Sometime Words Aren't Enough When You're Trying To Build Patient Trust by Jim Bloedau of Information Advantage Group

True innovation in healthcare seems to move in waves and is almost generational in timing. Telehealth is one of these waves that has been coming for decades. 

What's new is that telehealth is quickly becoming a sub-group of video enabled healthcare that relies on eyeball-to-eyeball contact rather than point-to-point.  In this context there are two popular strategies that are likely to speed up adoption of video as a healthcare tool:

• Winning the loyalty of well-insured patients through telehealth outreach and support tools for better health and care will deliver a considerable competitive advantage where intense competition for highly lucrative services exists.

• Many of the evolving models of care have payment for services and additional rewards programs to physicians and HCOs based on the level of involvement of patients in their own care.

Video offers a means for a deeper sense of "caring" coming from the providers through "eyeball-to-eyeball" communication that is often skipped over with text-base or voice methods.  When you're in a scary situation how do you optimize a trusting relationship that will lead to greater patient engagement in their own healthcare?