Telehealth Tools: Best Telemedicine Software

Telehealth is the use of electronic communication tools to deliver healthcare remotely. Also known as telemedicine, it lets providers consult with patients virtually, monitor their health between visits, and gather patient data through tools like online cognitive testing rather than bringing patients repeatedly into the office.

Not only do telehealth services make workflows more efficient for providers, but they also make healthcare more accessible to patients who have barriers to transportation. Along with this, they offer a flexible element to healthcare delivery, especially for routine assessments or follow-ups from medical testing.

What is telehealth?

Telehealth refers to the use of electronic communication tools in order to provide remote healthcare to patients. Also known as telemedicine, it allows providers to virtually consult with patients, remotely monitor their health, and easily schedule follow-up appointments.

Over the years, the use of telehealth tools has evolved from a temporary necessity to a long-term benefit for patients and providers. Currently, 74% of physicians work in healthcare practices that use telehealth tools, according to the American Medical Association. Telehealth implementation has also doubled the average monthly visits for providers and produced shorter appointment times, cutting average appointment length by 60%.

What are the benefits of telehealth services?

There are many benefits to implementing telehealth services into your practice, including better patient care, improved access to care, and reduced costs, among others. Studies have demonstrated that remote patient care offers numerous benefits and features that are transforming the landscape of healthcare delivery, including:

• Better patient care: Research shows that implementing telehealth decreases the presence and severity of symptoms for patients, as well as increases patient satisfaction. Patients are likely to spread the word about receiving high-quality care, which helps with growing a medical practice.
• Serving additional patient populations: Approximately 20% of Americans live in rural, remote areas, but only 9% of physicians serve these communities, according to NIH News in Health. Telehealth services help eliminate travel-based barriers to accessing healthcare for rural patients, as well as patients with mental and physical disabilities.
• Reduced costs: In a scoping review, 53% of cost-minimization studies found that telehealth helped reduce costs compared to traditional healthcare. While implementing telehealth might come with capital costs for new technology and training, it often quickly pays for itself in a well-managed telemedicine plan.
• Less administrative burden and easier scheduling: 60% of physicians say that administrative burden negatively impacts their mental health, which the Canadian Medical Association reports makes them 1.4 times more likely to reduce their clinical hours. Telehealth has the potential to reduce that workload and give more patients access to healthcare.
• Increased revenue and additional services: Telehealth allows providers to see an increased number of patients in their working hours. Along with this, it can drive revenue by adding new reimbursable services, such as remote cognitive and mental health assessments.

What telehealth tools and technology do clinicians use?

Clinicians use a number of secure telehealth tools that comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to conduct appointments, administer assessments, and complete administrative work. This can include both tools to communicate with patients and tools to assess their health.

Communication tools

Communication tools allow healthcare providers and patients to connect outside of the office setting, which both provides a more accessible patient experience and reduces the need for unnecessary in-person visits. In Canada alone, a Canadian analysis estimates that telehealth services save its citizens 8.8 million hours that would have been spent on travel and wait times.

Many of these tools facilitate real-time, secure video calls between patients and healthcare providers, allowing for virtual consultations and follow-ups, and include the following:

• Video conferencing tools
• Phone calls and text messaging
• Mobile apps with messaging services

Along with this, asynchronous communication tools allow patients to send non-urgent updates or ask questions at their convenience. With the right telehealth platform, patients should be able to send photos or videos prior to appointments for their provider to review.

This telehealth technology often requires customers to have computers, smartphones, or tablets. Currently, 68% of adults over 65 report using the internet at least a few times a month, and in the past three years, older adult internet use has risen from 35% to 50% for adults over 75. When adopting telehealth communication tools into your practice, it may be helpful to have an FAQ page or contact person for patient education purposes.

Remote patient monitoring devices

Remote monitoring allows continuous tracking of a patient's health data, helping healthcare providers detect potential issues early and reduce hospital visits. These tools are valuable for patients with chronic health conditions that need ongoing monitoring.

For example, if a patient has diabetes but is also dealing with cognitive impairment, including continuous glucose monitoring in a cognitive care plan can ensure their health data makes its way to clinicians.

Here are examples of common remote patient monitoring devices:

• Wearable health devices (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch)
• Digital thermometers
• Blood pressure monitors
• Glucose meters
• ECG devices
• Digital scales
• CPAP machines

Many mobile health devices are now small and inexpensive enough for participants to bring home if they don't already have a consumer version available. More advanced remote patient monitoring devices have features that can send results directly to clinicians.

Patient portals

A patient portal provides a secure online platform where patients can access information and communications regarding their appointments, tests, and care history.

Patients can use a patient portal to do the following:

• Access their medical history and records
• Track their testing and lab results
• Request prescription refills
• Communicate with healthcare providers between appointments
• Receive automated appointment reminders
• Access educational material to improve their health literacy

Most patient portals have mobile apps as well as webpages for patients who don't have smartphones. These portals can be helpful for patients who struggle with conditions such as ADHD, and might need week-of and day-of reminders of their appointment times.

Research on patient portals shows they improve patient-provider relationships, increase patient awareness of their personal health, and increase patient compliance with treatment.

