Orthopaedics and Telemedicine: How OrthoLive Can Help
A Q&A with Michael Greiwe, M.D., OrthoLive Founder and CEO
Are you interested in learning more about telehealth and how OrthoLive can help? We asked OrthoLive Founder and CEO Michael Greiwe, M.D., a few questions about OrthoLive and the importance of telemedicine during these unprecedented times.
How did the concept for OrthoLive originate? About four years ago, I wanted to take care of some of my patients who were coming from far distances, about three to four hours away. I thought about telemedicine and realized that it would help them, and I also thought it would be beneficial for recent MRI patients to follow up on their imaging. Where I live, there were good laws surrounding telemedicine, and so I looked for a platform that could do what I wanted and there wasn’t anything available. Because of that, I felt that I should try to find something that really resonated well with Orthopaedic Surgeons. And that’s how I founded OrthoLive.
Why do you think it’s important to have a telemedicine service dedicated to Orthopaedic Surgeons and their staff? Orthopaedics is a unique specialty in that we rely on imaging, and we follow up on our injections at intervals that are conducive to telemedicine. Other platforms don’t specifically address the things that we specifically need, such as developing a process to upload and view images, as well as keep up with the pace of the normal office flow. At OrthoLive, we worked hard to improve the process so that it was very similar to the normal office flow and would integrate with EHR and PM systems. We worked with several existing solutions to allow us to see new patients, obtain insurance and bill.
A main barrier to Orthopaedic Surgeons experimenting with telemedicine prior to COVID-19 has to do with regulatory concerns. How does OrthoLive address security and privacy? In times like these, it’s easy to resort to using FaceTime, Skype, Zoom and Doxy.me for your telemedicine visits. Unfortunately, even though laws and security have been lifted for a time, the consent process for telemedicine is still incredibly important. Working with your telemedicine vendor to make sure that consents to privacy, telemedicine and consent to bill have been signed are critically important. Additionally, web links with no user authentication are extremely unsecure and are at risk. It’s important that we still remember our privacy laws and ensure that patient information remains secure by using platforms with, at a minimum, a user authentication process.
Why do you think OrthoLive (and telemedicine in general) is so crucial for today’s social distancing guidelines? How do you think telemedicine will be utilized in the future once the acute stage of the pandemic subsides? Telemedicine is so important for practices right now to be able to take care of their patients. It’s incredibly hard, in the current times, to keep our practices running and many of our private and academic institutions have had to lay off or furlough large amounts of their workforces. Telemedicine not only connects patients with providers, but it also allows our businesses to continue running despite the incredible difficulties of the pandemic.
What are some of the ways AANA members can really take advantage of OrthoLive services? AANA has always supported their members and this crisis has proven that. In fact, because of the OrthoLive and AANA partnership, AANA members are receiving huge discounts with OrthoLive’s telemedicine and communication services. Members can visit our website at www.ortholive.com and request a Demo or email our VP of Sales, Jerry Cook at jerrycook@ortholive.com
What advice would you give your colleagues who are using telemedicine for the first time? The first thing is be patient. Success with telemedicine comes with a bit of practice. Experience with examining a patient virtually and engaging with patients using a computer or phone can bring about new challenges. All these things can be overcome with a little creativity and practice. Ultimately, having a good rollout plan and support staff will make the process easier. OrthoLive also has tip sheets, videos and a fantastic support staff that will help some of the tech-challenged patients to onboard more seamlessly.