Telehealth & Virtual Eye Exams. Should your practice offer them?

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Telehealth Virtual Eye Exams. Should Your
Practice Offer Them? The COVID-19 pandemic put a
spotlight on an already growing platform for
health care. According to the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Medicare visits
conducted through telehealth in 2020 increased
63-fold. And a report by McKinsey Company found
that telehealth visits surged by 78 percent from
February to April 2020. The pandemic and
resulting quarantines didnt birth telehealth
services, but they did explode their popularity.
And once people who hadnt experienced telehealth
used it for the first time, they were hooked.
Over 80 percent of Americans used telehealth
services for the first time during the pandemic
and 40 percent said they would continue to use
telehealth services after the pandemic is
over. Why patients like virtual eye
exams Telehealth is popular in most aspects of
healthcare. But specialties that dont require
hands-on appointments, like psychiatry and
primary care have seen the biggest bumps in its
use. Thats one reason why optometry can benefit
from virtual appointments. Eye exams dont
usually require direct touching of the patient by
the doctor. If you can read an eye chart in a
doctors office, you can read one over a computer
screen from your own home. Other benefits of
virtual eye exams include Convenience Patients
dont have to drive to a doctors office or
arrange for a relative to drop them off or pick
them up, a common safety measure after their
pupils have been dilated. Instead, they can get
their eyes checked in the comfort of their own
home. Speed One of the major hurdles to seeing
the doctor for many is the wait time before an
appointment. Some doctors are booked weeks or
months in advance. And once the patient arrives
at the office, they spend about an hour waiting
for the appointment and filling out forms. The
payoff? Twenty minutes at most spent with the
doctor. On the other hand, telehealth
appointments remove the huge chunk of time spent
waiting in the office so
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the visit feels shorter, even if the same amount
of time is spent with the doctor. Accessibility
One of the major problems in optometry is getting
patients through the door. In fact, according to
a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
report, just half of U.S. adults at risk for
serious vision loss saw an eye doctor in the last
year. Bringing eye exams directly to patients can
help increase that number. Comfort Younger
patients are accustomed to doing most things
online, from buying groceries to streaming their
favorite television shows. In fact, in recent
years online prescription glasses retailers have
emerged as a major competitor for
brick-and-mortar eyeglass retailers and
ophthalmology practices. When patients become
used to buying their glasses online, virtual eye
exams are the next logical step. Why doctors
like virtual eye exams Doctors have their own
reasons for promoting telehealth optometry
services. Here are a few. Faster
diagnosis Telehealth visits tend to be shorter
than in-person visits. This lets practitioners
see more patients in a day, resulting in more
income. Patients also appreciate the reduced time
spent on eye exams. Patient loyalty Patients
expect flexibility when it comes to health care.
The same McKinsey Company survey showed that
patients under 40 expect their providers to offer
virtual services. Providers that dont have the
services patients demand will lose them to
practices that do. But offering services that
cater to the busy lifestyles of your patients can
engender loyalty and secure your client
base. Downsides of Virtual Eye Exams Despite
their benefits, telehealth eye exams arent a
magic bullet for patients or doctors. They dont
include some eye care standards, such as pupil
dilation and eye pressure testing. So, they cant
cover the entirety of a patients care plan.
Theyre better for things like follow-up visits
after
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surgery or simple eye exams. In fact, the
American Optometric Associations Position
Statement Regarding Telemedicine in Optometry
makes it clear that telemedicine should
complement, not replace, in-person visits and
should always adhere to the same standard of care
as in-person visits. Another downside of virtual
eye exams is the lack of connection between a
doctor and patient. Most doctors get into the
profession to interact with people. While a
virtual connection still involves talking to and
often seeing a patient, it can be perceived as
much less personal than a traditional office
visit. Luckily, technology offers help here.
Your optometry EHR software or optometry practice
management software may have built-in functions
that enable patient communication on their terms.
Some come with built-in telehealth functions that
let your patients start a visit right from the
app, without having to use an outside system like
Zoom. Another downside is that virtual visits
depend on the internet. That puts them at the
mercy of internet and power outages. Plus, it
leaves out the 23 percent of U.S. households that
dont have internet connectivity. Of course, any
technology a practice uses must be implemented
with HIPAA compliance in mind. Thats why its
important to use a reliable optometry practice
management software supplier instead of
attempting to rig up your own solution using an
existing video conferencing platform. An
experienced EHR provider will know which security
functions need to be included to keep your
telehealth services complaint. Ready to discuss
your EHR and practice management software needs?
Contact us today. Eye Care Leaders, a division
of Healthcare Leaders Group, is the leading
source of top-rated ophthalmology specific EHR
and Practice Management systems. With a singular
focus on eye care practices, Eye Care Leaders
tailors solutions to meet the unique needs of
each practice. The company is based in Durham,
North Carolina and trusted by over 9,000
physicians.