Remote questionnaires and screening

When it comes to tracking mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, neuropsychological testing can take months to get an appointment for and then up to 8 hours to complete. With Alzheimer's Disease International projecting dementia rates to reach 78 million people worldwide in the next five years, catching symptoms early is essential for positive health outcomes.

Fortunately, there are telehealth tools available that can complete cognitive screens from home. These remote, digital cognitive assessments (like those from Creyos) include:

• Online cognitive tasks: Computerized cognitive assessments can also be administered between remote or in-clinic appointments, giving clinicians a snapshot of a patient's cognitive function. With integrated reporting, providers can also track patient data over time to determine how effective treatment is.
• Psychological questionnaires: Instead of the pen-and-paper route for administering standardized questionnaires, patients can answer scientifically backed screening questions in their home. This can reduce appointment anxiety, as well as give healthcare providers a chance to review their results before appointments.

The Creyos platform includes these remote assessments and can catch early signs of dementia as well as common comorbid disorders. Contact us today to learn more about what we have to offer your practice.

Teletherapy platforms

Telehealth also extends to mental health services and can include remote counseling sessions, psychotherapy, and psychiatric consultations. Trusted teletherapy platforms connect patients with mental health professionals, providing support for issues like anxiety, depression, and stress management, all from the comfort of home. For patients who are in urgent need of help, crisis lines can offer acute support and determine if immediate intervention is required.

Research suggests that telehealth services have the same quality of health outcomes as in-person therapeutic treatment, so patients don't have to sacrifice high-quality care for convenience.

This element of telemedicine can be combined with other telehealth tools. For example, providers can administer online mental health screens such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), have health conversations over the phone, and provide additional resources through a patient portal.

Electronic prescription services

Telemedicine platforms often include features for electronic prescribing, allowing healthcare providers to send prescriptions directly to pharmacies. This streamlines the prescription process, reduces the risk of human error that comes with paper prescriptions, and improves medication management for patients.

What is the best telehealth software?

If your practice already has the necessary hardware and established workflows for telemedicine, you may just need to add some telehealth software. Fortunately, most of this software only requires basic technology and a strong internet connection.

Telehealth implementation has been trending upward for the past few years, and as a result, there are a wide range of technological tools for practitioners to consider. The best telehealth tools should be secure, reliable, cost-efficient (or even revenue-generating), and easy to use for both providers and patients. Depending on your practice's specific needs, there are multiple types of tools that might be useful, including:

Best videoconferencing software for telehealth

Videoconferencing is often the starting point for telehealth services, and in some practices, it is all that is necessary to reach patients. While phone appointments are helpful for some patients, videoconferencing lets healthcare providers have face-to-face consultations remotely, making it a more personal and effective way to assess and treat patients.

Best remote patient monitoring platforms

Remote patient monitoring devices and platforms allow for providers to monitor patient data in real-time from the comfort of their homes. These telehealth tools help promote early intervention if health issues are flagged, reducing the need for emergency care.

Best patient portal software

Patient portals enhance the patient experience by providing easy access to health information, promoting better management of care, and improving communication between patients and their healthcare team. Health system portal adoption research shows that 90% of healthcare systems now offer patient portals that allow access to patients' electronic health records.

Here are our top three choices for HIPAA-compliant patient portals:

Best EHR platforms with telehealth integration

EHR integrations enable seamless communication between healthcare providers and patients' personal health records by connecting various telehealth platforms with existing electronic health record (EHR) systems. This integration makes it easier to manage and update patients' medical history and improve care coordination.

Delivering remote cognitive healthcare with Creyos

Looking for a way to deliver cognitive and mental healthcare without the constraints of in-person appointments? Creyos offers secure, HIPAA-compliant cognitive assessment tools that integrate seamlessly with telehealth services. These screens can be conducted through telehealth or during in-person visits, depending on the patient's preference.

Our scientifically backed online cognitive tasks:

• Measure patients' short-term memory, reasoning, attention, and verbal ability in under 15 minutes
• Are sensitive enough to catch early stages of cognitive decline
• Can be accessed on mobile, desktop, and tablet device
• Use gamification tools to encourage patient engagement
• Instantly generate data-driven reports that integrate into patients' EHRs
• Include analytics tools to track patients' brain health over time
• Can be reimbursed as a part of Medicaid services

The two-task Creyos digital cognitive screener is a remote, fast, and effective way to screen for cognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment and dementia. According to the two-task screener validation study, Creyos can detect cognitive impairment linked to Alzheimer's disease with 100% sensitivity after a short, six-minute screen, without the need for clinical supervision, making it ideal for use in telehealth settings.

Along with these tasks, Creyos also offers behavioral health assessments for conditions including ADHD, depression, substance misuse, and more. Together, these features catch comorbidities and enable providers to conduct efficient, patient-friendly assessments without the burden of travel.

Using telehealth tools to grow your practice

In 2021, approximately 22% of American adult patients used telemedicine according to a national telemedicine survey, and current trends show that it isn't going away. From virtual consultations to remote monitoring, these tools are valuable resources for creating a more connected, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.

As you explore the different telehealth tools on the market, consider what best suits your clinic's unique needs and patient populations. By including telehealth services in your practice, you can increase your patients' quality of care, as well as attract new patients to your clinic.