What Are the Advantages of Free Real Time Telemedicine Platforms?

Real-time telemedicine may not have been something your veterinary practice explored a few months ago. But now that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that industries of all types — the veterinary realm included — do business, it’s probably on your radar. You might even be on the search for free real time telemedicine for veterinary practices.

There are multiple types of telemedicine, and many forms of telehealth as a general concept. Real-time telemedicine, though, generally refers to a video conference between a veterinarian or a member of the support staff and the client, along with their patient. This allows for contactless service, something that’s highly sought after during these unprecedented times. But that’s only one of many free telemedicine benefits for veterinary practices.

Telemedicine benefits your practice in a myriad of ways, but it also goes beyond that. Telehealth in general is a good thing for care providers and specialists, as well as the patients who are on the receiving end of the service. In short, it helps everyone, and is especially useful during a time like this when we simply can’t do business as usual.

It’s likely that your practice is running a form of curbside service, wherein pet owners drop off their companions in your parking lot for care, then either wait or return at a later time for pickup. The logistics of the appointment are conducted over the phone, or perhaps at a socially safe distance outdoors. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, but be aware that a free telemedicine program for veterinary practices can work well to either supplement the curbside model, or feed it. Many of the minor appointments — prescription refills, quick follow-ups, etc. — can be conducted over a video conference, saving your physical practice from being overwhelmed with appointments. Plus, the video conferences can “feed” the physical practice if your veterinarians or support staff note something wrong during the appointment, or if the pet owner requests it. (More on this concept later).

Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of free telemedicine in the workplace and how they impact your veterinarians and support staff, clients and patients, and the practice as a whole.

Advantages for Your Veterinarians

While it’s true that most veterinarians would greatly prefer to see all of their clients and patients in person, that’s simply not possible right now. And it’s likely that free remote healthcare for veterinary practices isn’t going away anytime soon — some experts predict that the pandemic has changed the face of healthcare permanently, and that telemedicine appointments will be used normally long after COVID-19 and associated restrictions are a thing of the past.

A free telemedicine platform for veterinary practices gives veterinarians many advantages. They include:

● Quicker appointments: Rather than going through the time-consuming process of coming to the clinic, checking in at the front desk, and waiting in the lobby before actually seeing the vet, clients have connected with their veterinarian instantly thanks to the telemedicine technology. This makes things simpler for the veterinarian as well as the client, and it allows your vets to see far more clients and patients than they might otherwise. And the appointments themselves will be quick and easy, as a telemedicine appointment cuts out much of the small talk and other idiosyncrasies that may take up extra time in the clinic.

● Fast follow-ups: Free real-time telemedicine for veterinary practices also makes follow-up appointments quick and easy. Post-operative checkups, rechecks for medication effectiveness, and other minor follow-ups can easily be performed over a video conference. And in the same way that general appointments are quick and easy, so are follow-ups. Plus, veterinarians can schedule more follow-ups, more often. That’s a benefit for revenue and patient health.

● Greater reach: One of the greatest advantages of a free telemedicine program for veterinary practices is that it allows your veterinarians to reach a far greater number of clients and patients than they might otherwise be able to. This is especially true for clients in rural areas, who may not be keen on traveling long distances to reach the physical practice. Now, thanks to telemedicine technology, veterinarians can reach those clients as easily as anyone else.

● Easy connection with specialists: Keep in mind that a free telemedicine platform for veterinary practices doesn't just connect veterinarians with clients and patients. It can connect them with other veterinarians or specialists if they need a second opinion, and the video aspect may be beneficial versus a simple phone call. Plus, veterinarians can even attend virtual conferences or continuing education seminars as the pandemic rolls on, keeping up their skills and knowledge without ever having to leave town.

● Lower chance of burnout: Telemedicine platforms allow veterinarians to see more patients, more efficiently, and easily connect with other vets or specialists for help if necessary. All of this works toward another great advantage of this kind of approach: it greatly reduces the chance of burnout among your veterinary staff, especially in veterinarians themselves. Work-related exhaustion is a serious problem, especially among healthcare professionals, and especially during times like these.

● Feeding the physical practice: As mentioned above, veterinarians can use free telemedicine in the workplace to “feed” the physical practice, encouraging physical appointments when necessary that generate revenue. If the vet notices a problem during the appointment or the pet owner brings up a concern, they can be invited to bring their pet to the practice. In this way, your veterinarian — even if they have to remain quarantined at home — can still serve as a powerful revenue-generator for the practice.

Advantages for Your Clients

Pet owners are the next group that benefits from free secure telemedicine for veterinary practices. And it’s more important now than ever to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction — with some pet owners having to make the choice between veterinary care and other expenses, you’ll want to provide the best experience possible in order to keep that patient base you enjoyed before the pandemic started changing things.

