Does your healthcare practice feel short-staffed? Are you and your employees struggling to keep up with administrative tasks? This is extremely common among healthcare practices of all sizes, and many are turning to virtual assistants to help remove some of that stress.
This guide will cover the most important topics related to virtual assistants in healthcare so that you can decide if this is the right solution for your practice.
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is a highly skilled professional who provides administrative support to businesses remotely. Virtual assistants in the healthcare industry often perform time-consuming or difficult tasks, such as scheduling appointments, handling customer inquiries, and entering data into an electronic health record (EHR) system.
Virtual assistants are becoming an increasingly popular solution for businesses of all sizes, but they can be especially beneficial for small to medium-sized healthcare practices.
Many virtual assistant services are tailored specifically to the needs of the healthcare sector, which means that you can find a VA who is already familiar with the tasks and processes required in a medical office.
Virtual assistants can be a cost-effective solution for your healthcare practice. This is because you can use them as necessary, which means you only pay for the hours you need them for.
Hello Rache has a team of dedicated professionals to help with your administrative needs, including medical billing, customer service, and appointment scheduling. Learn more about Healthcare Virtual Assistants or reach out directly for a consultation.
Typical duties of a virtual healthcare assistant
In the healthcare industry, virtual assistants are a vital part of the team. They handle a variety of tasks, from scheduling appointments to answering phone calls and emails. They also help enter data into EHR systems and maintain patient records.
The main tasks and duties of a Healthcare Virtual Assistant include the following.
Scheduling and managing appointments
One of the most important tasks of a virtual healthcare assistant is scheduling and managing appointments. This includes making sure that patients are seen at the correct times and locations and rescheduling appointments as needed. A virtual healthcare assistant’s organization and coordination skills make it easier for medical practices to keep track of patient appointments and incoming requests.
Answering phone calls and emails
Another important duty of a virtual healthcare assistant is answering phone calls and emails from patients. This includes responding to questions about appointments, scheduling, and billing insurance companies. Virtual healthcare assistants are often the first point of contact for patients, so it’s crucial that they provide accurate and up-to-date information.
Entering data into the EHR system
Virtual healthcare assistants also play a vital role in entering data into EHR systems. This data includes patients’ medical histories, insurance information, and laboratory results. Data entry can be time-consuming and challenging, but it’s essential for any medical practice to operate smoothly.
Greeting patients and helping with check-in
Virtual healthcare assistants play an important role in making sure that patients are seen in a timely manner and that their visits go smoothly. Another important duty of a virtual healthcare assistant is greeting patients and helping with check-in. This process includes verifying insurance information and collecting co-payments.
Updating patient records
Virtual healthcare assistants also assist with updating patient records. This includes changes in insurance information, contact information, and medical history. Virtual healthcare assistants must keep patient records up to date so that the medical practice can provide them with quality care.
Scheduling follow-up appointments
After a doctor has seen a patient, it’s often necessary to schedule a follow-up appointment to ensure that patients are following their health plan and make further assessments. This is a quick and easy task for a virtual healthcare assistant that would otherwise be time-consuming for a medical practice.
Collecting patient feedback
After an appointment or procedure, it’s important to collect feedback from the patient. This helps the medical practice improve its services and ensure that patients are satisfied with their care. Virtual healthcare assistants can easily collect this feedback using surveys and other methods.
Providing customer service
Patients should have a good experience when they call or email a medical practice. Virtual healthcare assistants can help with appointments, scheduling, billing, and insurance.
To sum up, virtual healthcare assistants provide valuable services that help keep medical practices running smoothly. A medical professional often sees many patients each day. It’s challenging for them to have a healthy work-life balance without the help of a virtual healthcare assistant.
Medical office needs vary depending on practice specialty, size, and location. Be sure to look at your unique business needs to find the right fit for your team.
Benefits of virtual assistants in a healthcare setting
With all of the physical and emotional demands of the job, it’s no wonder that many healthcare professionals are turning to virtual assistants to help take some of the load off.
Here are the benefits of having a virtual assistant in your healthcare practice.
Offices can function with a smaller staff
There is an ongoing trend of medical practices functioning with fewer on-site staff and relying more heavily on virtual assistants to complete tasks that an administrative assistant would traditionally complete. In addition, practices can use virtual assistants to fill in the gaps when an employee is out sick or on vacation. In many cases, a virtual assistant can exponentially increase the productivity of a smaller team.
