As you probably already suspect, choosing the right telemedicine software for your practice is just one step on the road to building a successful telemedicine program. From there, you’ll need to train staff, get your equipment set-up, figure out your workflows, let patients know, and more. The good news is, the path to building a successful telemedicine program in your practice is often simple once you know the steps. At eVisit, our team has a lot of experience guiding providers from selecting a telemedicine solution all the way to “launch day,” and making sure the practice is set-up for success. In this presentation, we’ll guide you through the top tips and strategies that you’ll need to build a successful telemedicine program. You'll Learn: Common telemedicine workflow mistakes and questions you’ll need to answer Telemedicine best practices you should implement Suggestions on equipment set-up and technical tips to know Strategies for marketing telemedicine to your patients This presentation was included in an eVisit webinar. Request a recording here: http://try.evisit.com/implementing-telemedicine-your-medical-practice/

1. Teresa Iafolla
Director of Content, eVisit
How to Build a Successful
Telemedicine Program

2. Who We Are
Teresa Iafolla
Director of Content Marketing
eVisit
tiafolla@evisit.com
@eVisitapp
#evisitwebinar

3. 1. Define Your Telemedicine
Use Case
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How will you be using telemedicine? Here are some factors to consider:
• Type of telemedicine
• Live video
• Store-and-forward
• Remote patient monitoring
• Target patient population for telemedicine
• Rural or far away?
• Chronic conditions?
• Medicaid or Medicare?
• Medical Services
• Lab results review?
• Urgent issues
• Simple follow-ups or check-ins?
• Off-hours coverage?

