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Trying to scale your telehealth programs with just a video conferencing tool? Try again.

Trying to scale your telehealth programs with just a video conferencing tool? Try again.
Trying to scale your telehealth programs with just a video conferencing tool? Try again.
Trying to scale your telehealth programs with just a video conferencing tool? Try again.

January 25, 2022

Trying to scale your telehealth programs with just a video conferencing tool? Try again.

In 2022 and beyond, we expect to see addictions organizations move away from point products like video conferencing tools and manual, disconnected processes towards comprehensive telehealth solutions that enable them to deliver virtual addictions treatment at scale. But, why do healthcare leaders need to rethink their telehealth tech stack to begin with? 

In 2020, 81% of addictions patients reported that addictions services were unavailable to them due to the pandemic.Even so, providers continue to treat 50 to 175 times the number of patients through telehealth than they were before the pandemic. In order for addictions organizations to deliver treatment to patients already on their to roster and reduce their waitlists, they need to rethink how, and with what technology and systems they deliver virtual treatment. This means embracing complete solutions that offer more than a simple video call, helping to liberate data, standardize processes, and scale services effectively.

Below are three critical steps to rethinking your organization’s telehealth strategy so you can easily scale services to effectively treat more clients.  

Deliver a digital-first experience

Healthcare’s digital innovation lags a decade behind other industries, even though “telehealth utilization has stabilized at levels 38 times higher than before the pandemic.” More than ever, people  expect the same digital experience in healthcare that they receive while banking and shopping. Unfortunately, addictions organizations who don’t offer this experience run the risk of failing if they cannot remain competitive in a rapidly growing industry. This is especially true as companies such as Google and Amazon dip their toes in healthcare , becoming significant players in the industry. 

To thrive in a digital world, addictions organizations should consider leveraging comprehensive telehealth solutions with a client-facing portal– similar to the portal clients use while banking and shopping– to deliver more than a simple video call. Clients are looking for complete virtual programs that constantly engage them through their treatment journey. Comprehensive solutions not only do just that, but enhance program admissions, provide ongoing engagement through content, and offer new programming that was inaccessible previously. In delivering the modern experience that patients expect, addictions organizations can increase accessibility to their services and enhance retention rates because treatment is easy to find, comply with, and complete. Completion rates are essential for addictions organizations, because they can help organizations boost retention to drive patient lifetime value.  

Reduce the administrative burden through integrations

Unlike video conferencing tools, which is used to solely connect with clients over video conference call, addictions leaders should seek out complete telehealth solutions that are built to provide end-to-end treatment programs for clients and providers. Finding platforms with automations to reduce operational redundancies and inefficiencies is paramount. 

With a comprehensive telehealth solution that does not rely on manual processes like sending forms via email to deliver virtual treatment, addictions organizations can reduce the administrative burden placed on staff by standardizing processes through automation and integrations. Compared to video conferencing tools, comprehensive telehealth solutions leverage APIs to automatically synchronize data entry to eliminate the error-prone and time-consuming process of a manual entry. As a result, staff no longer need to spend 7% to 14% more time on manual processes and administrative tasks, and organizations can instead use this time to begin treating more clients and eliminate their ever-growing waitlist.  

Use data to make better business decisions

It’s important for healthcare leaders to leverage a comprehensive telehealth solution that equips them with data to help their organization uncover new insights about productivity, efficiency, and care effectiveness. With real-time data, healthcare leaders can see how telehealth is affecting their staff and patients to make better business decisions. For example, more comprehensive solutions report on revenue growth, patient compliance, and program completion rates by analyzing appointments scheduled and completed, client acquisition, and total appointments billed. Moreover, data such as total appointments billed can help organizations engage higher-use patients with additional content to increase their retention and drive patient lifetime value. By reimagining healthcare delivery and choosing technology that offers enlightening data, healthcare organizations and their providers can revolutionize how they deliver efficient and targeted care with a connected system powering their operations. 

Choosing a comprehensive telehealth solution means transforming your organization and virtual treatment programs into an efficient, collaborative, and data-rich option for clients, providers, and business for the long-term. Organizations who continue to equip providers and administrators with disconnected platforms will only continue experiencing discontinuity, a lack of connection to their clients, and more burnout as a result of disorganization. Because of this, organizations should look to invest in solutions that maximize efficiency and engage patients in new ways to improve healthcare outcomes and scale their operations for better business in the future. 

Read Trafalgar Addictions Treatment Centers case study to learn how they grew their virtual care operations by 300% in just 1 year.

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