June 16, 2021
Most medical professionals are usually extremely busy with their work schedule requiring them to be highly organized. But, even the most organized person needs help at one time or another to ensure everything goes as planned. Luckily, healthcare practitioners can hire a virtual medical assistant to take part of the workload off their hands.
What is a Virtual Medical Assistant?
Simply put, a virtual assistant in the medical field is a remote worker that helps medical professionals with administrative tasks. The assistant can be hired part-time or full-time, depending on your needs. Most medical assistants have a background in healthcare, making them the perfect choice for your practice.
Hiring a virtual assistant for your medical practice is an excellent way of increasing your workforce if you are on a limited budget. With a competent remote assistant, your in-house team can concentrate on providing quality services to your patients.
How can a virtual medical assistant help your business?
If you have been considering getting an assistant on board for the healthcare business, you are not alone. Medical virtual assistants are pretty popular in the healthcare industry because of the many tasks they handle on behalf of their clients.
Some of the ways a medical assistant that works remotely helps your business includes:
- Managing appointments and setting up new ones is one of the most common administrative tasks for virtual medical assistants. Whether you have a manual or online appointment system, they manage it well to ensure customers have an incredible customer experience.
- Taking phone calls from patients and other service providers that work closely with your practice. You can provide a template with FAQs to help them respond to patients accordingly.
- Inbox management includes responding to inquiries on your website, social media page, and e-mail account. Virtual assistants can also assist in developing an online marketing plan for your medical facility.
- Invoicing and billing, one of the most tedious tasks for health practitioners is easily handled by an experienced virtual assistant.
- Maintaining your patient database is critical for your business and should be handled by a professional. A remote worker with a medical background ensures patient information is continuously updated.
- Social media management can involve updating information on social media pages, writing content, and responding to inquiries by followers. In some cases, the job description may include website management.
- Back office support is a role a virtual medical assistant can play when your in-house team is overwhelmed. The remote worker can offer support in digital marketing, technical tasks, and administrative tasks alongside your team.
Benefits of hiring a virtual assistant
If your ideal day is involves taking care of patients all day and not being knee-deep in administrative work, you need a virtual medical assistant. Hiring remote workers has several advantages that are worth considering different types of medical facilities. Some of these benefits include:
- Reduces operational costs
Virtual medical assistants are the best option for startup facilities looking for a budget-friendly worker. The assistants are hired on an hourly basis, meaning they are paid only when they work. Also, they don’t need a space to work from, eliminating office setup costs, including equipment purchase. In addition, benefits such as insurance and pension are the responsibility of the virtual assistant, resulting in fewer expenses for your business.
- Time saver
For your patients to get your full attention when attending your clinic, you need to have enough time to cater to their needs. A virtual medical assistant takes over your workload and attends to daily tasks enabling you to focus on your patients’ needs. Delegating tasks to a remote worker also frees up time for your in-house team so that they can concentrate on high-priority duties.
- Dedicated workforce
Remote workers are highly skilled and a great addition to the human resource of a medical facility. They are highly motivated and focus on getting tasks done as they are paid at an hourly rate. Medical assistants are also flexible in their virtual working hours and often model their schedules to meet your needs. Therefore, if you run a busy medical practice, you can hire an assistant that’s available round-the-clock. Additionally, some remote workers are specialized in several skills, which may add value to your in-house team. Some expert tasks they can do include medical transcription, medical invoicing, and insurance pre-certification.
- Value-added customer service
Most patients appreciate an excellent customer experience when they step into a medical facility. Hiring a virtual medical assistant ensures that patients enjoy personalized services without feeling rushed. You also concentrate better on the needs of patients because of the peace of mind that everything is under control. When queries from patients are responded to on time, it results in better customer engagement.
- Better-quality productivity
When you and your in-house team having a professional assistant taking care of the day-to-day tasks, it will result in better services. Most virtual medical assistants can handle working in a high-paced facility and will only route important calls or jobs. Your team can give better output at work because they are focusing on the core business of the practice. Additionally, quality services also result in an increase in customers and revenue because of enhanced productivity.
- Improves online reputation
Besides handling customer inquiries and data management, virtual medical assistants can also manage your online presence. Choose an assistant skilled in digital marketing, especially website and social media management. Handing over your social media page and website to your virtual assistant will ensure your online customers are always engaged and questions answered promptly. In addition, in crisis moments, remote medical workers can use their expertise to de-escalate situations online that may hurt your brand.
Ultimately, deciding to hire a virtual medical assistant starts with assessing your needs to find the right fit. When you know what you need, finding a remote worker that adds value will be easy and quite beneficial in the long run. Most virtual assistants in the healthcare industry advertise their services online, making it easier to find the most suitable one for your facility.
