Telehealth promises a great many things — affordable care, better accessibility, reaching a specialist even from the most remote places. In spite of all the benefits, there are currently some telehealth challenges that you can’t ignore.

Compare Top Telehealth Software Leaders

What This Article Covers

• Challenges
• Implementation Challenges
• Security Issues
• Overcoming Challenges
• Next Steps

Telehealth Challenges

Telehealth isn’t without its challenges. And with growing adoption rates, it still needs to overcome these various barriers to thrive — even in spite of technological advancements in robust telehealth platforms and telemedicine systems.

We’ve prepared a list of telehealth barriers that categorize the individual challenge.

Ethical

The 21st-century world is highly interconnected. Patient data flows through several digital channels before arriving at the care provider’s office. One major problem with telehealth is data breaches. As most data is online, the chances of third-party hacking are high.

An overdependence on Health IT is one cause behind leaks of private information through hacking or phishing, and it’s discouraging a large number of patients from opting for telehealth.

There will likely always be a threat to digital patient information, so we have to consider the ethics of diving deeper into virtual health care for the benefits it offers vs. taking a step back to better ensure health information security.

Economic

Yes, you heard it right. Contrary to popular belief, telehealth can be costly.

The cost of telecommunications devices, a broadband connection with good bandwidth and spacious room for exercise demonstrations are requirements that many can’t afford. Patients also face problems with telehealth insurance and billing, as coverage isn’t as widely available for telehealth services yet.

However, mobile phones and new policies are alleviating these impediments.

Technological

Technology is another considerable barrier to telehealth. For starters, implementing new software — in any scenario — isn’t cheap. Especially when it comes medical software that requires strict security capabilities.

Even if you opt for open-source software or free software, you’ll need dedicated IT resources to ensure the data security and transmission capabilities follow government regulations.

There are also technological challenges regarding hardware as well. For example, telehealth platforms can be invaluable for chronic care management, collecting patient vitals through health wearables.

However, if your patients don’t have their own wearable devices and you organization doesn’t have the capacity to offer them, you’re missing out on a major opportunity for improved care through telemedicine.

Finally, there are problems with telehealth regarding technological advancements. It’s easy to get swept up in the latest tech. But don’t let all the shiny new bells and whistles distract your from what’s really important.

But telehealth should ultimately be about providing the best care possible for patients. In this case, that usually means prioritizing patient data security, intuitive and simple user interfaces, and core features that can make a difference in your patients’ lives.

Socio-Cultural

Socio-cultural norms can also pose telehealth challenges. Depending on your patients’ primary demographics or general personalities, you may run into some trouble promoting telehealth services over in-person visits.

It really depends. There are likely to be some who opt to skip the in-person screening whenever possible. That’s great! They can connect with your clinic or hospital to present their symptoms, and you can make an evaluation of whether to prescribe medication, suggest self-treatments or request they come in for further in-person evaluation.

However, you’ll also have holdouts who are just more comfortable with face-to-face contact, even for minor symptoms and concerns. You might also have some who just don’t want to deal with learning to use new applications.

If it turns out the majority of your patients are stringent holdouts for in-person contact even for quick, minor evaluations, you may find that the time, money and effort you’ve invested in the services is a loss.

Try polling your patients to determine if there’s a desire for telehealth services before you go all out.

Compare Top Telehealth Software Leaders

Implementation Challenges

Even if your organization determines you have the desired clientele and decide to offer virtual services, you’re still not out of the weeds yet. Along with broader challenges that impede awareness and adoption, there are telehealth and telemedicine challenges regarding implementation.

Let’s look at some fundamental barriers to telemedicine and telehealth implementation health care providers and patients face.

Reimbursement

Getting timely paid through reimbursement schemes is another problem with telehealth that providers face. Medicare provides different reimbursement schemes but with a myriad of limitations.

Medicaid reimbursements for telehealth vary from state to state, depending on specific regulations. Apart from government-backed insurance, patients can also opt for private insurance coverage for telehealth.

Service Awareness

Another implementation challenge is spreading the word about your new virtual services. If you just sit back after introducing telehealth services into your care portfolio, you may find fewer patients than expected taking advantage of them.

It’s best to create marketing campaigns, design banners and send update emails to patients, letting them know about the new services they can take advantage of.

And don’t stop there. As more patients show interest in telehealth, continue improving awareness through educational materials on using software or what these types of services are best suited for.

Expenses

Upon adding up the expenses for the services and the equipment required for telehealth to function properly, you can get a headache. The cost of telemedicine software is massive. Therefore, a hefty investment is a must upfront.

