The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the increased use of telehealth tools. During the past year, many patients and providers that had never heard of telehealth or telemedicine before started using it. With all the talk about remote patient care, you may often hear the terms telehealth and telemedicine being used interchangeably, and you may wonder what is the difference between the two?
Continue readingProvider feedback on telehealth usage during COVID-19
With the need to free up the hospital spaces for the rising number of COVID-19 and other emergent patients, many providers shifted the follow-up and chronic care to virtual. In addition, many specialist appointments are now conducted virtually. This rapid change of treatment delivery in just a matter of months has made a significant impact on the different aspects of telehealth.
Continue readingWhy Telemedicine is Here to Stay

The global COVID-19 pandemic has strongly influenced the shift in healthcare from mostly in-person care to predominantly virtual care. With the need to free up the hospital spaces for the rising number of COVID-19 and other emergent patients, many providers shifted the follow-up and chronic care to virtual. In addition, many specialist appointments are now conducted virtually. Consequentially, the role of telemedicine shifted from an additional tool that was only used occasionally, to an essential tool that is used to treat a number of patients every day.
With the current climate in the medical world, there is a lot of discussions as to what the future of telemedicine is. Is it here to claim its rightful place in medical care or is it just a temporary tool to help providers fight through pandemic? At Vivadox, we believe that telemedicine is still at its infant stage, and not only is it here to stay but to revolutionize healthcare as we know it.
Here are some of the reasons why telemedicine is here to stay:
High Patient Demand and Convenience
During the global pandemic, it has become clear to both patients and providers that not all follow-ups, prescription refills, consultations, and chronic care appointments require an in-person office visit. Telemedicine allows great convenience and reduced travel time, and most of the patients may be willing to pay standard co-pays or more for this convenience [1]. With a smaller time commitment required from the patients, they no longer need to dedicate a whole day to go receive the treatment they need. With providers constantly looking for ways to enhance the patient experience, telemedicine comes in as an excellent way to attract the patient and use it regularly in the treatment where appropriate.
Untapped Capabilities
Technology is still advancing and the possibilities for the future of telemedicine are endless. The constant advances in technology are constantly influencing the transformation of the healthcare system. Many tech companies are working on improving their healthcare solutions by utilizing everything from well-established communication tools like video and audio calls to revolutionary technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. While incorporating features to obtain providers’ feedback and using it to make adjustments and improvements that would improve both providers’ experience and satisfaction, telemedicine tools are becoming more accepted and viable for everyday use.
Regulations and Reimbursement Policies
As the COVID-19 emerged, many of the regulations and policies governing telemedicine have been loosened and continuously updated to accommodate the current state of emergency. These changes brought an unexpected outcome of establishing the benefits of telemedicine by helping patients continue their treatment with doctors remotely without the risk and fear of virus illness contraction. Many patients that would normally not be able to access telemedicine were able to receive care from the comfort of their homes. There are efforts to change permanent telemedicine and regulations (you can read more about this on the ATA website[2]) to allow greater patient access to telemedicine and for the providers to get adequate reimbursements for the care provided. With the rapid growth of telemedicine, it is expected that the regulations governing telemedicine will be constantly updated and expanded to include new technologies and use cases.
Make Healthcare Accessible
Many rural areas in the United States do not have easy access to healthcare. While there are areas with limited access to the Internet and smartphones, in recent years, there have been great efforts to improve this. Patients must travel for hours at times to receive the adequate care they need. For the older patients with chronic conditions, this can mean that they will not see their providers as often as they should. Allowing telemedicine to continue beyond the pandemic can significantly impact the frequency and quality of care patients in rural are receive. Additionally, they can connect with specialists that they would normally not be able to see due to location constraints and get advice.
Ultimately, virtual care has proven to be beneficial and can have a critical role as a supplemental tool in the future of medical care. With innovative features and improved functionality and coverage, telemedicine tools will become one of the top choices for patient treatment long after the pandemic is over.
