Telemedicine has become the new normal for doctors across the country. Healthcare facilities adopting this new technology can ensure that their providers are able to keep up with this changing trend by providing them with high-quality telehealth carts. Read on to find out about what to look for before investing in new carts to make the switch to virtual healthcare provision easier on patients and providers.
Ease of Use
Successfully launching a new telehealth program can be challenging, but with the right technology, it will be much easier. Look for Telemedicine Carts that feature simple and intuitive tech and provide on-site device training for all personnel. Easy-to-use technology coupled with on-site device training will ensure that everyone on the clinical care team will be able to use the carts and there won’t be any unnecessary delays in service for patients making the switch.
Technological Integration
Clinical telehealth carts come in all shapes and sizes, including everything from basic platforms to versatile, clinical solutions. Look for carts that are purpose-built for telehealth communications that can accommodate not just video conferencing technologies but also integrated medical peripheral cameras and scopes. At a minimum, all telehealth carts should provide a stable video platform and image integration. Ideally, they should use an OS specifically designed for telehealth applications and should make integrating peripherals simple and intuitive for doctors and other healthcare providers.
Security and Compliance
To be safe and effective, telemedicine technology must allow healthcare providers to create a secure online environment for sharing sensitive medical information. Telehealth carts should be FDA certified, and all platforms used to communicate personal health information should be secure and HIPAA-compliant. Purchasing a telehealth cart specifically designed for secure patient/provider communications won’t just help to protect patient confidentiality. It will also alleviate liability concerns for healthcare providers.
Reliable Technology
The purpose of telemedicine is to provide patients and their healthcare providers with enhanced communication options when in-person visits are impossible or impractical. To meet this goal, telehealth carts must be reliable. If the connection cuts out or the cart itself experiences technological difficulties, it can dramatically impact patients’ trust in this new technology and damage the healthcare facility’s reputation. It’s best to purchase systems that make system control and monitoring easy and allow healthcare providers to proactively address potential issues before they turn into serious problems.
Ongoing Support
Only work with a telehealth cart manufacturer that is willing to provide not just high-quality, specialized equipment but also on-going support. The easiest way to determine whether a company will provide excellent customer service after they’ve already made the sale is to call to speak with a company representative before making a purchase. Ask about on-going support services and what to do if the cart experiences technological problems. If the representative is unable or unwilling to answer questions, or cannot point the potential customer in the right direction when posed with questions the average sales team member can’t answer, it’s unlikely that the manufacturer will be available to address concerns if something goes wrong.
The Bottom Line
Telemedicine is the way of the future, and now is the time for healthcare facilities that have yet to jump on board with this growing trend to catch up. The first step is to purchase high-quality telehealth carts equipped to handle all of the patients’ and providers’ needs.
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