Videoconferencing Platforms Leaning Into Telehealth for Utility and Growth

Electronic health records (EHR) platforms are forging new partnerships for integrations that make the growing use of telehealth more effective for patients, physicians and payers.

In a headline-grabbing deal, videoconferencing platform Zoom announced it is inviting health information technology provider Cerner into a beta test where physicians and clinicians can easily tap into a patient’s EHR during a telehealth visit, potentially leading to better outcomes.

In a blog post, Zoom said its “ability to integrate with popular electronic health record (EHR) platforms, including Cerner and Epic, makes it even easier to schedule, join, and document telehealth visits directly in a patient’s EHR. Learn about the benefits of these integrations and how they can help streamline the telehealth experience for patients and providers.”

A Zoom-Cerner integration promises features from notifications to easy access to charts to a system of secure links allowing more to get done and documented during telehealth sessions.

In September, Walmart Health announced a similar partnership with Cerner rival Epic.

Walmart Health & Wellness Executive Vice President Dr. Cheryl Pegus said in a statement that “The Epic system complements our omnichannel healthcare offerings — letting customers and healthcare professionals access care and health records to lead to more personalized care.”

Demand for new and better digital patient/doctor video tools is trending.

Per The Access Channel: How Healthcare Financing Keeps Patients Engaged, a PYMNTS report with research sponsored by CareCredit, “Consumers now are empowered by digital payment and service options, and their preferences for convenience and autonomy have even expanded into healthcare. Newer healthcare options such as telehealth … have grown more popular during the pandemic because they not only made care accessible during the crisis but also allowed consumers to enjoy features such as payments customization and pricing transparency.”

Get the study: The Access Channel: How Healthcare Financing Keeps Patients Engaged

Big Players See Growth In EHR, Telehealth for Video Platforms

With Zoom’s large role in pandemic work-from-home issues well established, the platform and other like it are expanding utility beyond videoconferencing into growth areas like healthcare.

In a prescient move, Verizon acquired videoconferencing platform BlueJeans in early 2020 as lockdowns went into effect, ensuring dedicated video collaboration for its large workforce.

In Q3 2021 Verizon introduced BlueJeans Telehealth, “a purpose-built, HIPAA-ready virtual care solution to help drive better patient interactions [that] includes new features and integrations to further enhance virtual encounters with a more rounded view of the patient’s health.”

According to the company, “the new Televisit Tile and integration with the Apple Health app empower patients to share specific categories of health data like heart rate, sleep, falls, and more with their provider during telehealth appointments for more informed conversations, while providing patients with control over which data they choose to share.”

While it didn’t garner the same press as Zoom, Google Meet is extensively used by remote work teams, and it too is also veering into telehealth integrations as the pandemic wears on and videoconferencing users and employers start expecting more value from video platforms.

Per a Google fact sheet, Google Meet for Telehealth “is a safe, secure telehealth solution…providing a secure virtual connection between patients and caregivers, this capability enables organizations to extend care and meet community needs. The benefit to all is protecting front line caregivers by minimizing unnecessary personal contact.”

See also: Zoom, Cerner Beta-Testing Integration of Zoom With Electronic Health Records