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.
It is understood that a number of patients do not enjoy having to see their doctor. While they understand it’s important to keep tabs on their health, getting to a medical clinic is something they don’t usually look forward to.
However, what doctors have come to learn over time is that – even with the patient type mentioned above – you have to find ways to make appointments as enjoyable as possible in order to keep individuals coming back when they’re supposed to.
While many doctors have figured out how to do this for in-person appointments, some are still learning how to provide the optimal online doctor’s appointment via a reliable virtual medicine solution.
For those struggling to figure out how to have enjoyable online appointments for patients, here are some tips to get you started:
Make it Easy
Challenges can be good for a person in a number of scenarios. A doctor-patient video call, though, is not one of them.
Patients being introduced to online medicine are already taking a big leap by veering from what they know (in-person physician appointments) to figuring out how to see a doctor online. As such, you do not want to complicate this process.
Right out of the gates, your medical clinic should select an easy virtual medicine solution like Banty Virtual Clinic and methodically introduce it to patients in a digestible manner. Once they learn from your team how straightforward an online doctor visit can be, the more interest they’ll have in making such appointments.
Offer Assistance
Even after your team has given a patient a quick tour of the clinic’s virtual medicine solution, everyone should be equipped to offer assistance if/when it’s requested.
Patients could require assistance logging in for their call, or just have a series of questions they need answered in order to feel comfortable about going forward with video calls. No matter what the issue(s) might be, having a helpful team will make a person’s transition into doctor-patient video conferences far smoother.
Be Positive
From the lead up to a virtual medicine appointment, straight through to its conclusion, exude positivity as much as possible.
If patients see that you and your team are feeling good about online doctor’s appointments, these good vibes could rub off on them as well.
For instance, if your Internet briefly glitches and ends your call prematurely, get back online as soon as possible, be apologetic, but also have a sense of humour about the matter. This will show patients that while you take your appointments seriously, you can still have a positive outlook if something briefly goes sideways.
Seek Feedback
In order for patients to have the ideal virtual medicine experience, you need to know how they are feeling about the services you are offering them. Without such input, you’re simply making assumptions about the patient experience – this is never a great way to do research.
At the end of an appointment, simply ask the patient how they felt about the video conference. Try to understand what they liked or didn’t like about it, as well as which improvements they might like to see.
Seeking such feedback indicates to patients how much your clinic cares about making online medical appointments as exemplary as in-person ones.
Have the Right Technology
Not all medical clinics have the latest or greatest computer and/or mobile equipment at the office. This small roadblock, not surprisingly, holds some practices back from offering virtual visits to patients.
In reality, your clinic doesn’t need to make a monster investment in new equipment in order to have online appointments. However, computers with built-in webcams, or ones that a webcam can be attached to, are necessary.
From a connectivity standpoint, see that your clinic’s modem and routers are in great working order, and that your Internet plan is built to handle a surplus of video calls.
