Banty Co-Founder and Medical Director, Dr. Richard Tytus, provided the subject matter and direction for this article. The author would like to thank Adam Grant for his editorial assistance in writing the article. Dr. Richard Tytus takes responsibility for the content of the article.
In all industries, it is important to keep customers happy. Doing so helps a business continue to grow in the right direction and maintain a positive relationship with its clientele.
As a doctor, you understand how crucial it is that your patients not just trust you, but also like your team and feel content about the services being provided to them. Such tendencies will keep patients loyal to your practice for years to come.
If you have chosen to offer telemedicine services, it will take time to get your patient base comfortable with the idea of online doctor’s appointments. Even once that’s accomplished, though, you will have to go the extra mile to see they’re not just comfortable, but also satisfied about the video calls they are having with you.
Why does this matter? Well, if you want to successfully make virtual medicine a staple of your practice, you will need to consistently show patients it is a worthwhile treatment option. Here’s how to do that:
Choose an Easy Telemedicine Solution
There are multiple telemedicine solutions available to clinics. That said, not all are built equal. In fact, some are downright challenging to maneuver, making the experience frustrating for healthcare professionals and patients alike.
Banty Virtual Clinic was created with ease-of-use and top-notch online security measures in mind. When a doctor creates an account with us, they get to create a unique Banty room address (i.e., Banty.com/MyClinic). This is the link all patients will use to visit their doctor. What’s more, this is also the link a doctor would use to begin any live video chat online that’s been scheduled with them.
As for security, Banty Virtual Clinic is HIPAA/PHIPA compliant and uses end-to-end encryption to ensure all doctor-patient interactions remain private. Meanwhile, the door lock feature shows all involved in the video conference that the appointment is inaccessible to unwanted third parties.
Keep the Care Consistent
One of the first concerns a patient will have about online medicine appointments is that they will not be as thorough as an in-person appointment.
In reality, you, the doctor, gets to decide which appointments can be done online and which require an in-person format. That said, when you do conduct online doctor visits, it’s imperative that you treat them the same way as you would an in-person one.
The goal here is to help certain patients get comfortable with the telemedicine environment and feel great about the care being offered to them in such a setting. The more natural it feels to the patient, the more likely it is that they will always be willing to meet with you online.
Keep Your Tech Up to Speed
To have successful video calls with patients, see that all of the technology you are using is in good working condition. Check that your Internet connection is strong. Also, see that your audio and video settings will make it easy for patients to hear and see you clearly.
If a person has gone through the trouble to learn how to see a doctor online, the last thing they want is for the appointment to be delayed or derailed due to a tech issue that takes away from the point of their visit.
Don’t Pressure Patients
As noted earlier, not all doctor’s appointments can be held online. Some require in-person attention to really get to the heart of the matter.
However, you will have some patients who think all appointments should be in-person. Be flexible with these individuals. Every so often, put the bug into their ear about the benefits of telemedicine. Explain the convenience such appointments bring with them, then relay how safe they are.
Over time, patients will come around to online medicine. Some will just need time to research the process before committing to it. If you pressure these folks too hard at the outset, they may very well ignore your video conference requests for the foreseeable future.
