Video conferencing uses two-way interactive audio-video technology to connect users when a live, face-to-face interaction is necessary.
Video devices can include videoconferencing units, peripheral cameras, videoscopes, or web cameras. Display devices include computer monitors, plasma/LED TV, LCD projectors, and even tablet computers. Video conferencing can provide cost-effective access to care for patients who are institutionalized or incarcerated;
Video conferencing has historically been the most common application of telemedicine/telehealth care, and is an effective health care and consultation tool for a variety of applications, including:
Emergency Room/Intensive Care Unit Support
Video conferencing connects emergency providers with medical specialists who otherwise would not be available for consults;
Remote ICU monitoring programs at hospitals provide 24-hour backup, supervision, and support to ICU medical staffs by utilizing a combination of real-time video to observe patients, interactive video communications with on-site ICU providers, and digital patient monitoring equipment.
Consults
Primary care providers can consult with medical specialists who are not available locally;
Providers can discuss patient cases, regardless of location, and without the need for travel;
Medical specialists can examine patients in remote locations when distance is a barrier, as is the case when patients live in rural and underserved urban areas. This includes situations where the physician needs to directly observe the patient;
Psychiatric consults can effectively be provided through live video for individuals who do not have local access, or who may otherwise be reluctant to keep appointments in person at a psychiatric provider’s office;
Patients with limited mobility can receive medical consultations at home, or in their local primary care provider’s office;
Language translators can provide video interpretation services to multiple locations, a cost-effective expansion of these programs.
Health Education
Video conferencing allows health care professionals to conduct continuing education programs with attendees in multiple locations;
Patients can use these technologies to take disease management courses or receive other important health information.
Video Conferencing Successes
Recent studies have shown that video conferencing directly improves access to health care, and can improve the quality of care that could lead to improved health outcomes. These technologies also have the potential to make the health care system more cost effective. For example:
The objective of this 2016 study titled, “Telehealth and Autism: Treating Challenging Behavior at a Lower Cost“, was to determine if an autism treatment delivered via live videoconferencing could be implemented effectively and at a lower cost compared to in-person interventions. To test this, they compared outcome and cost data for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) procedures using in-home therapy, clinic-based telehealth, and home-based telehealth. Their results found all three service delivery models to be successful in reducing problem behavior. Related to cost, they found home telehealth to be least costly, but both forms of telehealth were significantly less expensive than in-home therapy.
“Patients’ Satisfaction with and Preference for Telehealth Visits”, a 2015 study, investigated patient satisfaction with a live-video telehealth program offered at a CVS MinuteClinic. Researchers surveyed 1,734 patients to assess their satisfaction with seeing diagnostic images, hearing and seeing the remote practitioner, the assisting nurse, quality of care, convenience, and understanding. They were also asked to rank telehealth visits as they compared to traditional visits. The survey results found high satisfaction and acceptability for telehealth, and some patients preferred telehealth services over a traditional in-person visit.
Building a healthcare solution is a complicated process, and a myriad of regulatory requirements often add time and costs to the product.
For this reason, experienced health-tech developers like Kays Harbor rely on their ability to integrate relevant 3rd party solutions which can expedite the development of your healthcare software without the need to reinvent the wheel, at the same time adhering to the strict regulatory requirements.
One such area where we suggest our clients to opt for a 3rd party tool is the video conferencing module when it comes to developing a telemedicine solution. With so many third-party video conferencing products available in the market, it could be a challenging task to decide which solution to incorporate in your product.
While you are doing your research around the available options in the market, do keep the following 5 points in mind that guide you to towards the right 3rd party video conferencing tool for your needs.
When choosing a video conferencing tool for your telemedicine solution, make sure you look out for these five factors:
1. Check if it is HIPAA compliant
In all probabilities, you would have kept HIPAA compliance in mind while you are building the telemedicine solution. You don’t want to undo the hard work your developers have put into your product by integrating a non-compliant 3rd party solution.
a. Privacy and security compliance
The third-party product must be compliant with HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules, especially in relation to the increased requirements relative to the HITECH Act.
b. Complete protection of PHI
While your portion of the telemedicine solution has been built in a way that it doesn’t access the protected health information (PHI) being transmitted, you must ensure that 3rd party VC tool you are integrating also protects the PHI. As you are considered under HIPAA to be a covered entity and you are using another party’s service to assist in transmitting PHI, therefore HIPAA requires a business associate agreement to be in place to protect all parties.
