-service solutions offered by giants like AWS. AWS isn’t just about storage; it offers a risk management program that’s like a fortress built according to FedRAMP and NIST 800-53 standards, all aligned with HIPAA to keep patient data safe and sound.
Necessary Features to Add While Integrating Telehealth into EHR Systems
Video Conferencing
HIPAA Journal advises against using everyday video conferencing services like Skype or FaceTime to visually assess the patient’s state. To protect PHI and keep every piece of patient’s information in a single place, healthcare providers should use specialized secure telehealth solutions for visual consultations.
One-to-one messaging
Having the ability to exchange messages is useful for both healthcare providers and patients. They can use one-to-one messaging to:
- Give written instructions or summaries of e-visits
- Exchange additional information
- Ask quick questions when calling is impossible
Keeping doctor-patient correspondence in a secure N3-compliant data center is critical.
E-Prescribing
Eliminating dosage errors, electronically requesting prescription refills, helping patients get medications they need faster — these are only a few of the benefits e-Prescribing offers. By integrating e-Prescribing into your healthcare software, clinicians can enter prescription information into the system and securely send it to pharmacies. This way is more convenient, cheaper, and safer for all parties, be it a doctor, a pharmacy, or a patient.
Conclusion
As we wrap up our exploration into the integration of telemedicine features into custom healthcare software development, it’s clear that the convergence of healthcare and technology not only serves as a testament to human ingenuity but also marks a pivotal shift in how care is delivered. The journey from using telehealth to monitor astronauts in space to its indispensable role during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores a broader realization: the future of healthcare lies in its ability to adapt, evolve, and embrace technology.
Custom healthcare software development services play a critical role in this transformation. By bridging the gap between traditional EHR systems and the dynamic needs of telehealth, these services are not just solving technical puzzles; they are redefining the contours of patient care.
