Medical networking company Doximity rolled out a telehealth app for physicians. The company, which let physicians make secure phone calls to patients through its app, rolled out a version that allows them to make HIPAA-compliant video calls. Doximity said it had seen 20 times as many physicians using its service since the Covid-19 pandemic started.
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The new app, called Doximity Dialer Video, lets physicians conduct video calls with patients in an encrypted environment. As with Doximity’s phone app, physicians can also set a customer caller ID for their hospital or office line. Calls can also be initiated from Epic’s mobile electronic health record app.
When physicians launch a video call in the app, patients are sent a text message inviting them to talk. As soon as they accept, they enter a video chat.
The new service is geared toward physicians. Doximity said it is making it free for them until January of 2021. For hospital-wide deployments, a paid enterprise version of the app is available.
“Doctors on the front lines asked us for a secure and reliable telemedicine tool, and we moved quickly to fulfill that need,” Joel David, senior vice president and head of product at Doximity, said in a news release.
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Since the pandemic started, most non-emergency appointments have moved online. Regulators temporarily waived some restrictions that would allow physicians to make calls over non-HIPAA compliant platforms, in an attempt to make it easier to connect with patients.
Physicians have turned to everything from internal telehealth systems to Zoom, Skype and other consumer-focused tools. But it’s taken time to adapt to new workflows, including figuring out how to send patients appointment reminders and consent forms for virtual appointments.
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