Virtual assistants are available to work weekends and holidays
Since they are not physically present in the office, virtual assistants are often available to work on tasks outside of normal business hours. This can be a huge boon for medical practices that need to be open on weekends or holidays. Having extended hours can help practices attract and retain more patients.
Offices can save on overhead costs
Medical practices can save on a number of overhead costs by using virtual assistants. For example, there is no need to provide office space or equipment for a virtual assistant. This can mean significant savings for small or start-up practices that are trying to keep costs down.
Practices can scale up or down quickly as needed
Another benefit of using virtual assistants is that practices can easily scale up or down as needed. This flexibility can be a lifesaver for offices that experience a sudden change in patient volume. For example, if a surge in patients happens due to a virus outbreak, a practice can quickly add virtual assistants to help with scheduling appointments and answering patient questions.
Patients can receive help outside of regular business hours
Since virtual assistants are often available to work outside of normal business hours, patients can get help whenever they need it. This is especially helpful for patients who have questions about their care or need help scheduling appointments.
Helps with stress and burnout among employees
An often overlooked benefit of having a virtual assistant is their ability to reduce employee stress and burnout. By taking on some of the tasks traditionally completed by administrative staff like scheduling appointments and answering patient questions, virtual assistants can help lighten the load for overworked employees. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and employee retention.
In addition to these benefits, virtual assistants can provide a wide range of other helpful services for healthcare providers, such as billing, medical transcription, and receptionist work. While it is a necessary part of the healthcare system, the administrative side of things can be time-consuming and anxiety-inducing. Physicians looking to free up some time and reduce their stress levels could consider hiring a virtual assistant.
These are just some of the many benefits of having a virtual health assistant for your practice. If you’re considering hiring a virtual assistant, be sure to weigh the pros and cons to see if it would be the right fit for your practice.
Salary and demand for virtual assistants
Numerous types of medical practices, from dermatology to family medicine, have discovered valuable benefits from having a virtual assistant assist with some of the tasks involved in running a healthcare business.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates around 354,000 openings for administrative assistants projected each year through 2030. This demand has led to higher-than-average hourly rates for virtual assistants. The average hourly rate for a virtual assistant is $16.46.
The benefits of having a virtual assistant don’t stop at simply filling an open position. Practices often experience increased employee productivity, satisfaction, and retention rates after hiring a virtual assistant. These benefits result from the advantages that virtual assistants provide for practices in the healthcare industry.
Hello Rache’s virtual assistant services can help you take your medical office to the next level while saving on costs. We provide top-quality Healthcare Virtual Assistant solutions to lighten your load so you can focus on what’s important.
Learn how a Healthcare Virtual Assistant works
Many healthcare professionals are now turning to virtual assistants to help with the day-to-day tasks of running a medical practice. A Healthcare Virtual Assistant works remotely to provide support to healthcare practices.
These professionals use technology to connect with patients and the office via secure conferencing software like Zoom. They can help with everything from answering patient questions and scheduling appointments to handling insurance paperwork and billing. Having a familiar face available to patients, even virtually, can help ease patient anxiety and add a more personal touch to their care.
While most virtual assistants are generalists, practices are increasingly hiring virtual assistants with specific medical knowledge and training. Hello Rache’s Healthcare Virtual Assistants are trusted by thousands of doctors and nurses across the country to provide exceptional support. Each of them is certified in HIPAA training and experienced working within the healthcare industry.
Hello Rache helps medical business owners, physicians, and medical assistants focus on direct patient care. We offer a wide variety of digital tools, all of which are customizable to the unique needs of each client. If your practice could use some assistance, consider reaching out to see if one of our certified Healthcare Virtual Assistants would meet your needs.
Hire a Healthcare Virtual Assistant for your practice
Virtual assistants in the healthcare industry are on the rise due to the numerous benefits they provide for businesses. From increased productivity and satisfaction rates to filling open positions, there are many reasons why a medical practice should consider hiring a virtual assistant.
Hello Rache’s team of experts provides top-quality service that can help take your medical practice to the next level. Contact us directly to learn more about how our virtual assistants for healthcare practices can help you save time and money.