Compare Top Telehealth Software Leaders

Security Issues

Health care remains a primary target for hackers to extract sensitive patient and corporate financial information. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022, health care continues to be the sector with the highest number of breaches, costing billions.

Since telehealth’s proliferation, digital health data has seen a rise in transmission rates. Today, Health IT is an integral part of the whole medical system. It feeds patient details to doctors and clinics for a better, quicker diagnosis.

This opens a way for cyber attacks with devastating results, leaving patient data vulnerable to theft. Let’s delve into the different security factors health care providers and patients should consider.

Decentralized Security

Telehealth is responsible for decentralizing a clinic’s entire infrastructure. With EHR software, EMR software and medical devices, hackers have the potential to exploit digital systems as an entrance to the large reservoir of patient data and sensitive account information.

Furthermore, patients use wearables that are linked to hospital systems that are unsafe and unprotected. Thus, decentralized security is one of the significant concerns of telehealth.

Inefficient Data Protection Understanding

Maintaining full-proof security at a health care institution relies on every team member. From front-line admin staff to clinicians, every one should work in tandem to ensure they’re transmitting and storing sensitive data securely.

Management should take the initiative to educate employees about data security best practices and how the clinic virtually communicates with patients. Ensuring exceptional cyber security and establishing visibility to secure all end points is the first step to keeping data safe.

In today’s regulated health care industry patient data leaks can land an institution in deep trouble. Therefore, it’s important to hold training for staff to educate them about laws and regulations.

Unsecured Data Transmission

Clinics and hospitals continually exchange patient data and patient health information (PHI). One of the main blessings of telehealth also presents one of the biggest challenges — sharing this information through websites and patient portals.

It provides patients with access to their health journey at their fingertips. But it also leaves the data open to hackers.

To combat potential security threats, providers must abide by the HIPAA Security Rule. To make things simple, make sure the software use is compliant, such as HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing solutions.

Theft of patient information is one of the biggest telehealth challenges of today. But the right system and security protocols can help you ensure you’re doing everything to protect patient information and securely transmit data.

Compare Top Telehealth Software Leaders

Overcoming Challenges

The challenges sound formidable, don’t they? Fret not, every problem has a solution. There are some practices that patients and health care providers must follow to protect data from hackers.

• Use HIPAA-Compliant Software: First and foremost, you need to use secure medical devices. Provide telehealth services through dependable, well-protected channels that’ll ensure data safety. Identify the specific doorways that hackers might use for infiltration and close them off.
• Secure Endpoints: Secure each laptop, tablet, smartphone and wearable device that transmits medical data. Implement telehealth data encryption measures to protect against theft. In addition, your office systems also need to have proper security systems protecting PHI 24/7.
• Monitor Policy Updates: Individual states have their own policies, alongside federal ones, regarding telehealth and telemedicine reimbursements, licensing, and patient’s rights to virtual care. As states have the opportunity to choose the telehealth services Medicaid will cover, policy makers need to understand the specific needs of communities and select services.
• Incorporate Additional Security Technology: Use modern, high-octane technologies to protect data. From AV to artificial intelligence, look for technologies that can integrate seamlessly into videoconferencing solutions and protect data transmission. Customize applications to provide better security and trust for patients.
• Build Privacy and Security Standards: Induct telehealth and telemedicine in the privacy and security policies of the clinic. Train your team thoroughly about the integration and functioning of telehealth software. Provide them with telehealth-specific educational materials for maintaining security and abiding by regulations.
• Protect Clinician-Patient Relationships: Yes, everything is seamless and fast, but that human touch is slowly fading away in care. While telehealth is making care more accessible, clinicians must encourage patients to visit clinics once in a while for a check-up or examination. Forge lasting relationships with patients to ensure retention and satisfaction.

Compare Top Telehealth Software Leaders

Next Steps

Though there are many problems with telehealth, we can lift the stumbling blocks on the path to progress. As technology continues to grow every day, the time is not far when practices will consider telehealth as one of the primary methods of care delivery.

A telehealth-connected future certainly looks bright. But we must not forget that some illnesses and medical conditions still need physical examinations. It is the right time for clinicians to adopt telehealth as newer software is more user-friendly and specifically built to cater to physicians’ needs.

Looking to integrate telehealth software into your medical practice? Check out our free comparison report to learn more about the leading vendors in the space. You can evaluate technical and security requirements alongside functional requirements to see how different applications stack up against each other in all three areas.

Did we leave out any telehealth challenges from the list? Let us know in the comments.