Here the advantages of free remote healthcare for veterinary practices that clients can enjoy:

● Fast, easy appointments. In the same way that telemedicine benefits veterinarians by creating fast, easy appointments and allowing them to see more patients as a result, clients receive those same advantages. It’s a huge time savings for pet owners, as they simply have to connect over a secure internet line to see their veterinarian. There’s no travel needed, which is a particular advantage for clients who live far away from your practice’s physical location. Simply put, telemedicine saves your clients a huge amount of time when it comes to pet care, and that makes it even more likely that they will seek out your services on a regular basis. When they can easily fit it into their daily schedules, clients are that much more likely to call your practice.

● Lower cost: Multiple studies have demonstrated that telemedicine in the human healthcare world tends to incur significantly lower costs for the patients who receive care through this medium. And one of the great things about free secure telemedicine for veterinary practices is that it’s also a lower cost for pet owners. A big part of that is the travel aspect — pet owners, especially those who live in rural areas or far away from the practice, don’t have to spend the money they would otherwise pay for gas, meal, and potentially lodging, depending on the situation. That’s a huge customer-retaining advantage, and it serves your clients well.

● Less stress: Since pet owners stay at home for telemedicine appointments, the entire experience is less stressful. There’s no chasing after the cat to stuff them into their carrier, there’s no anxiety reaction from the dog when they realize they’re going to the vet’s office. The client simply has to show the veterinarian their pet over the video screen and have a conversation. The ability to have a stress-free, nearly instant checkup or follow-up appointment is a big draw, and it’s a big advantage for your clients.

● Contactless service: Let’s not forget the core benefit of free remote healthcare for veterinary practices: it’s completely contactless. In the time of COVID-19, when we’re all trying to maintain our safety and sanitation, it’s far easier to take care of many appointments in a contactless way. And video conferencing technology makes it easy.

Many of the same advantages of free telemedicine in the workplace that apply to clients apply by association to their pets — the reason that you do what you do in the first place. Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits for pets themselves.
Advantages for Your Patients
Of course, the patients themselves are at the center of the care model of your veterinary practice, even with the modified service you’re likely running at this time. And free telemedicine benefits for veterinary practices extend to them as well. Here are some of the great advantages of remote healthcare for pets themselves:

● Better health: The greatest benefit of free telemedicine in the workplace for pets is that it provides them with better healthcare. Patients can be rechecked more frequently and more often, or as many times as may be necessary. And if a pet owner has a question or concern about their pet’s care, it’s no trouble for them to contact their veterinarian for an appointment. The same is true for simple appointments, like prescription refills or quick post-operative follow-ups. Simply put, having that instant connection to a veterinary team, with the ability to visualize the pet themselves, means that the patient receives better care in just about all ways.

● Less stress: Since pets don’t have to leave home in order to be seen by their veterinarian, their stress level during the appointment is virtually zero. This is another way that telemedicine makes for better care, as a patient who isn’t nervous or writhing about is much easier to examine. Any pet owner who has dealt with a pet who hates going to the vet’s office can appreciate this benefit! In the same way that a free telemedicine program for veterinary practices puts far less stress on the pet owners, it’s far less stressful for the patients themselves. And that’s good for everyone involved.

● More pets seen: Thanks to the greater reach that telemedicine services provide for veterinarians, pets who may not otherwise be seen by their veterinarians can secure appointments. And that’s especially true for pets who are difficult to take to the vet’s office, like large dogs, pets with disabilities, pets with severe anxiety, etc. Again, it makes things less stressful for those patients while greatly expanding the reach and overall number of pets who can receive care. More pets getting the veterinary care they need, including ones who may not otherwise have easy access — that’s a huge benefit for our animal friends.

When your patients, clients, and practitioners benefit from free real-time telemedicine for veterinary practices, it all comes together in a bigger picture: your practice succeeds. Let’s take a closer look at some specific advantages for your practice.

Advantages for Your Practice

Many experts believed that telemedicine was the direction that the veterinary industry was heading before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. And they may have been correct — many clinics already had some form of free secure telemedicine for veterinary practices in place, and it’s only become more essential now that our business models have adjusted to the new normal.

Some of the many benefits of telemedicine platforms for your practice include:

● Revenue boost: A free telemedicine platform for veterinary practices can actually boost the clinic’s revenue, potentially in a big way. Part of that is because of the ease of use — more patients are likely to seek out your services when they don’t even have to leave home, even for minor health concerns or simple medication refills. And because you can schedule more rechecks more frequently, you can make up some of the revenue that might otherwise be lost thanks to the lack of a physical appointment. Consider this: instead of charging $50.00 for one recheck, now you can charge $29.99 for each recheck, ultimately creating a profit from those appointments. Multiply that by all the patients you see in a day, and you have a significant revenue booster. And don’t forget that that boost applies to every veterinarian you have working for your practice.

