Specialists and super-specialists have studied hard to obtain their qualifications. But when you move into private medical healthcare and build up your practice, you will find assorted challenges.
The realities of running a business soon come to the fore. Most of this relates to the mountain of administrative tasks that builds up. You need help, so think about hiring a virtual medical assistant.
A virtual medical assistant will make light of the heavy workload and get you back on track, helping your practice run smoothly.
What can a virtual medical assistant do?
Especially when the practice is small or in its early stages, a doctor may not need a full-time on-site employee, and the funds to pay for one may not be available.
The benefit of hiring a virtual medical assistant is not limited to a small practice; more significant, more established medical rooms can also benefit by lightening the admin workload.
The virtual assistant will conduct their work remotely, and the tasks delegated to them can vary. Below are some critical virtual assistant duties: taking phone calls, email inbox management, handling appointments, invoicing and billing, sustaining patient database, social media management, back-office support, and insurance pre-certification and verification.
The admin team is often the patient’s first point of contact. Its efficiency can influence the practice and the doctor’s reputation.
Weakness in this part of the business can also hurt the physician’s name. However, a virtual assistant can benefit the practice in various ways.
Time-saving
Dividing your time can be difficult, especially if, as a specialist, you have more than one consulting room. Being at various places while seeing that the admin is up to date does not work.
Moreover, hiring a virtual assistant to conduct the admin work for a doctor’s practice is cheaper. The doctor can then better allocate the time.
This includes giving more time to the patients and attending medical conferences.
How the virtual medical assistant can save time
A virtual assistant can gather all the patients’ details, ensuring they are current. They can also have the patients complete questionnaires and fill in their family medical history, which the doctor can use.
Also, the remote assistant can gather and add the information to the patient’s file if blood tests have been done.
The virtual assistant will save the doctor and the on-site team’s time. If the practice has an on-site team, the remote assistant can help complete repetitive and time-consuming work such as data entry.
The virtual assistant will also help with tasks the core team lacks. For example, the virtual assistant can maintain the practice’s website and manage the social media channels, optimizing these to increase the chances of more people becoming aware of the course.
Saves money
As mentioned before, a virtual assistant costs less than an on-site employee. This is because the additional employee costs, such as benefits, bonuses, insurance, and adding a different workspace, are not applicable.
If the need for the virtual assistant expires, the doctor is not compelled to keep the assistant.
The doctor will not waste funds on someone when there is no work for them. Additionally, as the practice saves money and is efficiently run, the doctor can expand, opening more medical rooms at other hospitals or outside the hospital.
This means the doctor can onboard locum doctors to work for the practice. The doctor will not only save money but also make more money.
Increase productivity
As entrepreneurs have found, virtual assistants are game-changers. A virtual assistant not only helps to save money, being a cheaper staffing solution, but also helps to supercharge productivity.
More than merely augmenting productivity, the quality of the service can improve because the work does not build up. Emails and calls are answered. Billing is kept current, and outstanding payments are under control.
The result is that the patients will experience more significant customer satisfaction, elevating the reputation of the practice and the doctor.
How a virtual assistant can boost productivity
Virtual medical assistants are skilled at what they do. They are hired based on the practice’s needs, which means they might need to know about working with a medical practice.
In addition, they can take over the time-consuming tasks so the on-site team can focus on more high-level work.
Increase customer relations
More than 50% of patients will have a doctor or specialist share with his or her team. If the admin is disorganized, or there are double-booked appointments keeping the patient waiting, the patient’s experience will be sour.
It is vital to avoid such problems so that the practice can run smoothly and the patients experience a welcoming and pleasant time. Moreover, the doctor will have more time, which may be critical for the patient, as they will spend less time with the admin team.
How a virtual medical assistant can boost customer relations
With the admin tasks running smoothly, there will be fewer negative issues. The doctor will not have to worry about tasks being completed − they can focus solely on the patients.
The virtual assistant can also manage the online reviews to help with the practice’s public relations. The virtual assistant can also send out additional information to patients based on the doctor’s instructions.
A remote assistant can compile and send newsletters, providing patients with pre-approved, valuable information.
Hiring highly qualified staff and flexibility
When doctors hire a virtual assistant, they hire someone skilled at completing their tasks. Outsourcing services screen applications and eliminate unsuitable candidates so that only the top applications are presented.
Moreover, virtual assistants are known to be more focused and are not subject to typical workplace politics and bad behavior. Moreover, a virtual assistant offers the doctor flexibility in the practice. Needs can change, and the practice’s success may be subject to alterations.
How a virtual assistant can add flexibility
A virtual assistant is not usually hired over the long term. Instead, a remote assistant is employed to complete excessive work. If the business experiences a downturn, it can offboard the assistant or might have special needs for a set period.
For example, a doctor might want to promote a new practice and decide to have a website. The doctor can hire a virtual website developer to create an optimized website. The doctor might then need a social media assistant for a set period.
Also, if an on-site worker is on maternity leave, a virtual assistant can temporarily replace the worker.
Time to take your practice to the next level
Boost your productivity, increase your profits, and ease the stress on yourself and your on-site team.
You only need to hire a virtual medical assistant. However, you might have some questions before you do so.
We encourage you to book a complimentary call with our outsourcing expert. Our expert can provide the answers you seek, making onboarding a virtual assistant easy.
Don’t delay. Book your call now.
3 Key Takeaways
- A virtual medical assistant can significantly improve a medical practice’s efficiency and productivity. By handling administrative tasks, VAs allow doctors to focus on providing patient care and growing their businesses.
- Hiring a VA can be a cost-effective solution for medical practices of all sizes. VAs can be hired on a flexible basis and can help reduce overhead costs.
- A virtual assistant can enhance patient satisfaction and improve the reputation of a medical practice. VAs can contribute to a positive patient experience by handling administrative tasks efficiently.