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How to Minimize Telemedicine Security Risks

The surge in telemedicine use due to the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the increase in recognition of the numerous benefits telemedicine provides. During the past year, many patients and providers that had never even heard of telemedicine before started using telemedicine to provide and receive the best care possible at these unusual times.
While recognizing the benefits and convenience that telemedicine provides to both providers and patients, there are still some considerable doubts when it comes to security and privacy. For telemedicine to reach its full potential both sides have to trust that their interaction, as well as the personal data transmitted, are kept private and secure. While using at-home networks and personal smart devices may pose certain security risks, we have listed some recommendations that can help you and your patients minimize potential security risks.
Encryption: Using HIPAA Compliant Telemedicine Solution
Many existing platforms that are being used to conduct telemedicine appointments do not meet HIPAA requirements and lack essential safeguards. Some of the key HIPAA requirements include guidelines on encryption. Encryption must be implemented at every step of the process. All of the communication and data exchange during the telemedicine visit should be encrypted as well. When seeking telemedicine solutions, look for information on how they assure HIPAA compliance and what security features they provide.
While using a secure HIPAA compliant telehealth platform is important, it is only one of the steps toward secure communication. Every system is as strong as its weakest link. You can have the top-notch security setup, however, if a user writes down a password on a sticky note by the computer for everyone to see, those security investments are wasted.
Working with telemedicine provider: Data breach and emergency response
Even the best security systems have their flaws. When working with ePHI, it is important to have an established emergency response in case a breach occurs. The breach can happen locally, on healthcare providers’ side, or externally, on the telemedicine providers’ side. This is why you must work together with your telemedicine provider to protect ePHI and learn about their emergency response procedures.
Device security: Keeping antivirus up to date
All of the devices that are accessing ePHI and participating in telemedicine interaction must have up-to-date protection against viruses and other malware. Assuring that providers have appropriate and up to date software installed is an easier step – how can one assure that the patients are using the best security practices to minimize the risks of contracting malware? Providers should take time prior to their virtual appointments to educate patients on easy steps that can make a big difference when it comes to their security on the internet.
The weakest link: Educate your patients on the importance of cybersecurity
Providers should help inform the patients, especially the ones that are less tech-savvy, on best practices and precautions they can take to improve their safety online. Some of the important points to cover are:
- Using antivirus and assuring they are up to date and properly configured.
- Regularly updating the operating system and applications they use.
- Properly enabling and disabling different app permissions based on the usage. In the case of a telemedicine app or web browser used to access the telemedicine link, patients should assure that their microphone and camera permissions are enabled.
- Being able to recognize fraudulent email, text, or phone communication. Provide your patient with information such as what email addresses and phone numbers you use to send them important communication ahead of time.
- Advanced: Using VPN and Firewalls.
Accessing patient data remotely
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many providers started treating their patients from their homes, using their personal devices. Due to the presence of highly sensitive information, it is pertinent to have essential safeguards in place in the form of encrypted networks, firewalls, or VPN. These security measures provide users with an added layer of security from any outside malicious users. When you need to log onto your providers’ portal, make sure that you log out as soon as you are done. Also, do not download or store locally any of the patient records.
While we recognize that the concerns about privacy and security are valid, they should not prevent providers and patients from using telemedicine. Security and privacy standards are constantly evolving to minimize risks. Together with providers, telemedicine solutions must work to assure the highest security standards and minimize existing risks. Providers must embrace the role of educating patients about security. Only in this manner will both patients and providers be able to fully embrace telemedicine safely and the many benefits that it offers.
Sources:
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/privacy-and-security-concerns-telehealth/2014-12
https://healthitsecurity.com/news/must-have-telehealth-remote-work-privacy-and-security-for-covid-19
https://healthitsecurity.com/news/must-have-telehealth-remote-work-privacy-and-security-for-covid-19
https://healthitsecurity.com/news/must-have-telehealth-remote-work-privacy-and-security-for-covid-19
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0997