Setting Up a Telehealth Training Plan: 5 Tips for Facilities
Telehealth has become a widespread tool used to improve the accessibility and efficiency of healthcare services, largely prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. By delivering care remotely, facilities can offer patients a more convenient and cost-effective experience. However, the success of a virtual care program hinges on more than just the right technology — it also requires comprehensive telehealth training that enables providers to meet the highest standards of care.
If you’re implementing telehealth at your facility, you’ll want to ensure that staff understand how to deliver safe, high-quality services. In this article, we’ll walk through some of the benefits and challenges of telehealth and outline tips to help you develop an effective training plan.
What Is Telehealth?
Telehealth is the use of electronic technologies and digital communications to support virtual care delivery. These technologies can include things like tablets, smartphones, and computers, which enable patients to connect with their providers remotely. There are many different ways that telehealth can be used to deliver care. We’ll highlight a few specific examples below.
Virtual Visits
Providers can use video-conferencing platforms to conduct consultations, exams, or diagnostic tests on their patients virtually. This allows patients to receive care without having to be physically present in the care office.
Remote Monitoring
Certain websites or apps enable providers to monitor their patient’s health remotely. For example, patients with diabetes can upload daily logs of their food and sugar levels, which nurses can then check periodically.
Patient Portals
Some clinics have an online portal where patients can receive and send private messages to their provider. This also allows them to request prescriptions or schedule visits right from their phone, tablet, or computer.
What Are the Benefits of Telehealth?
Telehealth has become an essential part of modern day healthcare, offering many benefits for both patients and providers. Some of the most notable advantages of telehealth are outlined in the table below.
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| Increased accessibility | Telehealth makes care more accessible for patients living in rural areas or with physical/financial barriers that make traveling difficult. |
| Reduced care costs | Facilities avoid the overhead costs associated with in-person visits while patients save money on things like transportation. |
| Improved efficiency | Providers can see more patients in a shorter amount of time while also being able to streamline communications. |
What Are the Challenges of Telehealth?
While telehealth has undoubtedly helped advance the healthcare industry, there are still existing challenges that facility leaders should be aware of. We’ll describe some of these challenges below.
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| Privacy and security risks | Handling patient data through virtual platforms increases the risk of data breaches or unauthorized access. |
| Inaccuracies and misdiagnoses | Virtual visits often lack the nuance of in-person visits, which can increase the risk of medical errors or misdiagnoses. |
| Regulatory barriers | State regulations on telehealth are widely inconsistent, which can impact reimbursement rates and a provider’s authority to deliver remote services. |
5 Tips for Creating a Telehealth Training Plan
In order to optimize the benefits of telehealth, it’s crucial to deliver comprehensive training for your staff. Not only does proper training equip providers with the skills and confidence needed to deliver quality virtual care, but it can also lead to better patient outcomes. Follow these five tips to develop a strong training plan at your facility.
1. Create a Team of Implementation Specialists
Before conducting training, you’ll need a team of telehealth experts who can effectively educate and serve as ongoing resources for your staff. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this team should typically include a(n):
- Telehealth champion who has a deep, topical understanding of telehealth.
- Program manager who oversees all the daily operations of your telehealth program.
- Education manager who leads training programs and organizes educational resources.
- Device manager who streamlines the technologies and devices needed for virtual care.
- Installer who educates patients on how to use remote devices, platforms, and apps.
2. Schedule Introductory Training Sessions With Vendors
You’ll also want to reach out to the vendors who are supplying your telehealth services and platforms. Reputable vendors offer telehealth training to help new clients and their staff get acclimated to their technology. This ensures that staff receive guidance that’s tailored to each platform and that any initial issues can be troubleshooted in a timely manner.
3. Identify and Define the Training Needs of Your Staff
Beyond teaching your staff how to use new platforms, you’ll want to make sure that they can handle the unique challenges of virtual care delivery. At baseline, your training plan should include modules on:
- Digital communication skills. Building rapport with patients can sometimes seem more difficult when providers aren’t face-to-face with them. Staff should be educated on best practices for communicating through telehealth platforms.
- Cultural competence training. Providers must also learn how to build an inclusive and welcoming virtual environment. Understanding the individual needs of patients and why they may require telehealth services is an important way to build cultural competence.
- Patient privacy and confidentiality. All staff must adhere to HIPAA guidelines to protect patient privacy and confidentiality in virtual settings. They should be aware of the risks associated with telehealth platforms and know how to keep patients informed.
You’ll also want to consider role-specific training that aligns with your facility’s goals. For example, you should provide telehealth nurse training for any of your nursing staff who will be teaching patients how to use remote monitoring devices. Similarly, tailored telemedicine training is essential for providers who will be carrying out diagnostic exams over a virtual platform.
4. Conduct Virtual Care Simulations
Offering telehealth training online can be great for supplemental skill-building, but experts generally recommend delivering hands-on training when first implementing your program. Conducting simulations of virtual care appointments allows staff to develop the tactical skills needed to deliver these services. Simulations also allow staff to safely test-run new features, technologies, and connection methods that they’ll be using on a daily basis.
5. Utilize Professionally-Vetted Resources
While the tight regulation of telehealth can pose some challenges, it also means that you don’t have to completely reinvent the wheel. There are many leading healthcare and federal organizations that offer comprehensive resources and toolkits for telehealth training. Here’s a list of professionally vetted resources that can get you started on your training plan:
- HHS telehealth training for providers
- The National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
- Rural Health Information Hub telehealth toolkit
- Accreditation Commission for Health Care telehealth certification course
- Telehealth.org training course catalog
Learn More Ways to Leverage Healthcare Technology
Developing an effective telehealth training plan is the first step toward optimizing your virtual care services. Looking for more ways to harness new technologies and improve patient outcomes? Stay on top of the latest healthcare news and trends with IntelyCare.