Webinar: How to use video apps for a telemedicine virtual visit
DENVER, Colo. – MARCH 23, 2020 – In the wake of a historic shift in federal healthcare policies due to the coronavirus pandemic, national healthcare marketing firm Vanguard Communications is offering a free webinar for doctors on how to use FaceTime, Google Hangouts and popular video chat apps to conduct a telemedicine virtual visit.
Responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, the White House has announced temporary changes allowing doctors to be paid for most telehealth patient appointments, as well as easing long-standing restrictions on management and sharing of health information online.
The historic shift is designed to widen online healthcare access from a tiny portion of the population to the general public.
To accelerate public access to online healthcare, Denver-based Vanguard Communications – a healthcare digital communications and management consulting firm – is offering the webinar to physicians on how to choose the best app and online device, pros and cons of each app, how to capture and chart patient interactions, and legal considerations.
“These developments lend quite a different meaning to ‘the doctor will see you now,’” King says. “Remote doctoring eliminates the risk of person-to-person disease transmission and potentially allows healthcare providers to care for more patients in the working day.”
Historically, Medicare benefits – which guide how most healthcare insurers pay doctors in general – covered online doctor appointments only for patients in rural areas without a nearby medical facility and with individual established physician relationships.
Under the new policy, the federal government will not only pay doctors for the vast majority of online appointments but will also waive some sanctions and penalties under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which restricts where and how a patient’s health information can be shared digitally.
The webinar is taught by Vanguard Chief Medical Officer Dr. Neil Baum of New Orleans, telehealth and HIPAA-specialist attorney Anjali Dooley, JD, MBA of St. Louis, and Vanguard Technical Director Jonathan Stanley. It originally aired on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, 7 – 8 pm EDT, Thursday, March 26, 2020, 7 – 8 am EDT, and Friday, March 27, 2020, 12 – 1 pm EDT.
To view the webinar, visit covidtelemedicine.com.
About Vanguard Communications
Founded in 1994, Vanguard Communications has helped to grow and streamline private and academic medical practices nationwide in 23 specialties for more than a quarter-century. Under its MedMarketLink program, the firm guarantees clients 15 to 30 percent increase in new patients in one year, realized through online publishing of specialty-specific, patient-centric health information. Through its MedAmorphosis process improvement services, Vanguard helps clients identify and remove obstacles to efficiency and develop a lasting culture of continuous improvement.