c. The tool should allow peer-to-peer sessions
To remain compliant, the video conferencing tool you choose should create a portal from endpoint to endpoint, thus ensuring that PHI is never stored or received in any way by your own telemedicine solution. This essentially means the video conferencing tool acts as a closed portal through which information passes, preventing the interception or leakage of data between points A and B. It should only broker the connection between securely verified participants and allow for the administration and management of the list of such users.
d. Choose a tool that integrates encryption
While the Security Rule doesn’t require data encryption in cases where it can be shown to not be reasonable or appropriate, the video conferencing tool you choose should encrypt the data that it generates. If there is a breach for any reason,proper encryption provides a safe harbor and you would not need to provide notification of the breach as otherwise required by HIPAA’s Breach Rule (as defined in the HITECH Act).
e. The video conferencing solution should allow HIPAA compliant local file storage
You should choose a tool that allows your users to save the PHI created to your own hardware, which should itself be HIPAA compliant. The tool should not itself store any data within its infrastructure or be allowed to access the said data, to protect yourself and your clients.
2. Video and Audio performance
The video conferencing tool you choose to integrate into your telemedicine solution should add versatility and adaptability to the way your users connect to one another.
a. Crystal clear clarity regardless of connection quality
The tool you choose should provide high quality audio and visual performance regardless of the user’s connection speed, or disparate connection speeds between users. The tool should offer compatibility with and the ability to thrive on bandwidths of all types.
b. Efficiency on multiple displays
Your users may be running telemedicine sessions over different device types and screen sizes. The 3rd party video conferencing solution should be able to render seamlessly irrespective of the screen size and resolution, without any severe effect on the video/audio quality.
c. A customizable interface helps build trust
The tool you choose should allow users to customize the video feed with options such as being able to resize video, allow the feed to appear frameless to improve the personal connection between the doctor and patient, allow users to arrange multiple feeds, and other similar display functionality.
3. Purpose-specific features
Depending on the purpose and functionality of your telemedicine solution, there can be several custom features you might want to incorporate in your product. In that scenario, your 3rd party video conferencing tool should be flexible enough to allow you to easily build such functionalities on top of it. Consider the following custom features and decide for yourself.
a. Pause and annotate live video
You might need a tool that allows the doctor to pause the video, annotate records, or even draw on the monitor to share information with the patient.
b. Patient queue
If your telemedicine tool is being used to allow doctors to perform virtual consultations, it might be necessary to choose a video conferencing solution that keeps a queue of patients to manage appointments and contacts at a glance.
c. Multimedia functionality
In order to allow users to share documents, records, educational material or other information with other participants, you might need a tool that allows the ability to patch in alternate content feeds.
d. Multi-User feeds and chat
There are video conferencing tools that allow your users to add in other users to video conversations in situations where appropriate, such as consults with families or when participants are in multiple locations.
4. Customization
To create the most versatile telemedicine solution, your video conferencing component must include a significant degree of customizability and be compatible with the other components of your product.
a. User interface and portal
The 3rd party tool should be flexible and customizable enough so that it doesn’t appear to be a separate module from the rest of your telemedicine solution’s interface. It should also include many relevant UI options, such as the ability to access client records, scheduling tools, and workflow and productivity tools, to maximize integration and usability.
b. Information is easily accessible
Data created by the video conferencing tool should easily integrate into the existing data captured by the rest of your telemedicine solution and be compatible with software and hardware in use in the medical field. Ensure any data created during a session is converted to text or data files that can be uploaded into users’ existing EMR / EHR systems and that videos can be saved in accessible and HIPAA-compliant formats.
5. Compatibility with your own systems
The most important factor in choosing which videoconferencing tool to integrate into your telemedicine solution is determining with which systems the tool should be compatible.
a. Browser compatibility
As you have specific browser requirements and functionality built into your tool and your users likely have their own preferences, you want a tool that is compatible with as many browser platforms as possible, including but not limited to Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
b. Technology compatibility
Even more important is knowing the hardware preferences of your intended client base. The tool you choose must include compatibility with your intended target operating systems, be it Windows or Mac. If mobility is a concern, consider compatibility with Android and iOS. Finally, does the tool include compatibility with JavaScript and other software solutions that might be integrated into your telemedicine solution?
