4 Ways Healthcare Virtual Assistants Can Enhance Patient Engagement
Over the past few years, professionals operating in the medical industry have been bombarded with new patients. If you are in charge of running a medical practice, finding ways to provide your patients with great care is probably one of your top concerns. Ignoring the power of technology in your pursuit of better patient care is a mistake that can come back to haunt you.
Many healthcare providers understand the benefits of having a virtual medical scribe, but few are aware of the advantages of using medical virtual assistants. A medical virtual assistant is a remote worker in charge of handling various administrative tasks. These tasks usually include things like collection of patient information, insurance claim filing and appointment scheduling.
With the help of a medical virtual assistant, you can improve patient satisfaction and engagement levels. Read below to find out more about the ways a medical virtual assistant can improve patient engagement.
1. A Medical Virtual Assistant Helps You Save Time
If you are trying to schedule appointments, collect insurance information and provide patients with care, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Doctors that try to be involved in every aspect of running a medical practice usually regret this decision. If you want to make sure your patients receive the care and engagement they need, then working with a virtual medical assistant is vital.
When hiring a virtual medical assistant, you can focus less on scheduling appointments and filing insurance claims. The time you save with the help of a medical virtual assistant can be invested in providing better care to your patients. Spending an extra five or ten minutes with each of your patients can make them feel more engaged. This extra time with your patients can also help you keep them loyal.
2. Provide Instant Answers to Patient Queries
Receiving calls and emails from patients is something most doctors are familiar with. When a patient has a question about their health or an upcoming appointment, they will reach out to their primary care doctor for assistance. Most doctors and medical office staff members have very little time to devote to answering these queries. Instead of letting these patient communication attempts fall through the cracks, you need to seek out the help of a medical virtual assistant.
A medical virtual assistant will be able to field these calls and emails to ensure patients get the information they desire. If patients are able to get answers to their questions in a hurry, they will feel more engaged. By hiring a medical virtual assistant, you will never have to worry about important messages from your patients being ignored.
3. The Availability Factor
The average medical office is only open for eight to nine hours a day. There will be times when patients need help with things like prescriptions after normal business hours. Rather than allowing the needs of your patients to go unaddressed, you need to look for modern ways to increase availability. Since medical virtual assistants work remotely, they are able to provide help to patients after your medical office has closed.
Most medical virtual assistants work after normal business hours and even on holidays. This means that the needs that your patients have during these times will be addressed promptly. If your patients see that you are working hard to ensure all of their needs are met, they will remain loyal to your medical practice. The higher your patient retention rates are, the easier it will be to increase profitability.
4. Make Making or Rescheduling Appointments Easier
Perhaps the best way to improve patient engagement rates is by simplifying the process of making or rescheduling an appointment. If a patient calls your medical office and has to sit on hold for long periods of time to make an appointment, they will probably get frustrated. In some cases, this frustration can lead to a patient seeking out the help of another medical practice in your area.
Instead of potentially frustrating your patients, you need to realize the benefits of allowing a medical virtual assistant to handle the appointment-making/rescheduling process. Not only can they help patients book an appointment, they can also provide them with quotes. Most medical professionals fail to realize just how affordable hiring a medical virtual assistant is. With a minimal investment, you can provide better care to your patients and increase engagement levels.
Luckily, there are various websites and online platforms dedicated to matching medical professionals to highly-qualified virtual medical assistants. Using the online platforms at your disposal will make finding the right virtual medical assistant much easier.
It’s Time To Take Action!
Now that you know more about the benefits of using a medical virtual assistant, it is time to take action. With some time and research, finding the right medical virtual assistant will be a breeze.