4. 2. Choosing the right telemedicine
solution for your practice
Key things to consider:
• Design
• Features & Workflow
• Cost
• Support & Implementation
15 questions to ask your telemedicine vendor
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5. 2. Choosing the right telemedicine
solution for your practice
Design & Customizations
• User-friendly
• Customizations
• Equipment needed
• Security
Features & Workflow
• ePrescribe
• Built-in billing
• Insurance
• Tool integration
• Documentation
Cost
• Pricing
• Equipment & set-up
needed
Support & Implementation
• Tech support
• Customer
implementation
• Patient marketing
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6. 2. Choosing the right telemedicine
solution for your practice
Good support & implementation is key!
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7. 3. Order equipment & get set-up
What equipment do you need?
• Webcamera
• Microphone
• Tablet/computer
• Additional computer monitor
• Telemedicine cart
• Peripheral medical devices
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8. 3. Order equipment & get set-up
• Is the platform cloud-based or does the
software need to be installed?
• Help with installation
• Secure data server space
• Is your internet connection good enough?
• 3 mbps is minimum for good video quality
• Speedtest.net
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9. 4. Get your staff on the same page
• Consider including your staff in purchase process
• At least, inform them once you buy
• Include practice managers & providers in workflow
discussions and billing/policy discussions
• Include any staff who will be involved in your
telemedicine program so you get team buy-in
• Call a meeting and share the use case and your goal
for the program, plus steps needed
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10. 5. Learn the telemedicine policy in
your state.
What does your state law say about telemedicine?
• Telemedicine parity laws
• Patient informed consent (telemedicine specific)
• How to do informed consent
• Prescriptions based on telemedicine appts
• Using telemedicine with established vs. new patients
• Location of the patient during the telemedicine visit, and
interstate licensing
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11. 5. Learn the telemedicine policy in
your state.
How to research this for your state?
• Center for Connected Health Policy State Map
• American Telemedicine Association State Policy Center
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12. 6. Decide on your billing policy.
Questions to ask yourself:
• Will you charge patients for telemedicine appts?
• Will you be doing a self-pay model or billing
insurance?
• How will you bill (in platform, in EMR, standard
paper)?
• How much will you charge patients?
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13. 6. Decide on your billing policy.
Will you charge patients for telemedicine appts?
• Some doctors offer telemedicine as an added service
• Way to attract new patients
• Adds value to an annual fee for concierge model
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14. 6. Decide on your billing policy.
Self-Pay
• For self-pay, have patients sign a waiver form saying they will not
use insurance
• Or put that condition into your practice policy/terms
Billing insurance
• Every payer has different telemedicine guidelines
• Review our telemedicine reimbursement guide
• Research private, Medicaid, and Medicare guidelines
• Start with one payer and test
• Check you have proper documentation to submit to insurance
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15. 6. Decide on your billing policy.
How much will you charge patients?
Insurance
• You’ll need to follow your payer’s guidelines
• Verify the patient’s insurance policy covers telemedicine
• Charge their co-pay upfront and bill
Self-pay
• What is the price going to be compared to in-office visits?
• Prices we see:
• Average: $60 - 75 per visit, 5-15 minute primary care
• $400 per hour for certain specialties (psychiatrists charge higher than PC, for instance)
• $45 per visit, online clinic
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16. 7. Create your telemedicine
program workflows.
You need a workflow just like with in-person
appts.
• Collecting patient medical history
• Scheduling & requests
• Confirming appts with patients
• Verifying insurance
• Patient access to the platform
• Provider availability
• Notifying providers about appts
• Prescribing & follow-up
• Billing
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17. 7. Create your telemedicine
program workflows.
Here are just a few example questions to guide your workflow discussion:
• What information do you need to gather from the patient to start this visit (i.e., health record
questions)?
• When do you want to offer telemedicine visits (i.e., on-demand, after-hours, a specific time
during the day, provider’s office hours, etc.)?
• Who will be doing the remote visit (i.e., provider, extender, etc.)?
• Where will the provider initiate the visit (i.e., in his personal office, in a community space,
etc.)?
• Do you have a computer with working speakers, microphone and camera in that space?
• Who will schedule the appointment?
• How will you remind patients of their scheduled virtual appointments? How will patients
access the platform?
• Will you have a staff member verify all needed information before starting a visit (check the
patient is enrolled, that they have all needed equipment, verify insurance)?
• Will you transfer visit documentation into your EMR?
• Who will take care of billing each visit?
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18. 7. Create your telemedicine
program workflows.
You may want to diagram the process.
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19. 8. Set-up your workspace
• Use one of your exam rooms or your office
• If at home, set-up everything you need in a private
space
• Space should be:
• Private
• Neat & organized, no clutter
• Well-lit
• Quiet
• Have all the equipment you need
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20. 9. Figure out how you’ll provide
tech support.
• Does the vendor provide patient tech support?
• Will your staff provide support?
• Phone, email, chat?
• What hours?
• Policy for off-hours support?
• How to inform patients?
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21. 9. Figure out how you’ll provide
tech support.
• Have a technical troubleshooting/tip sheet for
patients
• We have a step-by-step checklist for patients
• Train staff to field basic technical questions
• Ask if your vendor has an online support resource
database (so pts can look for answers to problems
themselves)
• Have a back-up plan in case you get disconnected
(pick-up phone if audio isn’t working)
• Have vendor support team contact info handy
• Have system in place to handle any off-hours issues
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22. 10. Create any materials needed
for your program.
• Informed patient consent form
• Telemedicine waiver or billing policy form
• Tip or workflow sheets for staff
• Patient visit documentation
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23. 11. Get trained on the technology
• So important!!
• Involve all staff
• Block off time in your calendar, and commit
• Always do a dry-run
• Do a “family & friends” test run, from very first
step to billing
• Have staff review technical tips
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24. 12. Build and launch your patient
marketing plan.
Now you need to get patients onboard!
There are 2 parts here:
1. Letting patients know about telemedicine visits
2. Getting them set-up to do a visit
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25. 12. Build and launch your patient
marketing plan.
Tell your patients about your new
telemedicine visit option.
Decide on your strategies:
• In-office brochures, posters, cards
• Update your practice website
• Phone message and staff scripts
• Email marketing
• Social Media Campaign
• Direct mail campaign
• Open House event
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26. 12. Build and launch your patient
marketing plan.
• In-office materials & staff prompts are the minimum!
• Updating your website will help marketing and give patients an easy portal to
the telemed platform
• Email campaigns are a great affordable option for letting all your patients
know
• Social media is easy and cheap too, if you have profiles!
• Direct mail can be very effective too, if you have the budget and staff to
manage
• Basic tactic: send a simple letter to patients sharing the news and telling them how to
get started with their first telemed appointment
• Consider offering an incentive for their first telemed appoint (first
appointment free, or $ off)
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27. 12. Build and launch your patient
marketing plan.
Points to include
• Benefits of telemedicine appointments to
patients
• What conditions/services appointments are for
• Availability
• Cost
• Instructions on how to get started!
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28. Welcome to your new
Telemedicine Program!
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29. Questions?
Teresa Iafolla
Director of Content Marketing, eVisit
tiafolla@evisit.com
@eVisitapp
#evisitwebinar

30. Teresa Iafolla, eVisit
Thank You!
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