These days, almost everything can be done virtually. Even in medicine, most practices have adapted telemedicine consultations and have sought support from healthcare virtual assistants (HVA).
Chances are you have an idea about virtual assistants – but how do HVAs differ from them? HVAs are those with a background in any discipline related to medicine. They may be licensed or unlicensed, but they have solid know-how of anything medical-related.
How can my practice benefit from a Healthcare Virtual Assistant?
There are many things that fall under the tasks of HVAs. As long as it can be done remotely, one can entrust the job to healthcare virtual assistants.
Aside from providing online support to individual practitioners, healthcare virtual assistants can also support teams. Administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, following up, or calling patients to send reminders can be handed over to HVAs. Their help can significantly reduce the time spent on tasks that eat a chunk of your staff’s time.
What Healthcare Virtual Assistants can do
Virtual Medical scribe
It might be hard to imagine a medical scribe who isn’t physically present during consultations. However, virtual medical scribes proved they can get the job done through HIPAA-compliant conferencing software.
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
Another tedious task you can take off your plate is medical billing. There are healthcare virtual assistants that specialize in this field alone.
You can entrust everything insurance-related to your Medical Billing specialist. Anything from verification, eligibility and approval, claims, reimbursements, and other billing concerns. They also take care of structuring payment and pricing plans for patients.
Medical Billing specialists also keep your financial records organized so you can be worry-free about keeping your billings and 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, 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).
How to hire Healthcare Virtual Assistants
Assessing the type of Healthcare Virtual Assistant your medical practice needs is the first step when hiring an HVA. You’ll also need to review if your office is set up to accommodate virtual assistants, especially when it comes to HIPAA-compliant software.
Some of the qualities you should be looking for in an HVA should be:
- Having keen attention to detail
- Being able to type 60 WPM
- Someone who’s efficient in building rapport through calls and mails
- Proactive and dedicated