● Time savings: Telemedicine programs also help save your practice’s staff a lot of time. Just as it’s a time-savings benefit for pet owners, the same is true for your staff. Gone are the hassles of checking clients in and out, coordinating patients coming out of exam rooms to the front desk and vice versa, and having patients reschedule their appointments. Clients and patients are checked in remotely via the telemedicine platform, which only takes moments, and clients are far less likely to skip their appointment (more on that later) or need to reschedule. All of this equals a big time-savings for your veterinarians and support staff, and that time savings means they can fit in more clients and patients in a day, again contributing to the greater revenue scheme.

● Fewer readmissions: Because of the efficiency and effectiveness of free real-time telemedicine for veterinary practices, including the ability to easily re-check as often as necessary, providers are able to manage patients’ care very well. And that means fewer readmissions to the practice. So, you’re building money on the appointment end while reducing the amount of times the same patient needs to come back for care.

● Fewer no-shows: Clinics who struggle with a high no-show rate (meaning that a client has scheduled an appointment and doesn’t show up, but also doesn’t send any notice beforehand) can benefit from a free telemedicine program for veterinary practices. The ease of telemedicine technology makes it far simpler and easier for clients to keep their appointments, because all they have to do is link up using the equipment they already have at home. And during the pandemic, as people make a point to stay home as often as possible, there are even less scheduling conflicts likely to get in the way of a scheduled appointment. Consider implementing a telemedicine program and see how it affects your practice’s no-show rate.

● Maintaining the client base: Let’s not forget that telemedicine has become an essential part of your business model thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and that in and of itself is a huge advantage of this kind of technology. That’s because it helps you maintain your client base as the pandemic wears on. If your practice had to close outright and remain dark for months on end, clients would need to seek services elsewhere. Free secure telemedicine for veterinary practices allows your clinic to remain open and serve clients, especially if you’re located in a hot spot as far as COVID-19 cases or an area that’s heavily locked down. Simply put, it’s your lifeline to keeping revenue flowing as the pandemic continues over time.

A boost in revenue, fewer readmissions and no-shows, time-savings for your staff, and the ability to keep your all-important client base during a time when it definitely isn’t business as usual — these are free telemedicine benefits for veterinary practices that you can’t do without.

Drawbacks to Work Around When Implementing Telemedicine

It’s only fair, now that we’ve considered many of the great advantages of free real-time telemedicine for veterinary practices, to consider some of the drawbacks that you may face. That way, you can take the necessary steps to either avoid them or work around them.

● Clients need to adjust to the idea: Some clients aren’t as quick as others to come around to the idea of telemedicine. And it’s hard to blame them, as most pet owners would still greatly prefer their animal companion be seen physically by a doctor, especially in more serious cases. You may have to “coach” your client base on the benefits of telemedicine, both for them and their pets. Make it clear that should a serious concern crop up, the physical practice is always available — pets can be seen physically if necessary assuming you’re running curbside service. It’s just that many of the more low-impact or routine appointments make sense to be conducted via telemedicine, and it’s safer and easier for everyone involved.

● Your team needs to adjust to the idea: Be aware that your veterinarians themselves may take time to adjust to the idea of using a free telemedicine platform for veterinary practices. They, of course, would much rather see patients in person. It might be necessary to explain the financial benefits of using this kind of approach for now, getting your veterinary team used to the idea that telemedicine is, at least at the moment, a necessary tool to have at your disposal.

● Clients need the right technology: Another challenge of telemedicine in the veterinary realm, and telehealth as a whole in almost every niche of healthcare, is that the users need the right technology (a computer or mobile device with a webcam and microphone). This isn’t possible for every client, especially older ones, low-income families, or those in extremely rural areas. This is a challenge that is still being addressed across the world of telehealth — unfortunately, there isn’t an easy solution.

How to Implement Free-Real Time Telemedicine for Veterinary Practices

We’ve learned about the many advantages of free real-time telemedicine platforms, for providers, patients, clients, and practices alike. And we’ve taken a look at some of the drawbacks of the approach, necessary as it may be. But the question remains: how do you implement a telemedicine program in the first place?

UPbook is here to help. The FREE Veterinary Telemedicine App gives your practice full telemedicine capabilities in a simple mobile application, and it couldn't be easier to set up. You’ll have things up and running in 10 minutes or less. It’s a great solution for veterinary practices, especially if you have to implement this approach in a pinch, or if team members suddenly need to self-quarantine.

Learn more about the FREE Veterinary Telemedicine App.

UPbook Remote Office is another great tool to use when transitioning your practice to a telemedicine approach. Your front desk can be run virtually, even from front-desk staff members’ homes. You’ll enjoy features like the ability to send and receive calls as the practice number from home, send and receive faxes, schedule telemedicine consults, and much more.

Learn more here if you’re interested in UPbook Remote Office.

Telemedicine isn’t going anywhere, with or without the COVID-19 pandemic and a potential second wave. Free real-time telemedicine for veterinary practices is your way of staying on the cutting edge, allowing you to continue serving the clients and patients who need your help the most.