Now more than ever, clinics are incorporating telehealth appointments into their practices.
First, it’s important to note that virtual appointments involve so much more than simply placing a call through a third-party video or live chat software solution.
You see, medical consultations are meant to be private conversations that take place between physicians and patients.
These interactions must abide by the industry’s strict health and data confidentiality, security, and privacy standards.
With that, here are six strategies for ensuring seamless virtual healthcare sessions:
1. Set a goal and understand your needs.
It’s important to do your research before committing to a telemedicine platform. Know your goals and understand the features that you need to be successful. Perhaps you want a feature that allows you to include your company name in the domain, or include a personal logo on your templates. Ensure that the company offers integrated features that stand out. Depending on your practice, maybe you need a platform that can incorporate group sessions so you can talk to multiple people at once whether it be an additional provider, family, or educational session.
2. Automate patient session reminders.
You may think telehealth patients are more likely to remember their appointments. And while this isn’t inherently wrong, in many cases the opposite is true.
Technical challenges may result in late entries or no-shows. Patients may also think there’s no harm in missing their appointment because they can easily book another one. These struggles don’t have to be your future. You can protect your practice and further connect with patients by sending out appointment reminders—ideally a week in advance of the visit, and again a day before the session begins. Patients also have access to their portal where they can log in to cancel appointments, send you notes, and book for any future appointments.
3. Logging in and Patient check-in should be simple.
Virtual sessions save patients, practitioners, and administrators time and money. Avoiding wait times and no commute to speak of, there’s a lot to appreciate about telehealth. An easy self-check-in process is no exception. Logging in should be seamless using a simple secure access code. No hassle in between. The right platform will let patients, or providers—before their session—confirm that their health information is current. It will give them the option to provide additional details they may need to share.
5. Minimize the risk of technical issues.
Reduce your chances of running into pesky technical problems by making sure your virtual practice management system works well in advance of your appointments.
Before starting your session, your platform should allow you to check your internet connection, browser capabilities, audio, and video permissions with a simple click. This should be easy and with one click should take no more than 10 seconds to ensure that you and your patient are ready to go live.
To strive for a smooth-sailing visit, you’ll also want to close any unnecessary programs on your device, adjust the lighting in your space, and have your platform’s support team readily-available should any issues come up.
6. Clear Communication is essential
It’s important not to lose that face-to-face feeling when treating your patient. If communication isn’t clear, this can lead to unsuccessful patient treatment. Ensure that the platform you are using allows you to securely send files, document notes, and share your screen. You want to feel that you have the integrations to build meaningful relationships, build rapport, and to collaborate just as you would outside of a virtual session.
Virtual first management iswell within reach with Adracare. Please contact us for more information on how our secure online video visits can benefit your practice.
