​There are many vendors offering telemedicine technology and services. However, it is essential to connect with one that meets the care center’s needs.

Daniel Gilbert, chief executive officer of CloudVisit, a company that provides HIPAA-compliant telemedicine services as well as Web hosting and data encryption, suggests a few tips for a finding a vendor a long term care center can partner with successfully.

• Find out how long the company has been in business and who its clients are. Ask for references.
• Discuss with the vendor how the center expects to use the technology and who will have access to it.
• Find out if the company offers a platform that is flexible and can integrate electronic health records with telemedicine devices. Find out if any updates/revisions will be necessary and, if so, what they will involve and how long they will take.
• Ask for a demonstration. Before purchasing anything, a buyer should be confident that the technology will be easy to use and will enable it to accomplish the goals for its use.
• Make sure that the care center has adequate infrastructure, such as high-speed Internet connections and dedicated connections for video, for the best quality services.
• Find out specifically what costs or fees are involved and precisely what they cover. Ask about what add-on services, such as additional training or technology upgrades, will cost.
• Determine in advance what training will be provided. Identify key leaders to participate in vendor-provided training so they can train other staff and serve as a point person as questions and problems arise. It will be most cost-effective and efficient to have one person in the center serve as a contact for questions, issues, concerns, and requests for the vendor.