Telemedicine solutions are in demand among United States medical offices as 43% of American survey respondents indicated they want to continue using remote health services beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. And if you happen to have an electronic health record (EHR) software application in your medical practice already, such as Epic, integrating the system with telemedicine and texting solutions is a must, and is simple with Curogram.

The telemedicine trend results from the healthcare industry's shift to a patient-centric care model. At the same time, modern patients expect the convenience of communicating with their healthcare providers at a distance, having access to care quickly and without long waits, and scheduling appointments online — three primary applications of telemedicine. 

Plus, telemedicine is the only way to access medical professionals and specialists for many people in rural and remote areas without traveling to a major city.

Many healthcare providers who use Epic hesitate to introduce telemedicine because they presume the process consumes much time and is expensive — telemedicine software does need to integrate with the EHR to provide more convenient scheduling, data storage, and patient communication (otherwise, it would force staff to input data manually from the telemedicine software into the EHR). But telemedicine software integration with Epic doesn’t have to be difficult or out of reach to a healthcare practice because of cost.

Curogram integrates seamlessly with Epic and over 700 other EHRs, whether app-based, server-based, cloud-based, or web-browser-based, so medical practice’s can start using telemedicine and 2-way texting features in 48 hours or less at an affordable price.

Hesitation to integrate a telemedicine solution with Epic is understandable, so let’s review why you need telemedicine.

Why is it essential to integrate a telemedicine solution with Epic?

Digitalization is sweeping every industry, including healthcare, with a forecast of growth of 17.4% between 2021 and 2027, equating to $ 426.9 billion in investments by healthcare providers. 

Using an EHR like Epic isn’t enough to be ahead in digital medicine. Choosing a telemedicine solution that integrates with Epic simplifies daily clinic work and has vast benefits. 

Healthcare providers should know the potential benefits of telemedicine to their practice to overcome the hesitancy of integrating Epic with telehealth applications like Curogram. 

Some of the most notable advantages of integrating a telemedicine solution with Epic include:

  1. High adaptability 
  2. Accurate data transfer
  3. Accessible records
  4. Regular check-ups

Telemedicine's Adaptability

A well-integrated telemedicine solution is not the result of a complex installation by a healthcare provider. A good telemedicine software processes centralized data from multiple areas, requiring no additional effort. For example, Curogram can connect and create easy access to the database of numerous clinics or services under a provider's umbrella.

Telemedicine's Data Entry Accuracy and Accessibility

Healthcare providers work hard to ensure they record patient data accurately. But, with paper documents and non-integrated telemedicine solutions, HCPs transcribe data manually, increasing the chance of clinical and clerical errors. Inputting information into the EHR also takes up precious time that they could use to attend to patients. 

When you integrate telemedicine software with Epic, it eliminates manual data entry and other redundant administrative tasks by automatically uploading patients' information electronically to your database. Integrating telemedicine into the EHR system leaves no room for human error, keeping medical information accurate. 

Doctors use different methods to record medical information, making it difficult to process and centralize data. When integrated with your EHR, telemedicine software can transcribe data from any dictation method. 

Telemedicine's Remote Patient Monitoring Capabilities

Healthcare providers face an enormous challenge in monitoring long-distance patients. They must track and frequently check on patients suffering from a chronic condition. Some patients can't find adequate transport to their healthcare facility if they live in a rural area, making it difficult for physicians to provide adequate care and diagnostics.

Remote patient monitoring also requires the following devices 

  • Thermometer
  • Blood pressure cuff
  • Weighing scale
  • Glucometer
  • Pulse oximeter
  • ECG
  • Stethoscope

Telemedicine's virtual consultations allow more frequent communication between patients and healthcare providers. A patient can send crucial information and even photographs of their condition to the doctor for adequate medical care. Wearable smart gadgets, also allow healthcare providers, using telemedicine software, to monitor a patient’s vital statistics, easily from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Integrating Epic with Curogram enables practical telemedicine features.

EHR integration is a slow and painstaking process with most telemedicine solutions. It can take up to nine months and require extensive installation, paperwork, and employee training. 

Fortunately, with Curogram, you don't need more than 48 hours to complete the Epic integration. You can set up a virtual clinic over a weekend and provide telemedicine options immediately. 

Before you can integrate Epic with a telemedicine solution, you have to deal with the administrative side of the process. The company providing the telemedicine software may want to negotiate a contract and provide you with a quote, which is a time-consuming, back-and-forth procedure. 

When you integrate Curogram, you enter into a HIPAA business associate agreement and avoid all the hassle of negotiating and drawing up a contract. 

Then, Curogram connects with your patient database of record and schedule of record, allowing for a streamlined transition into telemedicine. Curogram automates data entry, enables HIPAA-compliant messaging, and creates a centralized database for all of your data. 

