Telehealth has become a huge industry, and it’s one that many organizations in a variety of healthcare sectors are turning to. With the ability to access remote care becoming more important to clients and patients, there are also financial benefits to offering telehealth services.
Here are five ways telehealth could be financially beneficial for your healthcare practice.
- Reduce your practice’s overhead
Using telehealth systems, you may find your overall costs decrease even if the initial implementation requires some financial investment. While you’ll have to purchase equipment and ensure your team is trained on it, with fewer people coming into your office you may be able to reduce your staffing requirements or cut down on office space.
Once your telehealth system is set up, you mainly need a stable internet connection. In some cases, you may only need a phone line. With people working remotely–even for some of your office hours–you can save on utility costs associated with working out of an office.
- Limit client no-shows
No-shows cost your practice valuable time and money. Frustrating as they are, they do happen, for a variety of reasons. Patients may miss an appointment due to sudden illness–their own or someone they must care for–transportation issues, or lack of time. While telehealth won’t eliminate all no-shows, it can drastically reduce their occurrence.
One study conducted at Nebraska Children’s Hospital, found that offering telehealth as a means to access treatment improved no-show rates by around 50%.
Those missed appointments can quickly add up. Not only do missed appointments compromise your client’s health, they cost you money. Some estimates put the cost of missed appointments at more than $100,000 a year for the average practice. That’s just for the appointment itself, not counting the labor costs of rescheduling and managing paperwork for the no-show.
- Enhance client satisfaction
Increasing your clients’ options for accessing your services
- Allows them to choose the delivery method that works best for them,
- Improves their access to care they may not have available to them otherwise, and
- Enables continuity of care.
Having those options available will increase your clients’ satisfaction, which makes them more likely to continue working with you and to recommend your practice to others.
- Increase availability
Clients who work a regular 9-5 schedule may have difficulty making appointments during your office hours. Telehealth enables you to offer after-hours appointments without having to staff an entire office. You can simply hire one team member to take care of after-hours appointments or use a flexible work schedule to fill in the gaps.
- Improve access to therapeutic services
Clients who have barriers to accessing in-person therapeutic services will benefit from your practice offering telehealth and other remote appointments. This means your practice will be open to a wider range of patients, which can increase profitability.
Despite the initial financial output required to implement telehealth services, in the end it can be a switch that saves your practice time and money.
At Leichter Accounting Services, we understand the unique challenges that healthcare practices—including mental health specialists, physical therapists and chiropractors—face in their accounting and bookkeeping. Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation for your practice. We help clients across the US manage their finances and make informed decisions to grow their business.