Yes! AZOVA is designed so you can use it out of the box as a completely stand alone solution OR side by side with your EHR. You can complete the telemedicine encounter in AZOVA or in your EHR. The benefit of completing your encounter in AZOVA is that the patient automatically will receive a copy of your assessment and can ask you any clarifying questions relative to the visit through AZOVA. You can also choose to do all of this inside of your EHR. AZOVA can also be fully integrated with your EHR. This requires cooperation from your EHR system and can be costly. For this reason, we have built AZOVA so this is unnecessary. If you choose to complete your encounters in AZOVA, there is also an option to export a PDF of each encounter and attach it inside your EHR. It is not uncommon to delegate a staff member who does this once a month.

AZOVA is used to collect all of the patient information, consents (including telemedicine informed consent), insurance (optional), payment (optional), copay (optional), pharmacy preference AND the assessments or intake form. This information is collected from the patient and transmitted to you through AZOVA. You can then complete your documentation and e-prescribing inside your EHR or you can add an assessment and plan into AZOVA so the patient can have access to and can refer to it.

Zoom and other popular video calling platforms are convenient, but have significant limitations when it comes to healthcare. A true digital health or telemedicine technology is best when providing telehealth services for several reasons. Most importantly is security; there have been many concerns about security with these platforms. A HIPAA certified telehealth platform is appropriate. The second more important difference between a basic video chat system and a compliant telemedicine solution, is the automated collection of patient information. A telemedicine platform automates the collection of all of the patient information before the provider sees the patient WITHOUT involving a staff member and WITHOUT the need for a patient to call your office to figure out how to get a telemedicine visit. It is very frustrating for a patient to have to call your office instead of being able to simply go to your website and book an evisit. A complete solution will collect all the information listed above and enable the patient to self-register. By automating the collection of all the patient’s information through the AZOVA system, you save a minimum of 15 minutes in staff time per visit. This is not possible with a stand alone video calling engine.

Yes. AZOVA is connected to any pharmacy in America. AZOVA’s e-prescribing tool is called Secure MessageRx. When you write a prescription through Secure MessageRx, AZOVA creates a secure message between the prescriber, the patient and the pharmacy to enable communication between parties. Be sure to start a unique thread with the patient alone if you do not want the pharmacy to be included in the conversation.

This depends on the payer. Many payers say that they cover telemedicine when, in reality, they cover telemedicine only if the telemedicine service is delivered by one of the large corporate telemedicine companies. This is why AZOVA exists! We are here to help healthcare providers like you to preserve your own patient relationships and to retain your own patient base. We are actively involved in advocating for reimbursement for providers who use our technology. There are many states that now have “telemedicine parity” laws or “payer parity” laws in place. These laws are moving towards equal payment for your services whether it is delivered online or in the office. Medicare now covers telemedicine in all fifty states regardless of patient and provider locality.

We recommend you offer a cash rate for any service that is not covered by any health plans in your state and to offer the option of cash OR to use insurance for telemedicine visit types that may be reimbursed by some payers or all payers. AZOVA can be configured to accept cash for Secure messaging visits for example and to offer a choice of cash or insurance for video visits. This way, the patient can opt to enter their insurance information when they get a video visit. You can check the patient’s benefits before seeing them and can message the patient with this information. If the payer does not cover the service, the patient can pay cash. An interesting fact that we have learned over the years is that patients are willing to pay cash and often choose not to use their insurance even when it is a covered service.

If you have set up your telemedicine clinic to collect insurance information, you can use that information which is transferred to you and submit a claim the way you normally do.

There are four types of telemedicine visits: video (synchronous), telephone (synchronous), PhotoForward(™)(asynchronous) and secure messaging visits (asynchronous). Telemedicine is NOT just an online form or assessment. Two way communication is required.

This is a very tricky question, but the majority of states allow all four types of telemedicine. You can always check with the Center for Connected Health Policy. The information you will find there usually relates only to the state medicaid plans however, the information you need may not be easy to find.

You must be licensed in the state where the patient physically IS during the visit. This does not mean the patient’s address has to be in the state, but the patient themself must be present in a state where you are licensed. The patient must be physically located within the boundaries of states where you are licensed. This means you can be in France, but if the patient is not in a state where you are licensed, you cannot see them.

AZOVA requests the patient to report their physical location during patient registration. If it does not match one of the states in which a provider is licensed, then the patient cannot proceed.

Video and PhotoForward visits are most common.

The average store and forward visit takes approximately 3 ½ minutes to complete on AZOVA. The average video visit is between 5 to 7 minutes.

In almost all states, you can legally establish a physician-patient relationship through telemedicine when you practice the same standard of care for a telemedicine visit as you would for an office visit.

No. Most providers choose only to accept “next available” appointments. This means you can complete the consult when it is convenient for you. We ask that you complete the consult in less that 24 hours. If you are going on vacation, just let us know and we will remove you from the marketplace until you come back!

Yes, even though most of our programs are cash based programs, you can set your appointments to accept insurance.

Most providers charge $95 for video visits and $59-$89 for PhotoForward™ and telephone visits respectively.

AZOVA has agreements with self-insured payers and will ask you if you want to accept the price that a particular payer or program is willing to pay. If you choose to participate, we will send those patients to you. Most of these programs pay between $59-99.

No. You set up your own business on AZOVA and you work for yourself. We are a technology platform that enables you to see patients online. You can sign up under your practice or as an independent provider.

We do not. You must have your own malpractice coverage. Please call your malpractice carrier and ask if they will cover you while practicing telemedicine. It is extremely uncommon for malpractice carriers not to cover it.

AZOVA offers a free license or enhanced paid licenses in the marketplace. In addition, we keep a technology fee or $10 to $18 for each patient that we send to you through the marketplace and online clinics. For example, if you charge $99 for a video visit, you keep $81. If you charge $69 for a secure messaging visit, you keep $59.

You are welcome to invite that patient to come into your office. You can choose to refund the patient if you want to do so and ask the patient to come into the office. If the patient is too far away from your practice, let us know and we will make sure the patient is seen in the office by someone else.

Yes. You can invite and/or connect with any other provider on the AZOVA platform FREE of charge. You can secure message, e-prescribe, share records and co-manage patients with any other provider or pharmacist free of charge.