What pain points are you experiencing in your medical practice? A virtual medical assistant (VMA) might just be the remedy your facility needs.
Have you heard of or encountered a virtual medical assistant? Thanks to technology, people can now work remotely while providing support to medical practices. In fact, the healthcare business process outsourcing industry is projected to be worth $488.2 billion by 2027. Several medical practices are switching to this idea because VMAs can do a multitude of tasks and handle other responsibilities that lessen the burden of your in-house staff.
People who haven’t hired remote staff before might be skeptical about tapping a virtual medical assistant to solve productivity issues. They might be pondering on thoughts such as “Is it worth it?” “Will they deliver as promised?” “Will I get an ROI from this?”
To answer those questions, let’s probe things further down the article.
Do more with a Virtual Medical Assistant
Provide a positive patient experience
A key component of growth is customer service. Providing a positive experience for every patient is a must as it is a building block in establishing trust and credibility with your patients.
Virtual medical assistants take charge of this aspect by being proactive communicators to patients. in most cases, they’re the first person your patients talk to – they can set expectations and gather information and feedback as needed.
With thousands of medical service providers out there, customers now more than ever have unlimited options within their hands and outstanding customer service can be the edge that sets your practice apart.
Create and nurture relationships
One certain VMA role a facility can hire is a virtual medical receptionist. They are responsible for keeping in touch with patients to ensure they’re up to date with consultations, follow-ups, and to answer any questions they may have.
By keeping patients engaged through emails, phone calls, or other marketing materials, VMAs may help pull more potential prospects to your practice. Virtual medical receptionists are also a big help in online consultations. They gather electronic health records and conduct a basic pre-assessment of patients to make a physician’s job easier.
Their skill set also involves maintaining good relationships with patients for a positive client retention rate. As they handle all patient data and records, they are expected to maintain confidentiality at the highest level.
Better return on investment
Facilities that have little to no background in outsourcing staff have a preconceived notion that it’s an additional expense that would not add value to their business. Especially because they’ll spend two valuable resources – time and money.
Sourcing for a virtual medical assistant could take a long while. Most businesses want to compare prices and packages to see what fits their budget and what can seamlessly integrate with their internal operations as well. The training and transition process may end up costing a lot of man-hours.
Partnering with an experienced outsourcing provider prevents this from happening. These firms scout and recruit any VMA role you need so your team won’t have to go through this tedious, grueling process.
Going with an outsourcing partner also saves you expenses from overhead costs such as office space and equipment. You can also expect to save on salary costs because of the lower costs of living in the country you’ll be outsourcing to. The total cost savings you’ll have will hasten your return on investment in the long run.
Virtual Medical Assistant Services
Virtual Medical scribe
Thanks to HIPAA-compliant conferencing software, virtual medical scribes prove they can be just as efficient as an in-house scribe.
Aside from real-time transcription during consultations, virtual medical scribes also manage Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs). They verify and update EHRs that can be then shared with other physicians.
Virtual Medical Billing Specialist
When it comes to billing, insurance-related concerns, and payment and pricing plans, you can leave it all to a virtual medical billing specialist.
They are highly trained to handle verification, eligibility and approval, claims, reimbursements, and other billing tasks. Aside from that, they also keep your financial records organized so you can be worry-free about keeping your payments updated and accurate.
Virtual Medical Receptionist
Need someone to make your healthcare facility’s day-to-day easier? Virtual Medical Receptionists are the key. From scheduling patient appointments to taking calls, you can be sure that they will be a productive addition to your team.
Just like an onsite receptionist, a Virtual Medical Receptionist covers your administrative tasks and coordinates with patients, medical representatives, and other clients to organize your calendar schedule. They also make and take calls to address concerns and they manage your patient database records as well.
Virtual Pharmacist
Medications are an online consultation away thanks to Virtual Pharmacists. Their main duty is to evaluate and verify prescriptions to dispense accurate medication. They also prioritize patient privacy to the full extent even if things are done virtually.
It’s also their job to review drug contradictions, consult with doctors, and check the right dosage for patients. Virtual Pharmacists also answer failed claims and patient prescription inquiries.
Telemedicine Support
Virtual consultations are already challenging as it is. Having a Telemedicine Support staff helps you connect better with patients. From scheduling a patient’s appointment to sending out reminders, follow-ups, and more, they help you provide optimized care for every patient.
Telemedicine Support staff are also present during consultations to create real-time transcriptions. They also take care of Protected Health Information (PHI).
VMA qualities you should look for
When hiring a VMA, here are the top characteristics you should be looking for.
Fluency in your local language
Having adept language skills in your mother tongue is a requisite for VMAs since they will be front liners to your patients. Making sure they can communicate properly with your team and your patients are of utmost importance.
Software proficiency
Since they will be mostly using productivity tools and project management platforms, a VMA needs to be at least knowledgeable and trainable in using such programs. They will also need to familiarize themselves with your existing tools for a streamlined process.
Skillset
Every virtual medical assistant has their own specialty. You should be clear about the specifics of the role to ensure that the VMA you hire is equipped with the skills you need. Most VMAs are also licensed medical professionals who can help your practice with highly specific problems.
Reasons to hire a VMA
If you’re still hesitant to hire a virtual medical assistant after knowing the efficiency, cost-savings, and overall value they add to your business, maybe these points can help in convincing you.
- They take care of all your administrative business. Physicians can’t do it all on their own and they will need to rely on the support of a VMA to keep records, data, track scheduling, etc.
- VMAs help grow your business by providing support in client acquisition and retention
- They make sure your facility’s permits, authorizations, and verifications are up to date
- Since they are highly trained in customer service, expect overall patient satisfaction to go up
- VMAs streamline processes for a more efficient and productive workflow
Hire a Virtual Medical Assistant
The Remote Group connects medical practices from all around the globe to highly experienced virtual medical assistants. We have a stream of VMAs who are licensed medical professionals and those with HIPAA certifications. Get in touch with our outsourcing experts today to grow your business.
