Should Telehealth Still Be a Selling Point for Your Practice?
Although telehealth has been around for years, COVID-19 really brought it into common usage.
The pandemic-related increase in popularity makes sense; telehealth was an essential way for people to receive healthcare with the least risk to themselves, staff, and other patients. Given the complexities of that time, telehealth became the best option for most people.
Now that the pressing need for COVID-related telehealth has relented, we all have the opportunity to reflect on telehealth and analyze how we want to receive care today. For physicians, it’s a natural time to take stock of the current reality and weigh telehealth’s benefits and drawbacks both to practice and patient.
Is Telehealth Still a Win?
Most practices — both conventional and membership-based — continue to offer telehealth to patients as a valuable feature.
For conventional medicine, promoting telehealth provides huge value since insurance often doesn’t cover the service, and the entire transaction stays in-house. But does it make sense for concierge and DPC practices to continue promoting telehealth?
The answer seems to be, that depends. For some patients, telehealth is useful and even necessary, and certain types of appointments don’t always require a face-to-face meeting. But in many instances, the patient and doctor meeting together in the same room is more important.
Let’s look at the upsides and downsides of telehealth, and when it’s most effective.
Benefits of Telehealth
In what situations is telehealth still a helpful tool? What is its most useful application? The list of telehealth benefits is short, but powerful.
Telehealth is a potent time-saver. It saves patients time; it saves physicians time. And in some cases, it increases access to care, especially for those with chronic ailments that affect their mobility.
Saves Time
Not having to factor in time to physically get to an appointment opens up more possibilities for patients. Appointments that would otherwise be out of reach are doable because the person doesn’t have to leave home — or wherever they happen to be. Depending on your state regulations, you may be able to have an appointment with your patients via telehealth even while they’re traveling.
Telehealth saves physicians time as well. Because your patient doesn’t have to contend with stoplights, traffic, or any of the other unpredictable wild cards of driving, you don’t have to absorb their lateness as frequently. And according to the American College of Surgeons (ACS), telehealth reduces no-show rates by more than two-thirds for surgical patients.
But that, of course, is for surgical patients in a conventional model. Does this really apply to concierge and DPC members? Maybe.
Improves Accessibility
Depending on the population you serve, some of your members might benefit from the flexibility telehealth affords. People living with chronic illness or autoimmune conditions, for example, may experience symptoms that complicate the seemingly simple task of getting to an appointment. For these people and others, a telehealth option could be a boon to their ongoing care.
Drawbacks of Telehealth
Despite its time-saving and accessibility-increasing attributes, telehealth has some significant limitations.
Limits Medical Care
Though this first point is obvious, it’s worth exploring: Not every medically necessary action can be completed via telehealth.
Patients must still come in for imaging and testing. They’ll still need to be seen by a physician in person in order to diagnose issues that require a hands-on approach.
Introduces Privacy Concerns
Healthcare is highly personal, and not all patients are comfortable discussing sensitive issues over the phone or computer, or with submitting documents electronically. While HIPAA-compliant versions of video-conferencing exist, no electronic system is invulnerable.
Hinders Rapport
Existing members who already trust and like you may find it easy to transfer that relationship to telehealth appointments, but it can be very challenging to establish or nurture that trust via phone or video. Some physicians struggle to connect emotionally via technology, and some patients struggle to receive it.
Since the physician-patient relationship is one of the cornerstones of membership-based medicine, this is a significant aspect to consider.
Not Preferred by Patients
By and large, we’ve learned that a vast majority of concierge and DPC patients, when given the option, choose to physically come to the office and have an appointment face-to-face.
We suspect much of this stems from the dramatic improvement membership-based medicine brings to the patient experience over the conventional model. Concierge and DPC patients love to see their doctors. They feel they’re actually receiving healthcare at every touchpoint in their experience.
Your patients pay for and delight in the world-class experience your practice delivers. In fact, they crave it.
Reduces Investment in Health
Membership-based medicine patients understand that to be healthy, they must invest in their health. That investment then reflects back to them when they’re in your office.
A patient in your office has a physical, human connection with you as their physician and with your processes and care. The time they take to experience that human interaction with you produces greater motivation in them to continue making necessary and healthy changes in their life.
On top of that, when patients have been making positive changes in their health, going in to see their physician is the moment when they receive gratification for their efforts. Data like measurements, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. all provide objective markers that you as their physician can comment on (and praise).
The Medical and the Social
Telehealth simply isn’t — and can’t be — comprehensive care. Although it’s a great option for certain services when medically appropriate, it isn’t a permanent substitute for being physically seen by a doctor.
We can perhaps reduce telehealth’s drawbacks to two categories: the social and the medical, and we’ve covered the medical side already. Humans are social creatures; we need each other, and we thrive when we have healthy interpersonal interactions.
“Wine Wednesdays” on Zoom with friends may have been a great way to bridge the gap of isolation during the pandemic, but they didn’t fully meet the need for in-person socialization. Now that we have the option, most people opt to have a glass in person.
While going to the doctor isn’t a social event per se, it is part of the fabric of society. The office experience is part of the value you provide to your members. They’re seen, heard, and cared for not just by their physician, but by the entire team. That type of interaction has a tangible, favorable impact on human health — and it isn’t replicable remotely.
Moving Forward With (or Without) Telehealth
We’ve all probably used Door Dash or Uber Eats to order takeout from our favorite restaurant, especially during the pandemic. And while your favorite filet mignon or eggplant parmesan may have still been good, it probably wasn’t as good as in the restaurant. The whole experience was different.
This is, in part, due to the lost overall experience of physically being in the restaurant. There’s a social need not being met.
There’s a reason you don’t see fine dining restaurants optimizing for takeout. Top-tier chefs don’t prepare premium dishes for carryout because they know the meal will suffer. They simply can’t deliver their best offering in that context, and they don’t want to compromise the end product or their relationship with their customers.
In healthcare the stakes are, of course, higher. This doesn’t mean telehealth isn’t something to keep on your menu, but perhaps it isn’t the draw we once thought it would be.
While working to modernize patient care, it’s important not to lose sight of the highest value you provide your members — premium healthcare with an amazing experience from someone they know, truly like, and emphatically trust.
Frank Hernandez serves as the Chief Executive Officer at ROAMD, where membership-based, concierge, DPC and private medicine, all come together to transform the traditional healthcare industry as we know it. Frank’s experience in world-class luxury hospitality and network-based organizations gives him a unique perspective that he is passionate about in sharing with the world.
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