The novel coronavirus has upended the United States healthcare system as we know it. In addition to the very apparent and pressing issue of treating the virus and preventing the spread of it, the day-to-day operations of medical offices have been shaken up in a big way. With stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines, many practices have had to restrict the number of appointments they can schedule in a day, or even close their doors to patients altogether.

According to an April 2020 survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), 97% of practices have had negative financial experiences either directly or indirectly related to COVID-19. Respondents to the survey reported losing an average of a 55% decrease in revenue since the start of the pandemic.

Given this, it’s no surprise healthcare providers are looking for other opportunities to bring in income. That’s where telehealth services come in.

Utilizing Telehealth To Earn Ancillary Income

The concept of using telecommunications to deliver health-related services has been around for years, but telehealth has never been more widely discussed than now, since the COVID-19 pandemic came to the U.S. Some practices have been incorporating teletheath into their regular procedures for some time now; others have only recently caught onto it, or are still learning about the concept in response to the need to shut down or limit in-person practice activity.

Telehealth can look different to individual practices. Some aspects of telehealth include:

  • Virtual consultations to determine whether a patient needs to come into the office to be seen
  • Virtual appointments to provide medical services for patients at a distance
  • Digital check-ins to ensure patients are complying with their treatments
  • Digital transmissions of diagnostic images and blood test results
  • Communication of wellness advice and healthcare product recommendations
  • And more!

Providing these services not only helps continue your practice’s day-to-day activities while maintaining safety of patients, providers, and staff — but telehealth services also helps stabilize income streams for practices. Rather than simply shutting down in the face of the pandemic, practices can adopt new technology to smoothly adapt to the new normal.

Subheading: How shiftMD Can Help

Wellness apps such as shiftMD are some of the simplest, and most innovative, ways to embrace telehealth. In particular, shiftMD allows patients to safely and efficiently obtain the nonprescription healthcare products they need, while offering providers the chance to bolster their revenue streams. By using the shiftMD app to send patients links to order products via text message, no human contact is necessary — a huge boon during a time when physical human contact is less than desirable. And once patients order their products to be delivered to their homes, providers earn roughly 30% of the order’s total, which they can cash out to their bank or paypal accounts at any time.

As a provider, patient care and safety is of course top priority; ensuring patients can be cared for in the future means taking action now. Further, even once practices resume in-person operations, telehealth is not going anywhere. During a time when it’s imperative to rethink traditional approaches to healthcare, shiftMD is here to help ensure the health of your patients — and your practice — for years to come.

Join the forward-thinking medical providers who are using shiftMD to boost their profits and provide vital healthcare to patients from a distance. Download the shiftMD app today and begin your journey into the world of digital wellness!