4 Telehealth Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Telehealth technology has revolutionized how medical services are offered to patients. It has been exciting and transformative, but it has also faced some challenges. Change is often strange at first, and the idea of switching from traditional practices to a technology-based solution can be overwhelming for everyone involved. As much as barriers are to be expected naturally, knowing what lies ahead can help the parties involved to be adequately prepared. Here are some of the challenges facing remote health monitoring and how to overcome them.
Challenges With Implementation
One of the challenges facing a lot of practices when it comes to implementing telehealth is the resistance to change. The management team is required to make many changes to the existing workflows and invest resources in training employees. To handle this challenge, talk to your workers about your plans and explain what challenges remote patient monitoring telehealth is going to be resolved. This ensures you are on the same page with the plan you have for your practice. After that, you will also have to explain the technical bit of remote patient monitoring. For instance, which software you plan to use, and how it works. Go with something that makes using telehealth services easier for both caregivers and employees.
Lack of Trust
There are still many people who do not believe telehealth services are as effective as in-person visits. Some physicians feel that they will not be able to get honest information from patients, unlike during-in-person physical tests. To overcome this hurdle, one has to build trust with patients. For instance, you can ask their opinion on telehealth, and should they have any concerns, try and address them. You can also share helpful research on telehealth that shows the advantages and how effective telehealth is.
Costs
To offer telehealth services, one needs special equipment, and the cost of acquisition may be high. However, that should not be a deterrent factor. As much as the initial investment may be high, in the long run, it reduces costs. If you own a practice and prices are holding you back, learn from other healthcare providers that have implemented telehealth. Check how much they have saved and how they managed to cover the costs. Find one with a solution that is practical to you and follow their approach.
Fear of Data Compromise
There have been many cyber-attacks, especially in the healthcare sector, where a lot of data has been compromised. This has made a lot of patients hold back as they believe remote technology puts their information at risk. It is the duty of healthcare providers to meet this security requirement to ensure the data they have is not vulnerable to attacks. That means working with reputable software vendors that invest in cutting-edge security technologies to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks.
These are some of the major challenges that hinder remote patient monitoring from being fully adopted by all practices. However, if you consider the benefits of telehealth services, healthcare providers should at least try implementing them. While challenges are expected on the way, with proper research and planning, they can be managed.