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6 Common Misconceptions about Telehealth

Hello ,

In this week’s article I’m starting a series of articles about the common misconceptions about telehealth that I’ve identified as underlying root causes as to why some telehealth endeavors are not as successful as leadership had hoped.

Not a week passes by that I hear from people in my network that yet another telehealth investment (often to the tune of $1M) have gone astray, not producing the adoption that was expected and alienating physicians.

Which, on a personal level, saddens me as I truly believe that telehealth is the modality of receiving care in the future. Not all of my care, but the majority of it. But, as the adage goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression and people (especially physicians) have a long memory when it comes to technology failing them and standing between them and delivering excellent care to the patients.

Regrettably, it is most often not the technology that is to blame, but a whole host of other issues that were not properly addressed. And often this is because leaders held misconceptions about what telehealth really is.

So here’s my first article in a series of explorations how to dispel those myths and provide them with more accurate views of reality.

What misconception have you encountered? Let me know!


With kind regards,

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Six Common Misconceptions about Telehealth

Over the years that I’ve been working with health systems on telehealth service strategy, design and implementation I’ve come across a number of misconceptions. As telehealth these days seems to be really taking off now, these misconceptions may be some of the reasons why many telehealth implementations that I hear about have very disappointing results.

My intent with this series of articles is to raise awareness and bring clarification, so you can structure the launch of your telehealth services (even) more successfully. As readers of my article and past clients know, I’m very fond of Don Berwick’s often-used quote that "Every system is perfectly designed, to get the results it gets". And in my definition, misconceptions are part of "the system". They are simply, beliefs and perceptions that people have adopted, oftentimes without questioning them (and why would they?).

Here are the six most common misconceptions about telehealth, my description of the reality and a hint at some the tactics you can use to take advantage of your new understanding of the reality to launch telehealth services (even) more successfully.


  1. Telehealth is a Healthcare IT Acquisition and Deployment Project
  2. There is one technology solution for telehealth that everyone will use.
  3. Our IT staff is best suited to run our telehealth program.
  4. Telehealth Vendors will help us to properly set up our telemedicine services.
  5. Once we’ve established one telehealth service, we can quickly roll it out to others.
  6. Telehealth is just a different way to deliver care.


As you can see from the list, many of the misconceptions (in fact, the first four) focus on the "tele-" aspect of telehealth, the technology. As I’ve written before, telehealth is not about the technology. It’s about people (such as patients, provider, nurses, MAs, etc.) and processes (such as scheduling, synching, billing, etc.).

In this week’s article I’ll introduce the misconceptions and my description of the reality and over the next week’s I’ll take on each misconception and deliver evidence, examples and pragmatic solutions to launch telehealth successfully.

Misconception #1: Telehealth is a Healthcare IT Acquisition and Deployment Project

Reality: Telehealth is the design, development and launch of new clinical service offerings. (that includes the acquisition and deployment of technology)

Misconception #2: There is one technology solution for telehealth that everyone will use.

Reality: Telehealth encompasses interactive patient care (live audio/video), remote physiological monitoring, store & forward diagnosis, TeleEducation and all features accessible through the Patient Portal, such as reviewing lab results, clinical notes, immunization records or scheduling appointments.

Misconception #3: Our IT staff is best suited to run our telehealth program.

Reality: Technology contributes only 10% to the successful creation of a telehealth service. The other 90% are workflow and organi-zational change management

Misconception #4:
Telehealth Vendors will help us to properly setup our telemedicine services.

Reality: Great vendors are involved in ensuring the proper configuration and training of users. They are not positioned to define work-flows, policies, billing, licensing, etc.

Misconception #5: Once we’ve established one telehealth service, we can quickly roll it out to others.

Reality: One swallow does not a summer make. If you’ve established one telehealth service, you’ve established one telehealth service. Every new service requires a new launch.

Misconception #6: Telehealth is just a different way to deliver care.

Reality: Telehealth is becoming the way to deliver care. Leading organizations use it strategically to drive their strategic objectives.

What misconceptions have you come across or that you may have held in the past? Send me a quick note!
Send me your comments by replying to this email or comment on this article on LinkedIn.

Christian Milaster is the Founder and CEO of Ingenium Digital Health where he and his expert advisors partner with healthcare leaders to optimize the delivery of care.
To discuss how you can use telehealth to optimize the delivery of care, contact Christian by phone or text (657-464-3648), email, or video chat.

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Ingenium Consulting Group, Inc., 1173 Bayview Vis, Annapolis, MD 21409, United States
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