How to Disburse Payments to Your Telehealth Doctors

How to Distribute Payments for Telehealth Doctors

Telehealth isn't new, but the worldwide pandemic thrust it into the spotlight and made it the new norm. Before the pandemic, telehealth suffered from slow adoption and underutilization, largely thanks to regulatory red tape and low payment parity. However, it quickly became a vital alternative to in-person care and has since experienced substantial buy-in from patients, healthcare providers and more. As of 2024, the global telemedicine and telehealth industry has an estimated value of $120 billion. Projections show value increasing tenfold within the next decade, potentially reaching over $1.2 trillion by 2034!

Telehealth organizations are flourishing, but many still struggle to overcome one major hurdle: Facilitating friction-free and efficient doctor payment disbursements. Telehealth platforms improve accessibility for patients, connecting them with qualified doctors from around the world. To retain top medical talent, organizations must distribute payments quickly and smoothly. It's important to consult with legal professionals and tax experts when making critical payment decisions for your telehealth business. But in this blog, we'll explore several methods for payment distribution in the telehealth industry and show you why using a payouts API like Dots can benefit your bottom line.

Why Manual Payments Cause Issues

One of the biggest challenges for telehealth platforms is paying doctors. Organizations can work with licensed practitioners around the country and the globe, tapping into a massive pool of talent to serve patients. Medical billing and coding are already complex. Adding remote physicians into the mix can be a recipe for disaster, and attempting to pay doctors with manual payments often leads to many issues.

Not only do manual payments have a greater risk of data entry errors and security, but they're also less efficient, costlier to do and more time-consuming. Telehealth platforms waste valuable resources facilitating manual payments. Those efforts rarely pay off. In most cases, it takes longer for doctors to receive their funds. Furthermore, the doctors who contribute to your platform's success have little flexibility in how they get paid. Pair all that with the logistics of sending payments across state lines and country borders, and it can quickly become a nightmare.

Fortunately, there are better alternatives. A payout API like Dots can transform your organization's approach to paying doctors and practitioners. The Dots API allows you to automate much of the payment process, reducing the risk of human-caused errors while freeing up valuable resources. A well-built API easily integrates into your system, creating a unified payment platform that effortlessly manages distributions while giving doctors greater options for getting paid. Offer several payment rails, pay every healthcare provider in your network via automation and eliminate the many issues with manual payments.

Working With Insurance Payments

Insurance is another barrier that can complicate payment distribution for telehealth organizations. Administrators accept and distribute insurance payments to doctors in many ways in a traditional hospital setting, including capitation, fee-for-service, point-of-service collections, etc. Insurance is a complex beast, and there are many ways for insurance providers to cover healthcare services. It's up to telehealth companies to figure out the logistics and ensure doctors receive their fair share.

An API can make working with insurance payments easier. APIs like Dots integrate with existing software and applications. You can easily connect Dots with your accounting system, automating even the most complex workflows. Skip the manual processes, establish rules to distribute insurance payments correctly and allow the API to send payments automatically with little human intervention. Automated reporting and tracking records payment activity, making that data easily accessible for review if necessary.

Integrate a Digital Wallet to Your Platform

Many telehealth organizations streamline payments to doctors by integrating a digital wallet into the platform. Digital wallets offer many great benefits. Instead of sending payouts directly to a practitioner's bank account, you can send them to a custom digital wallet. It allows doctors to manage their finances, view payments and move funds on their terms without leaving your platform.

As a telehealth company, you can establish your own payment ecosystem. Keep funds inside the box and give doctors the tools they need to manage their finances. A digital wallet lets you create a closed-loop system. Funds move into wallets quickly and efficiently, removing your reliance on third-party providers and external payment processors. Robust ledger tools help doctors track payments, and simple integration lets practitioners in your network withdraw funds through several flexible payment rails.

Tax Implication Benefits

Taxes can be a nightmare for telehealth companies. While telehealth allows you to tap into a broader pool of medical talent to serve patients, the remote nature of your network creates a logistical headache during tax season. However, a payouts API like Dots can do the heavy lifting to ensure you meet all your tax reporting requirements. It's crucial to consult with tax professionals to understand your organization's unique needs and obligations, as they can provide expert guidance in navigating the complex tax landscape.

With an API, you can easily collect and verify tax information. Telehealth platforms must be extra vigilant in collecting correct data for tax reporting. Doing it all via manual input is a tall order, but Dots does it on your behalf. Request relevant tax information during your doctors' onboarding process. Collect W9s, W8-BEN forms and more automatically. Dots verifies that information with the IRS, eliminating the worry of using incorrect or incomplete data. Dots stores that data in a PCI-compliant vault. Integrate it with your existing tax software to prepare for tax season.

When tax season rolls around, Dots can auto-generate all the necessary forms and file them with the IRS. Generate and file 1099s for every doctor in your network and send copies to payment recipients without lifting a finger.

Implement a Global Solution

The beauty of telehealth is that it's truly borderless. Regulatory requirements vary, and it's important to work with legal experts to understand who you can bring into your network and what you must do to stay compliant. However, many telehealth organizations employ practitioners from around the world. A global payment solution to ensure every doctor gets paid quickly, efficiently and on their terms makes all the difference.

Manual payments across borders are expensive and complex, but a payouts API with global coverage can make payout processes easier than ever. Dots lets you pay doctors on a worldwide scale. More importantly, you can use more than one currency or payment rail. With Dots, you can send funds in over 150 currencies using dozens of popular payment methods. Send funds in the currency your doctors use most, eliminating one more hurdle and providing quicker access. Take advantage of automated features, send global payments en-masse and scale your needs as your telehealth platform grows.

Get Started With Dots Today

Disbursing payments to telehealth doctors doesn't have to be expensive, laborious or confusing. The Dots API is a cutting-edge solution that can directly benefit telehealth organizations in many ways. Streamline payments to doctors in your network, ensuring timely payments without increased overhead costs or extensive manual labor. Expand your payment method offerings, send payments on a global scale and give your doctors the options they need to get paid on their terms. With the Dots API, you can elevate your telehealth platform, making it more appealing to talented physicians who will help your business grow.

Features like tax reporting, payout automation and digital wallets help your business stay ahead of the curve. Meanwhile, risk and fraud management tools, compliance features and powerful security protocols protect your bottom line. Schedule your Dots demo today to learn more and take your first steps to adopt innovative payout solutions for your telehealth organization.