Telemedicine is the new black in the healthcare field. If you already have a telemedicine platform and do want to beat the competition, we've got some tips to help you stand out even more.
Before we dive into additional features to set your telemed system apart, let’s first look at the core features every telemedicine system should have.
Telemedicine Must-Haves
Based on our experience, these are the following must-haves:
✔️ Booking
First off, you need a booking system so patients can easily schedule appointments with their doctors. This could be implemented in the format of Calendly, Google Calendar, or any other convenient software. Don’t forget about appointment reminders and the ability to change and cancel the visit.
✔️ Secure video/audio/text chat
When it comes to video/audio/text chat, it's crucial to ensure top-notch security to safeguard patient information during online consultations. Utilizing end-to-end encryption is key. This encryption method ensures that data transmitted during video and audio chats remains confidential and inaccessible to unauthorized users. Moreover, it fosters trust and confidence among both patients and healthcare providers using the platform.
✔️ Medical records (EHR/EMR)
Medical records are super important for any telemed system. They store all the details about a patient's health, like past illnesses, treatments, and test results, in one place. This helps healthcare providers give quality care during virtual appointments.
There are two main types:
- Electronic Health Records (EHR), which contain comprehensive information about all medical conditions and are managed by authorized centers like Health Authorities
- Electronic Medical Records (EMR), which focus on a specific field, such as dentistry, and are overseen by clinics or individual medical practitioners
✔️ Prescriptions
Physicians should be able to prescribe meds. Most prescriptions are available via telehealth, yet each state has different laws about what drugs can be prescribed and to whom – this should be considered as well.
✔️ Compliance with healthcare regulations
The telemed system has to play by the rules. It should be either HIPAA or GDPR compliant in the US and EU respectively. This involves implementing advanced security measures and strict access controls to safeguard patients' sensitive data.
All telemed projects in our portfolio are 100% HIPAA-compliant. Check them all here
✔️ Physicians directory
If your telemed system functions more like a marketplace for physicians, having a comprehensive directory of healthcare providers is essential. The directory allows patients to search for doctors based on specific criteria. Patients can access detailed profiles of physicians, including reviews, educational background, additional certifications, languages spoken, areas of specialization, and availability. This enables patients to make informed decisions and choose the most suitable doctor for their healthcare needs.
✔️ Multilingual support
Multilingual support should be a must-have as well. Imagine having the telehealth app only available in one language. It would exclude many people, not to mention potentially violating laws or regulations in some regions. So, it’s a good feature to be added – inclusivity is great, not breaking the laws is even better.
✔️ Multidevice support
As with any other platform, your telemed solution should be compatible with various devices to attract a wider customer base. ForaSoft specializes in creating web video chats that seamlessly function across desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones within a browser. This ensures accessibility across different platforms, ultimately leading to greater audience engagement and client satisfaction.
✔️ Monetization
Finally, monetization matters. Providing users with easy access to consultations, prescription refills, and additional perks through various subscription options can greatly improve the user experience. Subscribers often stay longer, boosting client retention rates and ensuring stable revenue.
This is precisely how it was implemented in CirrusMED – users find a trusted doctor and remain with them for years. We implemented subscription options for 1 month, 3 months, and a year. Alternatively, a one-time visit option serves as a trial for newcomers.
You can learn more about our telemedicine expertise here
Taking one step further
These were core features that make an app functional. Although we can not just make it functional, we can make it great. Here’s the short guideline for that.
➕ Chats
Chat is a standard part of any telemedicine system, but there's always room for improvement to make it more convenient and even more inclusive for various social groups. For example, foreigners and the deaf people.
Foreign users might struggle with language barriers, so we can help by adding a feature where chats (video, audio, and text) can be automatically translated. This way, patients and doctors can communicate smoothly, even if they speak different languages.
For deaf people, we can make video calls more accessible by adding real-time subtitles. This way, they can easily follow along with the conversation and communicate effectively with their doctor.
➕ AI assistant
Patients can use AI to ask questions about their medical conditions. The AI assistant provides pre-screening of the patient, offers a list of potential cases, and assists them in choosing the most suitable doctor.
The AI assistant can also identify the client's symptoms and forward them to the selected doctor in advance. Additionally, we can integrate the AI component with third-party health apps, enabling your telemed system to offer personalized advice on individual health conditions.
We have extensive experience in developing custom AI solutions. Learn more about our AI expertise here
➕ Intuitive interface
Considering color and contrast sensitivity can greatly benefit users with visual impairments and color blindness. This includes designing interfaces with clear contrast between text and background for better readability. Features like adjustable font size and text-to-voice functionality can also enhance accessibility.
We can review your current telemed system interface and prepare a detailed report with recommendations to enhance intuitiveness, user-friendliness, and overall user experience.
➕ Call recording
When it comes to health, there’s a need to be sure that the patient and physician understood each other correctly and didn’t forget anything. For that, we can add the screen recording function in the call. With this feature, both patients and physicians can review important details discussed during the consultation.
In addition to saving the recording, we can provide a transcription option, generating a text file of the conversation. This is particularly helpful for users who are unable to hear or prefer to review information in text format.
To sum up
Telemedicine platforms are changing the game when it comes to healthcare accessibility.
Even if your telemed system already includes standard features, you can further distinguish it by integrating additional, more inclusive, and user-friendly features such as AI-powered assistant, auto-translation, transcription, or real-time in-call subtitles.
Got something more specific in mind? We offer a free initial estimate for time and costs.
Contact us or book a quick call to get started
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