Benefits and Disadvantages of Telemedicine
It’s safe to say that telemedicine, and telehealth in general, is a topic that people have mixed feelings on. And it’s with good reason — telemedicine has advantages and disadvantages for the practices that use it. Your veterinary practice is no exception. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of telehealth, the disadvantages of telehealth, and what you can do to make it work for your business.
The Benefits of Telehealth
The benefits of telemedicine have become obvious as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. It’s the ideal way — and perhaps the only way — for veterinary practices to remain open and profitable when customers don’t physically come into the building. Even if you’re running curbside service, it may be prudent to conduct telehealth consults so that you don’t have as many customers waiting in your parking lot.
Another one of the benefits of telemedicine is that it can serve as a “feeder” to your physical practice. If your veterinarians or team members notice a health issue while on a telehealth video consultation, they can recommend that the pet visit the physical practice.
The Disadvantages of Telehealth
Of course, there are disadvantages to telemedicine as well. The first is the most obvious: there is a difference between physically examining patients and interacting face-to-face with their owners, and examining and chatting over a video feed. It will simply never be the same experience, both for your veterinarians and for pet owners. Add in issues like potential audio or video connection problems, video lag, and troublesome internet connections, and you can see why the disadvantages of telehealth turn some people off.
Telehealth for Your Business
Although there are benefits of telemedicine and disadvantages of telemedicine, the fact remains: during COVID-19, your veterinary practices very likely needs to turn to telehealth in some form or another to stay viable. And that’s where UPbook comes in.
UPbook Remote Office effectively allows your team to run the front office from the comfort of their homes. Your team members will be able to place and receive calls at home, and call out as the practice number. Plus, they’ll be able to schedule and even conduct telemedicine appointments from home. This program can be a complete game-changer if team members need to self-quarantine at home or if you’re running a modified staff schedule.
The FREE Veterinary Telemedicine App is another UPbook offering that can help you take advantage of the benefits of telehealth. It’s a simple app that you’ll have up and running in 10 minutes or less, giving your practice full telemedicine capabilities to remain functional during lockdown. Not only will the app help your team members and clients schedule appointments online, it will also collect payment from clients before their appointment and facilitate a unique video link between the client and veterinarian. It couldn’t be easier!
Most veterinarians would obviously prefer to see their patients and clients in-person. But thanks to COVID-19, that simply isn’t possible for now. There are as many disadvantages of telemedicine as there are benefits of telehealth, but implementing it sooner rather than later will serve your practice well. And UPbook’s innovations make it easier than ever.
