2020 Telehealth Trends: 5 Things to Look For

Telehealth is one of the newest ways that providers can offer visits to their patients and is in higher demand than ever. Patients are eagerly searching for simpler methods to access their physicians and stay involved in their care while keeping things affordable. 2020 Telehealth trends are all about simplifying the process. Keep reading to discover how these 2020 Telehealth trends are the key to growing your practice and better reaching your patients.

2020 Telehealth Trends:

1) Improved Access to Services

This 2020 Telehealth trend started long before now as patients have always been searching for simpler ways to access their physicians. Improved access to care birthed technology like the patient portal, giving patients the ability to communicate with their physicians by sending a quick message or scheduling an appointment online. The reason this falls under the 2020 Telehealth trend umbrella is the fact that telehealth is the biggest development in access to care since the patient portal and is a must-have for the new year. With telehealth, your patients who struggle to make it to the office due to distance, hectic schedules, or chronic conditions can now access and visit with their physicians from home. Telehealth is the digital house-call that reduces wait times, patient frustrations, and travel times while increasing the rate at which your patients visit as well as follow-up care. This 2020 Telehealth trend greatly improves your patient’s ability and willingness to visit with their physician.

2) Increased Patient Engagement

Patient engagement was a buzzword in 2019 and will continue to be in 2020. This 2020 Telehealth trend is achieved through increased access, simple-to-use software, improved communication, and remote monitoring capabilities. Telehealth increases patient engagement by giving your patients a simple way to remain involved with their personal health. Increased involvement leads to positive outcomes, more billable services completed, and more timely payments from your patients. The better levels of patient engagement your practice can achieve, the more successful your practice will be.

3) Reduced Costs for Patients

Mentioned before, telehealth is capable of reducing travel and wait times for patients, improving the experience the patient has with their provider. An extension of that 2020 Telehealth trend is the reduction in costs that patients experience when they utilize telehealth. When patients avoid their physicians due to long travel times and costs, it can lead to undesirable outcomes. A reduction in costs is also achieved through this 2020 telehealth trend by reducing the need for a patient to take time off work to visit with their provider.

4) Reduction in Physician Burnout

A common benefit of telehealth to providers is that it increases the number of visits that a physician is able to complete in one day. While many might think that this would lead to increased physician burnout, the right software creates the opposite effect. This 2020 Telehealth trend enables providers to visit with more patients in a day while also focusing more on patient interaction rather than administrative tasks. The right Telehealth software enables providers to access a patient’s chart, document a visit, file a claim and prescribe medication all from the same screen as the visit itself. Telehealth reduces physician burnout by returning them to the patient, the exact reason they got into healthcare in the first place.

5) Millennial Appeal 

The most relevant 2020 Telehealth trend is millennial appeal. As Millennials become the dominant patient base for many providers, it is important that the tools and resources their practice utilizes reflects the needs and wants of their patients. Telehealth appeals greatly to the millennial patient base due to its simplified nature and quick turnover. Patients can visit with their provider in a fraction of the time and then return to their busy lives. Partnered with a quality patient portal that allows them to view their information, pay their bills online, and communicate with their physician, this 2020 telehealth trend appeals greatly to the millennial population at your practice.

Put this newfound insight into action and partner with a Telehealth partner that understands your future needs today. To learn more about how to implement these 2020 Telehealth trends, click here.