The healthcare industry is notoriously intensive, and it’s no surprise that burnout within this profession is on the rise. Therefore, it’s important you understand how to effectively reduce your workload. This will allow you to concentrate on the more crucial aspects of your day-to-day work. But this, surely, is easier said than done, right? Well, the ways a medical virtual assistant can help in this scenario are almost endless.
What is a Medical Virtual Assistant?
All healthcare settings will have medical assistants who tackle administrative and general duties. So, for example, if a clinician needs an audio consultation transcribing, this will be delegated to an in-house assistant to complete. Likewise, scheduling appointments for clinicians and taking enquiries from the public will also be handled by a medical assistant.
However, your medical assistants don’t have to be located within your building. Or even the same state. Or country. As a result of the internet’s ability to connect people all over the world, virtual assistants now offer a viable staffing solution, no matter where they are in the world. With a PC or laptop connected to the internet, medical virtual assistants can seamlessly integrate with your systems.
What Does a Medical Virtual Assistant Bring?
Your interest in virtual assistants is probably already beginning to rise, but what are the ways a medical virtual assistant can help you transform your organization? Thankfully, you don’t need to dive in and hire one without any prior knowledge. Instead, you can make an informed business decision by understanding these benefits:
Cost savings:
one of the most important aspects of running a business is budgeting well. And medical virtual assistants represent a fantastic cost-saving solution. In fact, it’s possible for you to save up to 78% in wages with virtual assistants on board. This type of figure, naturally, should be enough to convince anyone of the benefits. But, widen your outlook a little further, and you’ll realize these savings can be re-invested in other areas of your business to further enhance patient care.
Enhanced flexibility:
time is one of the most valuable commodities that we deal in, and it’s vital for both businesses and their owners to benefit from flexibility. This is one of the major ways a medical virtual assistant can help. For example, virtual assistants don’t need to work standard 9 – 5 days. If they’re only required for three hours a day, then you can hire them simply for this period. And they don’t even have to work within the constraints of traditional working hours. So, if you need someone to cover a night shift, a medical virtual assistant delivers the perfect solution. This means that you, as a business owner, save significantly on time and stress.
Medical coding and billing:
one of the most time consuming, but essential tasks in the health care industry is medical coding and billing. Your business, after all, needs revenue to thrive and grow. Finding the time, however, to get to grips with code sequencing and the numerous insurance carriers is tough. A medical virtual assistant takes the pain out of this headache. Thanks to their experience with medical coding and the finer points of health insurance, they will be able to manage this area of your business with ease.
Updating EMR:
electronic medical records are a critical element of patient care, so maintaining these accurately and in a timely manner is paramount. The EMR acts as a comprehensive log of a patient’s history, but keeping this up to date can be difficult. Not only are there doctor’s notes to update, but also allergy reminders, appointment dates and records of any communications with the patient. And this is something which clinicians simply don’t have time to focus on. Accordingly, being able to delegate this is one of the best ways a medical virtual assistant can help.
Space saving:
space in practices and clinical settings comes at a premium, but the beauty of a virtual medical assistant is that they take up zero real estate. Therefore, this frees up space for you to develop your building in a way which benefits the organization and your patients. So, for example, in a room where three administrative staff had been housed, you could convert this into a new consultation room or treatment suite. Meanwhile, your administrative staff can complete their duties remotely and your productivity will soar.
Scheduling:
the healthcare industry is all about scheduling, without good scheduling foundations then appointments will be cancelled and clinician’s workloads will increase. But it doesn’t have to be this way. A dedicated virtual assistant will be able to take control of appointment ledgers and optimize your clinician’s schedules. As such, all appointment slots will be filled – backed by a well-managed cancellation list – and they will always be booked for the recommended time. This means your clinicians will be confident they can turn up and do their jobs, and your patients will receive the correct level of care.
Prevent burnout:
adding a virtual medical assistant to your ranks is one of the best ways to minimize burnout, a very real problem in the world of healthcare. Managing the stress of your medical staff is critical, and the presence of a virtual assistant will instantly start adding balance and reducing stress. Most importantly, by reducing the administrative load on clinicians, this gives them the opportunity to focus on what’s important: patient care. This is a win-win situation for both patients and clinicians, so, when it comes to ways a medical virtual assistant can help, this is one of the most vital.
Minimal training:
aside from integrating them within your business, virtual assistants require little training. Already fully trained in the best practices within healthcare administration, virtual assistants regularly update and maintain their skills to remain relevant. This allows them to hit the ground running whenever they enter a new organization. And, for business owners, this guarantees both peace of mind and high levels of productivity from day one.
Bringing Virtual Medical Assistants Onboard
As you can see, there are many ways a medical virtual assistant can help your healthcare business. Knowing that administrative tasks can be delegated to experts will provide you with a huge confidence boost and allow you to focus on more pressing priorities. Ultimately, the presence of virtual assistants allows you to enhance your service and deliver on your key objectives, most keenly observed in patient care. And you don’t have to look far to find testimonials which back this up.
Thanks to the cost savings on offer, a virtual medical assistant represents a fantastic investment for your medical business. However, you need to know that you’re choosing the right one. This is where HelloRache can make this a reality. With our virtual assistants available at a flat rate of $9.50/hour and no contracts required, we offer the perfect solution. To find out more, just click here to see what we can do.
