How Telehealth and EHR Technology Complement Each Other
Learn How Integrating Telehealth with Your EHR Technology Can Improve Clinical Workflows
Over 95% of U.S. hospitals use a certified EHR platform, and the benefits of implementing this technology are clear. EHR platforms provide better continuity of care, simplify data collection, decrease overhead costs, and reduce mortality rates for the chronically ill.
Integrating an EHR system with a telehealth platform can further help organizations make the most of this technology, which can improve clinical workflows. Many telehealth providers already design their systems to be integrated with leading EHR platforms, which allows patient information to pass easily from one interface to another. When used together, telehealth and EHR systems can significantly improve the care delivery system.
Automate Data Entry
Without EHR and telehealth integration, providers likely need to enter the same information twice. After consulting with a patient remotely, providers create a summary of the telehealth visit. If the telehealth system isn’t integrated with the facility’s EHR system, they will also need to enter that same information into the patient’s health records, reducing efficiency in the workplace.
Integrating these two systems eliminates the need for duplicate data entries. When providers take notes during a telehealth visit, this information automatically goes into the patient’s health record, simplifying the data entry process. This also reduces the chances of making an error when updating the EHR system, ensuring providers have access to current, accurate information.
Synchronize Patient Insurance Information
As more insurance companies begin to cover telehealth services, keeping track of telehealth coverage can be a challenge if a provider doesn’t have access to patients’ insurance information at the time of the visit. However, when providers integrate their telehealth and EHR systems, they can verify patient eligibility before signing them up for a virtual consultation.
This ensures providers are reimbursed for their time and services, reducing confusion and costly delays in the workplace. Many EHR developers link their systems to insurance databases, making it easier for providers to track patient benefits and eligibility.
Streamline the Provider and Patient Virtual Care Experience
When a provider consults with a patient during a telehealth visit, they need access to the patient’s health records to properly diagnose and assess the patient’s symptoms and facilitate the same efficient care as an in-person consultation. Embedding telehealth technology within the practice’s EHR system gives providers simple access to the patient’s health records, utilizing the same system they are already familiar with.
Launching audio/video consultations directly from existing EHR systems creates seamless, simplified virtual care workflows that mirror the same authenticity as face-to-face provider/patient interactions.
Integrating these systems also helps patients understand their diagnoses. When a patient is finished with their telehealth visit, they’ll be able to see a summary of their visit along with the rest of their medical history, helping provide context for any new information.
Both providers and medical facilities would greatly benefit from EHR and telehealth integration. Merging these two systems eases the flow of information, reduces the chances of error when updating a patient’s records, improves patient outcomes, and simplifies the billing process. Providers looking to implement a telehealth system should look for a platform that integrates with their current EHR system.
Making changes to the telehealth system should automatically update the patient’s health records and vice versa, so providers always have access to the latest information when virtually consulting with patients. Providers shouldn’t have to enter the same information twice or consult with patients without looking at the rest of their medical history. For more information, visit InTouch Health to see a range of telemedicine articles on the benefits of telehealth.