The exceptional growth in healthcare needs has resulted in healthcare practices having to use innovative measures to face the challenges posed. Although medical professionals strive to meet the needs of their patients, it does have an impact on not just doctors, but their staff as well. A medical virtual receptionist may help take some of the stress off the shoulders of both the doctor and his staff, leaving them free to focus on those areas needing the most attention. In so doing, you and your staff have the time to meet growing expectations and deliver an exemplary service.
Hiring a medical virtual receptionist is a cost-effective way of ensuring your practice has a dedicated, professional person dealing with initial engagements. They do all the tasks you would commonly see done by someone working in your office. They manage all calls, deal with appointments, do medical insurance verifications, and take care of prescription refills and patient referrals.
Although a medical virtual receptionist works remotely, they seamlessly fit in with your practice. Such an addition to your practice can both make and receive calls from anywhere by making use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) software, using their internet connection. This means that your patients can connect with your practice at any time of the day and receive the same, if not a better, level of care as they would when contacting a receptionist situated in your office.
Hiring a medical virtual receptionist poses many benefits for any healthcare practice. We will take a look at a few of these benefits.
One of the main problems doctors and their staff face is not having enough time to spend with their patients as they would like. Likewise, when faced with an especially demanding situation, you may find you and your staff struggling to keep up with patient needs. Dealing with phone calls takes up much time. It is difficult sticking to patient schedules, and you may have to reduce face-to-face patient time due to time constraints resulting from having to deal with other non-patient issues.
Your patients also get tired of waiting, or they feel they do not get the attention they deserve. As a doctor, you may also feel frustrated because you cannot address your patient’s needs as well as you would like. By employing a medical virtual receptionist, however, someone takes care of the slack and administration — usually your domain or that of your in-house staff. You — and your staff — now have more time to deal with what really matters: your patients. And you can have a little room to breathe now and then.
If your patients constantly feel you rush through their consultation, they may soon seek out the services of another healthcare provider. Each of them wants to feel they have your full attention. They may even feel that nobody cares about them when making their appointments or that your practice is not effectively run.
The help of a medical virtual receptionist — that is, someone dedicated to making a good impression as your office frontline worker — can vastly improve your patients’ initial experience. Furthermore, these closely monitored and regularly evaluated workers have incentives to provide the best service they possibly can. This means that they not only provide your practice with great service and customer care experiences but help enhance your business’ reputation as well.
Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth referrals. People talk.
Instead of having someone at reception, many healthcare practices make use of an answering service to deal with queries. While such a service allows patients to report an issue, the truth of the matter is that many people do not want to deal with an answering service message. Instead, they hang up and look elsewhere.
This does not bode well for your practice’s growth or reputation.
This situation drastically changes when you have a virtual healthcare receptionist in place. They give your patients a real person to talk to who can effectively engage with their needs. Furthermore, you can engage the services of more than one to ensure 24/7 availability.
Sometimes, to be cost-effective, a practice may need to reduce staff. Besides salaries and the costs of new equipment, you need to deal with unseen costs like the depreciation of certain equipment, for example.
Hiring a medical virtual receptionist saves on labor costs. You pay a fixed fee for a service. You do not have to deal with salaries, bonuses, holidays, or sick leave pay. Furthermore, they do not need a designated space or any other considerations needed by in-house staff. They work virtually. You do not need to reach in your pocket to pay for their equipment, software, or training.
The paperwork, latest medical developments, and changes in the law make running an effective, efficient, and successful healthcare practice a challenge. Very often, existing staff find their workload increases due to administrative tasks. And they seem to have ever less time for tasks related to patient care.
By making use of the services of a medical virtual receptionist, the brunt of these administrative tasks is taken off their shoulders. As a result, they have the time to deal with other, much-needed activities. This solution also takes the pressure off your staff, which can lead to stress, frustration, and, ultimately, mistakes.
Employing the services of a medical virtual receptionist is an urgent need in many medical practices. Doing so provides your practice with many benefits, not only for doctors and their staff but for patients too. A medical virtual receptionist acts as the frontline when it comes to taking care of patient needs. They also take the burden off both the healthcare practitioner and staff. This provides workplace flexibility while ensuring a less stressful environment.
Would you like to know more about the benefits of hiring a medical virtual receptionist? Are thinking about engaging in such a service? Cool Blue VA can help. We have a wide range of professionals in this field. You can contact us at 714-695-8000 and we will help you find the perfect medical virtual receptionist to seamlessly fit into your practice.
