What are the most effective ways to build patient trust in telemedicine?

Being a good listener is critical while building patient trust in telemedicine. Most of the time, patients feel dissatisfied when they feel they were not able to convey the details of the issues to the treating physician. This becomes even more challenging in a digital setting. Thus bringing some empathy and giving enough time to listen to the patients, goes a very long way in the treatment journey.

Like we are knowing before if any services business core is about trusted each other between service provider and service user. That's also essential in healthcare service field. But why? Because our work meaning in healthcare not only talk about sick or fit but also about the processing way step by step until we can get the main goal, a sustainable Happy Life ever after.

Could you even imaging building a system where you were NOT transparent and respectful to patients? No never, so Lets just agree this is a must. More important : Provide value - and demonstrate that you are there with Telemedicine to improve their health, and become a guardian angel that allow them immediate and constant acces to healthcare from their home.

Again - Telehealth systems are designed for patients with reduced cognitive abilities. Any system and health care professionals that are NOT capable of providing clear and empathic communication will fail - and spectacularly so. Focus on communication that provide value and comfort for the endusers, and keep attention at ALL times on adapting you use of the system to the patients needs - they WILL change, and so must your implementation.

Telemedicine has the potential for impersonal care, which can diminish patient engagement. To mitigate this, it's crucial to provide personalized, empathetic care by using patients' names, tailoring advice to their preferences, and encouraging active participation. Incorporating multimedia tools for better understanding further enhances the telemedicine experience.

Again - nobody will intentionally build a system that does NOT provide personalised and interactive care -that would be monumentally stupid. Everyone that has done so has immediately experienced drastically dropping compliance rates, and immediately change their approach. Do try to provide valuable and targeted care by segmenting endusers in similar groups where you can design the interaction and care the specific of the enduser group. I.e. works with different stages of COPD as they have special characteristics. And change the care plan and data gathering to match the development of the users in the groups continuously, or face a drop in compliance.

It is about leveraging the RIGHT technology and tools. You need to work with patients to understand what the right tech is for which patient groups. The Kit you provide to a COPD GOLD-3 patient will NOT work with a COPD GOLD-4 patient, as the latter is in and out of intensive care and need something else. If you fail, the QALY drops and the businesscase is awful - you will know it when it happens. Again - who would leverage low quality video?

Telemedicine shouldn't be limited to just another technology to virtually consult with a patient.All other host of technologies that are embedded into tele consultation platforms should be made of best use.It could be a simple upload of previous consultation papers or reports, good HD video format,a prefilled template about all the relevant instructions,a detailed prescription with dosing schedule in local languages,investigations that can be directly ordered,an invoice that can be downloaded anytime, a follow up reminder and a good reminder on the day of consultation, and a chat box which could be used by patient for all kinds of emergencies.Telemedicine is a revolutionary technology that changed the realm of patient care

Telemedicine is a game changer, but trust is crucial. Here's how we bridge that gap: 1. Humanize the experience. Let empathy speak. 2. Ensure secure, easy to navigate platforms. 3. Be transparent about how telemedicine works. 4. Listen more. Let their concerns guide you. 5. Tailor your approach. Show you care. 6. Simplify medical terminologies. Include them in decision-making. 7. Regular check-ins to address health concerns. 8. Empower patients with self-care tools. 9. Uphold professionalism and ethics. 10. Embrace feedback for improvement. Trust is built when we make the invisible, visible. That's the secret to a seamless digital patient journey.

We fear change and the unknown. We need to make sure we educate the pros and cons of telemedicine. The more our patients understand Telemedicine. The more they will trust. The goal is to take the "unknown out" of telemedicine by being transparent. We must address their fears of telemedicine and explain all the steps taken to protect their privacy. The more transparent, the more they will trust telemedicine. The last part is that we must address "change" and use other patients who want to share their experience with telemedicine and how change has helped them.

I believe the most important factor is trust specially among the elderly patients. Providers should first build trust with the elderly patients by sharing some community related information which connects them with the patients and patients feel that the provider they are speaking with is well connected to their community. When patients are able to trust you they will open up and that is what you need to retain them.

When I was providing integrative palliative care by telehealth in the early pandemic, I found that my patients really appreciated it. It did take more energy on my part to be fully engaged and connected with the patients, but when I put in that effort I think it was highly effective.

Consider that every single pathway and implementation will be different. When you implement Telemedicine consider that you need mature technology that has proven its worth, so you will not be frustrated by working around bugs and terrible design.