Globally telehealth will experience a huge surge of growth this year and is predicted to grow greater than $20 billion by the end of 2020. Recent crisis surrounding infectious disease only increases the appeal of telehealth businesses and the model.
Easy Access – There are many reasons that it’s very difficult and time consuming to see a doctor. People are often too busy to make an appointment and fail to see a doctor. Often people get anxious or reschedule for other reasons. Popular doctors are booked for weeks or in some places doctors are scarce.
Telehealth allows people to see doctors with less waiting time and without even leaving home. This eliminates much of the stress and waiting rooms. The patient just has to open the application and click a few choices on the screen.
Secure – Mobile health applications are armed with encryption and other technologies which provide the patient with a secure and private connection for their private medical conversations. This helps patients feel secure and safe when they chat with their doctor.
Less Costly – Telemedicine is highly profitable. Maintaining an application is much easier than an entire clinic. If it’s a business that already has an established hospital or medical center, telemedicine offers additional revenue. Doctors can provide more service and even better service without as much expense. Telehealth appointments can help fill up empty physical appointment slots and other office delays as well.
Studies have indicated that businesses can save anywhere from 5-20% of their costs using telehealth making it worth the time and investment.
Less Bureaucracy – Telehealth applications allow for efficient recording and easy recovery and sharing of medical data. Doctors and patients can access data at all times, making work more effective. This makes it easier for a patient to be seen by a different doctor while still receiving accurate informed health advice.
Safe – Telehealth appointments offer the choice for the sick to see a doctor without risk of catching or spreading a possible infectious disease. This both helps ease anxiety and widespread use could save lives and lower national medical costs.
Over half of patients are willing to use telehealth apps and over 20 million Americans receive some kind of remote care every year making telehealth a market impossible to be ignored. Starting one is a little more complicated that your average business however…
Not as simple as 1,2,3… but with just six careful stages we will guide you through the basic steps needed to start and grow your new telehealth business…
In this stage you will need to investigate the regulations in your state regarding telehealth medicine. Each US State has unique legal and regulatory hurdles to overcome. You will need an attorney and the right people to help make sure that your business is in compliance with all local, state, and federal laws.
Your market also has a unique blend of patients and doctors. Find market leaders and competitors in your area and learn about what makes them strong and how they are weak. Look at their ratings and customer reviews to see if there is something you can offer that your competitors are not. Be better than the competition. Pay attention to what platforms your competition uses, what they charge and how their organization differs from the idea you plan to develop.
Be sure to also research trends in the market and find ways to attract new customers and those that may have never tried telehealth before. This information will help with your marketing as well as choosing the right portal, platform and staff.
Be sure that the app and platform you choose has the right features. Keep in mind that people often don’t trust doctors until they become comfortable. You need to make your patient feel safe knowing that their information is secure and private. Make sure that the chat and video features work seamlessly and are easy enough for an amateur to use. Simplicity for clients is always a good thing to keep as a priority.
Some other features that many platforms provide like paperless notes and documentation, record archiving, automated reminders, and automated insurance, billing, and payments can make sure that your business runs smoothly with less need for paperwork or an excessively large staff which will help you with workflow and saving money.
The easier and more secure everything is, the more satisfied your patients will be. It’s important that you find the right platform and Tack Media can help you with developing your website portal and installing a reliable platform to help treat patients.
Once you have a plan and a platform it is important that you test it and make sure that it works how it should. Get familiar with the application with your staff and doctors before you actually start hosting patients. Make sure you think like a patient and eliminate anything that will get in the way of a comfortable and simple experience.
Tack Media has first had experience in training doctors and staff in the telehealth industry to use the platform effectively so that your patients have the best experience.
If you don’t have a business already you will need to set one up.
Contact the local Small Business Association and your local medical board and get more information about how to get incorporated as a telehealth business. The laws are different everywhere and the requirements are too. You will need licenses and bank accounts and possibly more.
There are two types of telehealth businesses:
Direct to Consumer: This type of telehealth business the patient is at home with receiving services. This is the most convenient for the patient. The patient reports vital information and symptoms to the doctor and the doctor decides if a in person follow up is necessary.
Hub and Spoke: Some states and insurances do not allow certain patients to use direct to consumer telemedicine. Hub and spoke is when the patient reports to a “Hub” location where supporting staff will put them in touch with the doctor who is located at a central “Spoke” location. States and insurance carriers have different requirements for both types of Hub and spoke locations and it is important if you are building this kind of system to know each group’s policies and requirements.
There are many business models out there for telemedicine. It’s usp to you to decide whether your business model will focus on quality of care, cost savings, or market access. They are all worth incorporating in some fashion into your unique system. You should choose the focus based on your market research.
There are many places to look for customers. Institution to institution networking, employer workforces, and ACO’s are two very big opportunities for a telehealth business to start growth. Working with any of those three medical need pools can give you a jumpstart of patients and it is probably a good idea to go after them.
An effective marketing campaign or marketing solutions provider can steer you in the right direction to find customers in endless ways. Don’t miss out on the opportunities that direct and indirect marketing can bring to your telehealth business. This is Tack Media’s specialty, in addition to creating the right website portal we can plug you into effective media channels and acquire customers for you on a daily basis.
Our sales and lead management team is effective at catching every call to maximize leads into clients who will transition into recurring business.
Build a long term financial plan for your business and define the terms by which your success will be measured. You must also create an effective, friendly, and easy to manage work environment.
Make sure your staff is trained effectively and knows the businesses goals and focus. Your staff needs to all be on the same page. Training should be comprehensive and effective.
Your plan should have manageable milestones based and reasonable expectations. Take a balanced approach to opening and don’t try to accomplish everything at once. Launch services a little at a time and then make changes to your plan as you learn your staff and your customer base.
Starting with 10 or 20% of the anticipated volume is a good idea to get everything working correctly and managed properly. Resolve the problems, test the protocols, make the necessary changes, and launch the necessary services as needed for you to expand without many large problems.
How Tack Media Can Help You
Effective marketing is arguably the most important part of your plan. It should be there at the beginning or your plan and continue to grow as your business does. Solid marketing will help you understand your customers and what they respond to and need from your business. As you learn your customers, your marketing company should be able to tweak it’s methods to bring in a steady stream of clients that will be tailored to your business model. These will be the happiest customers you will find as you will be the telehealth client they have been looking for.
Make sure to ask Tack Media about how it can tailor a marketing system that will fit your business like a comfortable glove. Tack Media helps with:
Tack Media has long term experience with developing and driving traffic to professional eye catching websites. Let us know what you’re looking for and our team will get to work on the right website for you.
In order to facilitate your new appointments and keep track of clients and incoming requests it will be important for you to get help finding and activating your platform. Tack Media has information to help you make a good choice and the experience setting up and implementing telehealth platforms.
Tack Media will help guide your staff and doctors though all the processes and features the software provides to help them use it correctly as well as learn how to access client data more effectively. This will help doctors communicate better and make the best decisions for your clients.
Tack Media knows how to find your customers and get them to notice you! We have the right team with the right experience whether it is social media marketing or something targeted directly to your community. Tack Media can help you find more clients.
Our sales and lead management team will help handle your incoming clients and make sure that every lead is thoroughly given every opportunity and reason to become your client. Those who fall off will feel like they were dealing with professionals and either come back later when they are ready or recommend you to friends and family
– Ask Us! If there is something you have in mind for your businesses let us know. There may be some way we can help or get you in touch with someone who can help ou make your dream a reaity.
Contact Tack Media today to help your organization transform to reap the rewards of the telehealth marketplace. If you have questions, we have answers!