When you connect your Epic EHR with Curogram, the software auto-imports patient info, such as:

  • Name
  • Date of birth (DOB)
  • Email
  • Phone

Curogram also imports the following data automatically:

  • Provider
  • Location
  • Appointment types
  • Appointment times

Curogram integrates with Epic without requiring help from an IT expert. With its streamlined and straightforward integration procedure, you get to keep the money in your pocket and avoid costly IT expert bills. 

There's no need for special employee training, either. After five minutes of introduction, the Curogram UI is intuitive enough that your staff can use its telemedicine features. 

Curogram Enables Customized Intake Forms for Epic

Collecting and storing patient information makes up the bulk of day-to-day medical practice work. Your staff must input patient data into Epic correctly before admittance. Paper forms are difficult to deal with and take a lot of time to process manually, and expect these issues to come up frequently:

  • Illegible patient handwriting causes data entry errors
  • Paper form scanning takes up time and leads to inaccuracies
  • Waiting room clutter as patients rush to fill out paper forms before their appointments

Curogram can handle collecting paperless patient intake forms for in-person and virtual meetings. The platform lets you send customized electronic intake forms that patients can fill out on their smartphones or desktop computers. You receive filled-out forms as PDF files, and Curogram automatically adds the information into Epic, requiring no manual input. 

Using Curogram, patients don't need to step foot in the office to provide the necessary information if they have a virtual appointment with you — which is imperative with telemedicine.

And, since electronic intake forms free up time, it could make it possible to admit more patients and increase revenue significantly with a more efficient workflow. 

Curogram's Customized Reminders Reduce No-Shows

Keeping track of patients’ appointments is a difficult task, especially if you run a larger clinic. And calling every patient multiple times before their appointment isn't feasible with a more significant number of patients. 

Instead of calling each patient, you can use Curogram's customized text reminders. Whether the patient has an in-person or virtual appointment, the software sends appropriate reminders that tell patients where they need to go and what kind of information they should provide beforehand. 

Curogram Differentiates Between Different Types of Appointments

Telemedicine solutions provide enormous benefits to healthcare providers, but in-person visits remain an essential option for patients and providers. Patients still need to see their practitioners for check-ups, blood work, and advanced diagnostics. 

Curogram simplifies setting up appointments and considers the critical differences between in-person and telemedicine visits. You can send smart reminders to patients to help them reach their scheduled consultation or examination. If a patient schedules a virtual appointment, giving them a heads-up half an hour ahead should provide them with enough time to prepare. 

For an in-person visit, that won't do. Curogram's reminders account for travel time and include the exact address of the clinic that the patient has to visit. Once a patient schedules an appointment, Curogram takes over and sends ample reminders and instructions so the staff doesn't have to worry about doing it manually.

Curogram Mimics Actual Clinics With a Virtual Waiting Room

When orchestrating virtual appointments, how do you get a patient from one stage of the process to another? If the patient is supposed to get their information processed before their appointment, the front desk staff must connect with them first. The process can get messy when you use a program like Skype or Zoom, as there's no way to sort patients by their status. There's also the issue of HIPAA compliance with consumer video conferencing apps. 

With Curogram, you can customize the process as the clinic sees fit. If a patient has to provide their info, you can configure the virtual waiting room so that only your staff can see the patient. Once patients complete intake procedures, their status changes, and the doctor can see them in their virtual waiting room view. 

Curogram Upgrades Epic With 2-Way Texting

It's more convenient to send a text than to make or answer a call. Medical practices have difficulty implementing texting between patients and physicians, as there aren't many ways to keep messages secure and HIPAA compliant. 

Curogram offers a secure 2-way texting feature that allows patients to complete the following tasks via text:

  • Send inquiries to their HCP
  • Schedule appointments
  • Reschedule appointments
  • Access visit summaries
  • Join an appointment

The patient can click on a secure link to join an appointment or access crucial information. Curogram provides your clinic with a HIPAA-compliant texting solution that motivates patients to be more involved in their healthcare. 

Curogram Integrates Scheduling With Epic

Scheduling becomes a problem when you don't integrate telemedicine with your EHR. To schedule an appointment, a practice must go through these steps:

  1. Check schedule availability
  2. Contact the patient
  3. Propose an available date/time
  4. Wait for a response
  5. Update the schedule

Rescheduling only causes further complications. 

Curogram, however, provides a great way to circumvent these unnecessary steps. Patients can view the available time slots at the practice and choose when to have their appointment. The schedule updates automatically and doesn't require the staff’s input. Your staff only has to set the available times and let patients schedule appointments independently. 

Integrate Epic with Curogram and create a streamlined telemedicine experience.

Telemedicine software includes essential tools for every healthcare practice’s toolbox. With the right software, you can simplify day-to-day clinic work and admit more patients, increasing your revenue. Why make this inevitable transition difficult with software that doesn't integrate easily with Epic? 

Curogram can get you started with telemedicine quickly while integrating with Epic to provide telehealth with secure texting — taking your clinic to the next level. It takes next-to-no time to set up, and the transition is nothing short of epic.