Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication technology and information technology to provide clinical services to patients without an in-person visit. In order to get the most out of telemedicine, it’s important to recognize the wide range of services that can be delivered remotely. Advances in telemedicine have made it possible for vascular specialists to quickly and efficiently establish relationships with new patients.
As a vascular specialist looking to expand your practice and stay on the cutting edge of your field, offering telemedicine “Vein Screenings” to your patients makes it easy for you to examine your patients from remote locations, streamlining patient flow and providing flexibility to patients in your service area. For a vascular specialist, primary care providers can take digital photos of their patient’s legs and forward the images for review and determination of treatment, if needed.
Store and Forward Technology
Store-and-forward technologies allow for the electronic transmission of medical information, such as digital images and documents through secure email communication. The patient forwards the electronic communication to a vascular specialist who uses the information to evaluate whether an in-office consultation is warranted.
Using a computer, tablet, or smartphone, patients can connect with you from their homes or offices to consult with you on a variety of issues, whether they have a large, varicose veins or an increasing number of spider veins. Patients will benefit because they are able to complete a self-assessment questionnaire and upload photos directly to your practice with the click of a button. “Free Vein Screenings” will no longer be a financial drain on your practice resources. Patients are accommodated with access to your practice whenever and wherever it is convenient for them. You can upload and view the patient’s photos to determine if they should come into your office for a consultation in order to make a diagnosis and recommend a treatment plan.
Benefits for Your Patients
Telemedicine offers several benefits for your patients. Patients appreciate the ease of communicating with your practice from home without the need to drive to your office or spend time in your waiting room. For patients who live in remote areas, the availability of telemedicine reduces the expenditure and time spent making a commute to your office, which puts you in touch with patients whose locations might ordinarily put them out of your practice’s reach.
Benefits for Your Practice
In competitive markets, you must stay on the cutting edge within the niche to appeal to the greatest number of patients. Telemedicine helps you manage both new and existing patients while curtailing the overflow of patients coming through your office, reducing overall wait times for in-person consultations and speeding up the process of seeing patients. This all translates to increased revenue and a decrease in cancelled or missed appointments.
In addition, telemedicine sets you apart within the local medical community, as you are offering a service that some of your colleagues are not. Since patients prefer to see a provider who can see them right away, offering your services via telemedicine gives you the chance to enhance your practice’s reputation within your service area, becoming the “go to” vascular specialist for patients who don’t want to or can’t wait to be seen.
VeinPIX
Realizing the benefits of telemedicine for both medical practices and their patients, Vein Specialists of America created a virtual vein screening platform to give vein practices nationwide the ability to offer virtual screenings to their patients.
VeinPIX is a professional way for vein practices to encourage patients to seek additional information and learn about available treatment options for their discomfort and pain in one or both legs. It was developed as an alternative for thousands of vein practices nationwide that have succumbed to offering “Free Vein Screenings” to compete with other vein practices in their service area.
With VeinPIX, patients are able to complete a self-assessment questionnaire and upload photos directly to your practice with the click of a button. Designed to be accessible in a variety of settings, VeinPIX is desktop, tablet, and mobile device friendly. The patient’s leg photos and self-assessment questionnaire are sent securely through VSA’s HIPAA compliant and encrypted server. No longer required to come to your office or a health fair, VeinPIX accommodates the patient whenever and wherever it is convenient for them.
A practice using VeinPIX benefits by gaining additional exposure to patients with venous disease by offering the convenience of a virtual screening – thus increasing the number of monthly consultations and procedures. VeinPIX can help you eliminate free screenings and increase paid consultations.
For more information on VeinPIX please visit www.veinpix.com or call (855) MD ADVISOR.
