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“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” opined Benjamin Franklin. While the Founding Father may not have been speaking quite so literally, it’s an idea that will feel familiar to many healthcare professionals. We advise patients to eat well and exercise regularly, even when they’re in the best of health, knowing the long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term inconveniences.

Healthcare providers too should find some wisdom in Franklin’s words. A record storage system is a virtual necessity in our data-driven world, yet it’s one that too many practices overlook. A safe, secure cloud-based system offers many advantages for practitioners and patients alike, but some still balk, citing the fear of expense. 

The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), a group comprised of distinguished lawyers across all states and several US territories, passed a new Act that simplifies and enables states who enact it to regulate and promote the practice of telemedicine across state lines. The law provides that physicians who are appropriately licensed and certified in their home state may apply to any other state that has adopted this Act to practice telemedicine consistent with that state’s current regulations for patients within that foreign state. The Act requires that the out-of-state physician must pay a fee and register in that state, removing most other impediments from the interstate practice of telemedicine.

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped healthcare for patients and providers alike. Telemedicine, once a niche offering, has taken root in the global consciousness as an everyday solution. In the United States, 13-17% of all healthcare visits now take place remotely and patients are eager to explore other digital health solutions, including virtual second opinions.

Online second opinion programs can feel complicated. So when it comes to gaining internal buy-in from your care teams and physicians, we have a few places to start: 

Every year in the US, twelve million people are affected by medical diagnostic errors, while more than forty-thousand die as a direct or indirect cause of this misdiagnosis. In a developed country with arguably the finest health care system in the world, you have to stop and ask yourself - Why?