Integrations with the Best Patient Portals
The Benefits of Telemedicine Apps
Some people think telemedicine is limited to large companies — Teledoc, for example — that focus exclusively on voice and chat telehealth services. In truth, many family doctors, PCPs, and specialists with local, physical locations have embraced telemedicine app development solutions and seen great benefits. Not only are they happier with the option, but their patients are as well. Here are some reasons a HIPAA-compliant medical app can offer such an advantage.
Video chat
Some telehealth apps—often part of patient-doctor portals—offer only audio calls, but most offer video chat as well. There are two reasons why video chats are such a vital component of many healthcare apps. First, patients like to see their doctor’s faces even if they have chosen telehealth over an office visit. In other words, the appointment still retains one-on-one face time.
Second, video chat allows a patient to show a doctor the physical ailments they called in for. Is it a wort or acne? Does this look infected? Should I be concerned that my arm bends this way? Those are all questions that couldn’t be answered with just a voice call. Once a doctor sees the disorder via the doctor portal, they might suggest an in-person visit is necessary.
Ease of scheduling
Most doctors have tight schedules throughout their day, but downtimes do occur. If one patient cancels an appointment, the scheduling aspect of telemedicine app development can allow someone else to take the spot...or even alert someone on the waiting list that available space has opened. It can also help doctors recoup lost time for no-shows. Should someone miss an appointment that had an hour-long time slot, a doctor could fill that with a last-minute telehealth appointment.
One of the best aspects of having your HIPAA-compliant phone app behind a portal with a corresponding HIPAA-compliant website is that a single scheduling software can be used for both patients and clinical staff. Doctors and patients can use the same scheduling software, but their views will vastly differ depending on the login: doctors will see all patients’ names, while patients will only see available slots.
Coordinate locations
State laws expand on the national HIPAA compliance guidelines. Though many laws were made laxer during Covid, some still limit the information and breadth of diagnoses that can be delivered via a telehealth app. To aid compliance, apps can geo-locate the patient’s device and determine if they can interact with a specific doctor. Healthcare mobile app development can help coordinate these visits.
Preparation time
One of the most welcome aspects of HIPAA apps and patient portals is the ability for patients to fill out any relevant paperwork before the appointment starts. This lets the doctor prepare for the meeting and simplifies the work of the support staff. It also gives patients more time to think about topics they might want to talk about, then add those questions to the questionnaire at their leisure.
Helpful reminders
Medical info apps are often designed to remind patients or doctors when a virtual meeting is scheduled to occur. Messages are sent via text even if the message itself originated in the telemedicine app. The text can then point back to the patient portal portion of the app once the device — usually a phone — is unlocked. To comply with HIPAA guidelines, texts that could show up on a patient’s lock screen must be vague regarding the nature of the appointment.
Omnichannel approach
HIPAA apps are seldom standalone. They are often part of an omnichannel approach that coheres branding across many channels such as the app's design (both iOS and Android), on-site kiosk interactions, and HIPAA-compliant website design. This approach presents a unified experience for the customer that only requires a single login and password. It also allows doctors to be on one device (a laptop) while the patient is on another (a smartphone).