Get the best out of your virtual PA
Effective collaboration between healthcare professionals and your virtual secretarial team is vital. Stacey Burrows backs up her July-August article in Independent Practitioner Today with five more top tips.
The transition from an in-house secretary to a virtual secretarial team can generate doubts and uncertainties, especially for healthcare professionals accustomed to physical interaction.
But virtual secretaries have proven to be invaluable allies, bringing multiple benefits by streamlining workflow and maximising outcomes in medical practices.
This collaboration between healthcare professionals and virtual secretaries can be a resounding success, especially if a strong and effective relationship is established, creating a positive experience for all.
Here are five more practical tips that healthcare professionals can implement to establish a good working dynamic with virtual secretaries, ranging from communication and roles to administrative tasks.
Tip 1: Optimise dictations for better understanding
In the world of medicine, accuracy and efficiency in recording information are fundamental pillars for quality of care, correct billing and regulatory compliance.
Virtual secretaries, as key allies in practice management, play a crucial role in this process. However, in order to optimise dictation and facilitate transcription, the collaboration of the healthcare professional is essential in aspects such as:
Pace of speech;
Avoidance of unnecessary noise in the recording;
Clear pronunciation of words.
In addition, the healthcare professional must make it clear to the virtual secretary that medical information is highly sensitive, so important issues such as where the information will be stored and how it will be protected must be discussed from the outset to ensure compliance with all General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) .
Tip 2: Define a clear system for file storage
Clarity in the storage of medical information is crucial. It is important to let the virtual secretary know the software or platform where different types of patient documents will be filed – for example registration forms, clinical letters and appointment forms.
Some doctors use Healthcode for transcripts of clinical letters, dropbox for patient registration forms and other platforms for results and reports.
It is important to keep in mind:
Store information in accordance with medical privacy and security regulations;
Ensure that the virtual secretary is fully aware of the storage system and platforms used;
Regularly review and update the storage system to ensure its efficiency;
Use secure and obscure password formats
It is also important to follow the law on GDPR and ensure all files are stored and secured with this in mind and never shared to a third party without permission – for example, the patient may give permission for a GP to be sent a clinic letter.
Tip 3: Remind the virtual secretary to prioritise prompt response to calls to improve the patient experience
Communication is paramount to patient satisfaction and the effectiveness of the entire patient journey.
To ensure calls are answered quickly and professionally, consider the following strategies:
Establish a clear call handling policy: Define the expected response time for incoming calls, aiming to answer every call in three rings or less.
Train your virtual secretary: Provide your virtual secretary with the knowledge and resources necessary to handle common patient queries, such as making appointments, providing general information or directing calls to the appropriate staff.
Periodically review call handling performance: Monitor call handling metrics, such as average response time and call resolution rates, to identify areas for improvement and optimise patient satisfaction.
Tip 4: Ensure uninterrupted service coverage
Maintaining consistent patient care and administrative support requires a well-structured plan to manage absences due to holidays, sick days or unforeseen events.
To ensure uninterrupted coverage and minimise interruptions, a primary dedicated virtual secretary from the team can be assigned for day-to-day tasks and a secondary secretary to provide support during planned or unplanned absences.
Both primary and secondary secretaries are familiar with all aspects of the practice’s operations, allowing them to manage a wide range of tasks effectively.
Additionally, clear communication protocols should be established to transfer patient information, manage urgent matters, and maintain continuity of care during absences.
Tip 5: Take advantage of virtual secretaries to proactively manage late payments
Bad debt can significantly impact the financial health of a medical practice.
To minimise financial losses and maintain healthy cash flow, the healthcare professional should work in collaboration with the virtual secretaries to:
- Implement a system to identify and address potential bad debt cases early on;
- Provide the virtual secretary with access to relevant tools and resources, such as patient billing software and debt collection templates, to streamline the process;
- Regularly monitor debt collection metrics, such as collection rates and insurer payment polices, to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented strategies.
Each payor type requires its own processes in order to collect efficiently and in a timely manner.
Stacey Burrows is manager at Virtual Medsec Direct. Email: sales@virtualmedsecdirect.co.uk