How healthcare leaders should prepare their organisation for Telehealth projects

There are many healthcare leaders who are eager to implement telehealth into their organisation—but before you jump to solutions, it's important to define the problems that telehealth might be able to solve. In setting goals for your business and your clients, this process is crucial. You might already have an idea of what the problem is: maybe your patients aren't showing up for appointments consistently and you want something that would let them see their doctor without having to make a trip. Maybe your hospital is in a rural area with less access to specialists and you'd like a way for doctors in the city to see your patients without requiring them to travel so far.

Successful telehealth programs are patient-centric, which means that they are designed around the needs of patients, not around the services provided by the health system.

The benefits of telehealth often include improved patient access, increased patient satisfaction and easier staff collaboration. If a telehealth program does not account for the needs of patients, it is unlikely to provide any of these benefits.

Successful programs are patient-centric, which means that they are designed around the needs of patients, not around the services provided by the health system. Patient-centered programs are also more effective in achieving positive outcomes for patients and providers.

Involving patients in the design process is one way to ensure that a program will be successful from a clinical perspective and meet the expectations of patients. A well-designed telehealth program will respond to opportunities identified by physicians' clinical knowledge to better manage their patients' care using technology.

The organisation must have a structure in place to provide accountability and governance so that telehealth projects are effectively managed.

• Appoint a project manager: The project manager will have overall responsibility for the telehealth solution. The project manager can be an internal or external person with experience in leading implementation of new technology solutions.
• Create a team: The project management team should include key stakeholders from all areas that will be impacted by the new program, including clinicians, business development, IT, finance and operations.
• Set up a governance body: In addition to the group that works on specific tasks related to the telehealth project, you may want to set up a formal governance body that provides oversight of telehealth projects within your organisation. This might be based on existing governance bodies or formed specifically for this purpose.
• Use project management tools: It is important to use some kind of tool to manage tasks and document progress throughout the implementation process. This will make it easier for staff members spread across different sites and areas of responsibility to stay informed about progress and receive updates on next steps. You should also include regular reporting on key milestones as part of the plan so the leadership team can see how things are progressing from beginning through completion.

It is necessary to assess the current state of services to identify gaps and opportunities for strategic planning.

You should begin by assessing your organisation’s current situation. Where do you stand today? Baseline assessments help to understand the current state of services. Analyse what is working well and what is not. Also, assess gaps and opportunities, understanding needs to close those gaps

This will inform strategic planning and the definition of short-term and long-term goals for telehealth implementation. Additionally, it will help engage stakeholders in an authentic process. This may include collecting feedback from patients, providers, care team members, administrators and others about their perceptions of the current service delivery model.

?You must understand how processes will change with technology as well as adjacent changes that must be made in policies, workflows, job descriptions, and quality improvement methods.

You must understand how processes will change with technology as well as adjacent changes that must be made in policies, workflows, job descriptions, and quality improvement methods. For example, if a physician is using a telehealth platform to remotely monitor chronic disease patients the new process requires physicians obtaining consent from patients for remote monitoring and for storing their medical information on a cloud server. Additionally, the patient’s medical record will need to be updated when their chronic condition status is changed through remote monitoring.

An organisation should have established and engaged senior leadership, who support the telehealth strategy that is aligned with long-term goals.

A successful telehealth project needs organisational leadership support. This telehealth strategy should be supported by senior leaders and aligned with the organisation's long-term goals.

It is also important that these senior leaders are engaged in the process. They must make an effort to understand the merits of developing a system-wide approach. A top-down approach from leadership can facilitate an even more efficient implementation process by moving quickly and engaging others along the way.

As we will discuss next, having clearly defined roles and responsibilities for your team members is crucial to success, but without leadership involvement and support, it will be much more difficult to get buy-in across the organisation or establish trust between clinical service lines and IT teams among other things mentioned later.

A multidisciplinary team with combined skills from clinicians, project managers, designers and IT professionals should be created.

In the implementation process, a good team is always essential, and it's especially important for telehealth solutions. A multidisciplinary team of clinicians, project managers, designers and IT professionals with combined skills from these areas should be created. The team will be able to ensure that all aspects are covered and that every stakeholder has their needs met. This also creates a collaborative environment where people who work together can quickly resolve issues as they arise.

You might find some individuals within your organisation who possess complementary skills; however, if you're seeking someone with expertise in digital technology or user experience design specifically for this purpose, you may need to look outside your organisation.

Telehealth implementation requires a solid technical infrastructure from hardware and connectivity to data management software and reporting capabilities.

• Hardware

A user-friendly, easy to set up and maintain hardware is critical for telehealth success. An existing computer or laptop can work with a web camera, microphone and possibly a USB stethoscope. Tablets are ideal as they are portable and light-weight. Security measures should be in place to protect data privacy and confidentiality, which can vary depending on the organisation’s needs.

• Connectivity

Fast WiFi connectivity is required to ensure a lag-free video consultation as providers will not want patients to be frustrated with bad audio or video quality. Cellular data connection is another option that allows providers to use telemedicine services remotely when there is no internet connectivity available. The healthcare organisation should also have a reliable backup plan in the event of internet service outages so patients can still access care when needed.

• Data Management Software and Reporting Capabilities

The healthcare organisation will need an IT team to manage the data gathered from their electronic health record system (EHR). They should also ensure that their technology meets security requirements in order for protected health information (PHI) data not to get corrupted or accessed inappropriately by unauthorized parties during telehealth implementation stage.

Ready to launch your Telehealth program?

Telehealth360 is our in-house training for organisations that are new to providing telemedicine services. If you want to successfully transition your organisation to telehealth, this is an online course that will help you make the transition in a way that works for everyone.

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