In the era of COVID-19, doctors and patients are increasingly using remote communications out of necessity. At the same time, changes have been made to accelerate use of telehealth, eliminate usage restrictions, and expand services eligible for reimbursement. The net effect is that telehealth is taking on greater importance in serving patients.
But what does telehealth mean in this context? The answer is somewhat surprising as shown in the following chart for medical visits (mountain/family) in Colorado1.
Plain old telephone calls are about 3 times more likely to be used for telehealth compared to video conferencing solutions. There are many reasons, including the ubiquity of phone service, the familiarity and comfort level of using a phone, and the ease of dialing a number to reach a person.
Conventional wisdom suggests that the next step up in telehealth is video conferencing, which requires an app, a broadband connection, a speaker, a microphone, and some computer skills. It can also be fatiguing2.
But there’s a new approach for telehealth that fills the gap between an ordinary phone call and a video teleconference. That approach is ChoiceView®.
ChoiceView adds a visual dimension to regular phone calls. It turns voice-only calls into multimedia sessions that include voice, visuals, and touch — all while maintaining compatibility with regular phone calls and business phone systems. It allows users to understand up to 6X better than voice only. ChoiceView has been called “a revolutionary technology that will have great impact on telehealth and other use cases!” See how it works. Learn more.
ChoiceView Advantages
- ChoiceView starts with the familiarity of a phone call. It is, in fact, a phone call, not a pre-arranged conference.
- It doesn’t need a mobile app, so it works with first-time callers.
- It works with smartphones as well as any phone and separate computer or tablet.
- It preserves voice quality without needing a broadband connection.
- It’s inherently compatible with phones and business phone systems.
- It works with automated systems (COVID hotlines, bots, and Interactive Voice Response systems) as well as live agents, including doctors, help desk personnel, and contact centers.
Check out the ChoiceView solution. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how simple it is to deploy and use. ChoiceView is dramatically and easily enhancing patient engagement. “Now I see what you’re talking about!”™
1. “Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Colorado Department of Health Care, Tracy Johnson, May 15, 2020.
2. “Why Zoom Is Terrible,” Kate Murphy, New York Times, April 19, 2020.
