Benefits of Using Locum Tenens For Your Telehealth Services

General.

Telehealth is a rapidly growing trend in health care, connecting patients to essential services through videoconferencing on smartphones and laptops. These services facilitate virtual consultations and wireless communication, allowing people access to health services around the clock, no matter where they are. 

Today, 76% of hospitals across the United States use telehealth to link patients with practitioners. This revolutionary technology provides an easily accessible way for people to access clinical care without leaving their homes. 

Telehealth services are becoming increasingly popular as organizations expand their reach and improve patient care. However, many facilities struggle to find the necessary staff without overextending their resources.   

One option is to use locum tenens for your telehealth services to overcome this obstacle and provide the vital services your patients need. Here are some of the numerous benefits of using locum tenens for your telehealth services. 

Improves patient care 

Patients can now receive medical attention in the comfort of their own homes and no longer need to travel to a facility. In addition, since telehealth allows patients to connect with their doctors in real-time, they can receive prescriptions for medication and treatment without delay. 

With locum tenens supporting your telehealth services, your organization can provide essential medical support when it’s needed most. Patients can receive the care they need quickly and conveniently through a virtual consultation from a qualified physician at a time that works for them. 

Telehealth allows physicians to see more patients in less time. Therefore, efficiency increases when you use locum tenens physicians, leaving your permanent staff more time to focus on direct, in-house patient care. As a result, patients benefit from enhanced access to treatment without the stress of long in-clinic wait times.  

Without sufficient physicians, patient wait times typically increase in line with staff shortages. Reduced wait times are clearly advantageous for patients, but facilities also benefit as wait times are a metric for critical patient satisfaction scores. With the focus now turning to value-based reimbursement, patient satisfaction could directly impact the bottom line of healthcare institutions. 

Another facet of improved patient care is that healthcare facilities can harness the experience and expertise of locum tenens clinicians to expand care to additional specialties. One example is running clinics in specific disease areas where there are few patients to justify a full-time physician.  

Reduces costs 

Telehealth and contract locum tenens are both highly beneficial, cost-saving approaches. However, when used together, the results are more significant. 

Using telehealth and locum tenens physicians in tandem improves patient access to care and may even reduce no-shows while also cutting expenses. This is both a huge benefit for patients and a valuable cost reduction strategy. 

According to an American Journal of Managed Care review, telehealth could potentially reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, which is a tremendous advantage for all parties. 

What’s more, telehealth facilitates proactive patient care. For example, telehealth allows for remote monitoring of chronic health conditions, and clinicians are able to teach patients self-care.  

Telemedicine can help patients by providing support and guidance as they embark on their own journey to health. 

Relieves pressure on permanent staff 

A worrying 42% of U.S. physicians say they feel emotionally and physically burned out. The pressure of working in the health industry can be immense and overwhelming. Yet, as physicians and other highly-trained medical personnel remain in short supply, these demands continue to increase. 

Patients also suffer when physicians are burnout. As a result, patient outcomes and experiences deteriorate, and facility profits plummet.  

However, strategically appointing locum tenens physicians to support permanent staff helps minimize burnout. By using locums during peak usage periods or while understaffed, facilities provide much-needed relief from the continual pressure of medical work. 

Additionally, facilities can utilize locum tenens physicians to ensure staff only need to work when scheduled and are free to take all-important rest at other times. This staffing model allows your facility to keep up with increasing demands while helping ameliorate burnout. 

The value of telehealth with locum tenens support 

Telehealth services are advantageous to healthcare facilities and patients alike. Furthermore, when facilities use a combination of telemedicine and locum tenens physicians, they can reduce staffing expenses, increase access to specialized care, and reduce stress and burnout for permanent clinicians. 

Using locum tenens for your telehealth services allows physicians to focus on patient care in a way that enhances efficiency and improves patient outcomes.