The Telemedicine industry is blooming. Study reveals 90% of Americans used telehealth to access prompt and professional medical assistance. With no doubt, telemedicine has revolutionized the healthcare industry, offering convenient and accessible healthcare services to patients.
If you’re eager to start your own telemedicine practice in 2023, there are several crucial steps you need to take to ensure a successful launch. Let’s delve into the key requirements and strategies to kickstart your telehealth venture.
Familiarize Yourself with Medical Regulations in Your Location
Before embarking on your telemedicine journey, it’s essential to thoroughly understand the medical and privacy regulations in your specific location. Speaking about the US, the foundational organization is HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Nevertheless, the legal landscape surrounding telehealth practices may vary between states.
Establish Your Service Offering
Before spending on a technological solution, you should first identify the range of services you plan to offer through your telemedicine practice. Will you focus on general consultations, specialized medical fields, mental health, or diagnostic tools? Understanding your service offerings will enable you to tailor your platform, recruit appropriate medical professionals, and target the right patient demographic.
Develop a Telehealth Platform
A telehealth platform is the backbone of your doctor consultation app. This is a prior (if not the only) patients’ touchpoint with your business. The choice of telehealth platforms on the market is vast covering on-the-shelf solutions and custom-built projects. Remember to make your telehealth platform user-friendly, secure, accessible on different devices, and integrate it with electronic health records (EHR).
Recruit Medical Professionals
The success of your telemedicine practice heavily relies on the medical professionals you bring on board. Recruit licensed and experienced physicians, specialists, therapists, or nurses who are enthusiastic about providing virtual care. Conduct thorough interviews and background checks to ensure their expertise and commitment align with your practice’s values. Some even suggest jumping into recruiting prior to initiating development of a telemedicine platform.
Set Up Your Billing Processes
Clear payment terms and reliable billing system are crucial for the financial health of your telemedicine practice. You need to ensure your billing processes are compliant with relevant regulations. You can even hire a billing specialist or outsource this billing process to a third-party provider.
Promote and Educate
Once your telemedicine practice is up and running, it’s time to promote your services to potential patients. Utilize digital marketing strategies, social media platforms, and partnerships with local healthcare providers to raise awareness about your platform. If there’s a blog section included on the platform, focus on content that will address common patient queries and showcase your expertise.
The Cost of Starting Telemedicine Practice in 2023
The cost of starting a telehealth practice is volatile and depends on several factors. These include the service you offer, size of the team, and the technology used. The cost associated with launching a telemedicine practice can be divided into the following categories.
Infrastructure and equipment: this includes the cost of building a compliant telehealth platform, and purchasing necessary software, and medical equipment.
Licensing and compliance: this covers the cost of obtaining necessary licenses and certification.
Personnel: cost of recruiting and hiring medical professionals and support staff
Marketing: cost of promoting your telemedicine services to attract audience.
In general, calculating all the expenses, the cost of starting a telemedicine practice ranges from $80,000 and can exceed $100,000.
