Implementing Telehealth Services: Challenges and Solutions
Telehealth was already growing before 2020, but the pandemic turned a slow build into a full sprint. Within months, virtual visits went from a convenient option to the only option for millions of patients, and the healthcare industry had to figure out implementation on the fly.
Now that the dust has settled, the question isn’t whether telehealth works. It’s how to make it work well and on a much larger scale.
That’s a harder problem than it sounds, but it’s exactly the kind of challenge implementation science is built for.
What Are the Benefits of Telehealth?
Telehealth offers most of what patients need from a routine visit without requiring anyone to leave the house. For instance:
- Doctors and nurses can assess symptoms, diagnose illnesses, follow up with patients, provide test results and prescribe medications remotely.
- Patients can complete physical therapy, occupational therapy and counseling sessions.
- Patients can be seen from their home or another convenient location, saving them the drive and waiting room delays.
- Patients with disabilities, elderly patients and those who are very ill can secure care without a physically taxing office visit.
Challenges to Telehealth Implementation
The benefits of telehealth are real, but so are the barriers. Physicians can’t fully examine a patient, take blood or urine samples or administer shots.
Beyond those clinical limits, there are bigger, systemic problems that make it hard to roll telehealth out widely and fairly.
Not Everyone Can Access Telehealth
Telehealth only works if you have a reliable internet connection and a device to use it on — and a lot of people don’t. Rural communities are especially affected, since broadband access is often limited or nonexistent.
Patients who don’t speak English face another barrier, since many telehealth platforms aren’t set up to support other languages. Telehealth can’t close the healthcare gap if it’s not available to the people most often left behind.
Cybersecurity Risks in Telehealth
Any service that runs over the internet can be hacked, and healthcare data is a prime target.
Providers have to make sure their telehealth platforms are HIPAA-compliant and patient information stays protected. That means investing in security tools and making sure staff know how to handle sensitive data online on an ongoing basis, not just at setup.
Telehealth Regulations and Licensing Challenges
Telehealth regulations are complicated and still changing. A lot of the rules that were relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic were only temporary, and it’s still unclear which ones will be permanent.
Doctors also can’t always treat patients in other states, even virtually, because of licensing laws. And insurance coverage for telehealth varies, which makes it harder for providers to offer it (and harder for patients to afford it).
Patient and Provider Skepticism
Some patients — especially older adults — aren’t sure they can trust a virtual visit the same way they trust an in-person one. Some providers feel the same way or just haven’t had enough training to feel comfortable with it. Getting people on board takes more than access. It takes education, trust and time.
Solutions for Telehealth Expansion
The news isn’t all bad! Telehealth is a convenient and popular option, and there are ways to make telehealth widely accepted and accessible. Here are a few:
- Use a proven framework. Tools like the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) help teams figure out what’s getting in the way of adoption and how to fix it. Having a clear plan from the start leads to better, more consistent results.
- Expand internet access. Affordable Wi-Fi — especially in rural and underserved areas — is the foundation everything else is built on. Without it, telehealth can’t reach the people who need it most.
- Keep patient data safe. HIPAA compliance is the minimum. Strong cybersecurity tools, regular staff training and clear data policies protect patients and providers alike.
- Help patients understand their options. Patients who feel confident using telehealth are much more likely to try it. In-office materials, staff recommendations and simple scheduling make a real difference.
- Train staff well. Clinicians and front-desk staff both need to feel comfortable with telehealth technology before they can help patients feel comfortable with it, too.
- Push for consistent insurance coverage. Most patients won’t pay out of pocket for telehealth if they don’t have to. Advocating for reliable Medicare, Medicaid and insurance reimbursement is part of making telehealth sustainable.
- Listen to patients and adjust. Surveys and outcome data should feed directly back into how services are designed. Good implementation doesn’t end when it launches.
The Link Between Implementation Science and Telehealth
We know what you’re thinking: No one person does all this, right? Right! Policy and advocacy are an entirely different skill set than patient education and staff training. But one thread connects them all: implementation science.
Implementation science professionals move evidence-based interventions from testing and planning into real-world practice. While some work in a medical practice, many advance telehealth awareness and acceptance in nonprofit, advocacy and governmental organizations such as:
- American Telemedicine Association (ATA)
- National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC)
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Implementation scientists may work with public health officials to shape and implement beneficial policies. Their contributions to healthcare — in a variety of professional roles — are enormous.
What Good Telehealth Implementation Actually Looks Like
One standout telehealth success story involved a VA-funded initiative that brought asynchronous teledermatology to veterans in rural areas. Instead of traveling long distances to a dermatologist, patients could visit a trained imager who would pass along images of patient’s skin to a board-certified dermatologist.
By the end of this two-year study, teledermatology visits at those clinics jumped by 76%. How did they do it? Using smart, practical strategies like:
- Getting primary care physicians to talk directly with patients about how teledermatology works and why it’s useful
- Securing buy-in from top leadership
- Ensuring effective communication between primary care physicians and dermatologists
Build Implementation Science Expertise With an Online Certificate
Telehealth is just one example of a much bigger challenge in healthcare: getting proven solutions off the shelf and into real use. That gap between research and practice is exactly what implementation science is designed to close.
UF’s online Graduate Certificate in Implementation Science gives healthcare professionals, public health workers and researchers the tools to make that happen. The program is entirely online and built around working professionals’ schedules, so advancing your career doesn’t mean putting it on hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Telehealth lets people connect with physicians via video and phone calls instead of office visits for basic services such as assessing symptoms, diagnosing conditions, prescribing medications, following up with patients and delivering test results.
The main hurdles are unequal internet access, cybersecurity risks, inconsistent insurance coverage, state licensing restrictions and hesitation from some patients and providers.
Implementation scientists help make sure what works in research actually makes it into everyday practice. They bring structure, strategy and coordination to the complicated, human side of scaling something like telehealth across an entire healthcare system.
Implementation scientists help make sure what works in research actually makes it into everyday practice. They bring structure, strategy and coordination to the complicated, human side of scaling something like telehealth across an entire healthcare system.
Sources:
https://telehealth.hhs.gov/patients/why-use-telehealth
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8859483
https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/28414
https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/telehealth-policy/telehealth-policy-updates
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39310647
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- How Implementation Science Improves Chronic Disease Management
- How Implementation Science Drives Policy Change
- Improving Patient Outcomes Through Implementation Strategies
