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.
As a member of the healthcare industry, you are all too aware that there will be times in which it is tough to feel positive about what is going on with your clinic. This could be due to staffing challenges, patients not showing up for appointments, or having a breakneck schedule that is tough to keep up with.
It is natural to experience these tough circumstances. The goal, though, should be to work hard at finding ways to put such challenges in the rear view.
Chances are, you have an internal playbook for how to manage different troublesome scenarios for a clinic that solely meets with patients in-person. However, if you are new to virtual medicine and the offering of online doctor’s appointments, you may come across barriers that prevent you from feeling positive about such a treatment method.
In order to maintain a positive state of mind when practicing telehealth, be sure to take these steps:
Change Up the Routine
One of the biggest pitfalls most professionals experience is finding a routine that works and sticking with it. Sometimes, though, this approach can lead to a monotonous day-to-day existence and take away the thrill/excitement a person once felt for their job. This can definitely happen to healthcare professionals as well.
When conducting frequent online doctor visits, you may find yourself sticking to a particular script throughout all appointments, as well as situate yourself in the same place for all video calls.
The moment negative feelings begin to creep in about how your online medicine appointments are running, immediately try to change how they are structured, as well as where you are doing them from.
These may seem like pretty minor changes, but after an elongated period of time doing the same thing day in, day out, these adjustments will help you capture a more positive mindset.
Always Strive for Improvement
For years, you have become great at seeing patients who visit your brick-and-mortar clinic. You know how to connect with them, as well as how to best diagnose issues and relay information to patients.
However, launching into telemedicine may make you self-conscious at first about how your online doctor’s appointments are going. When this begins to happen, one positive step you can take is to find ways to improve.
To learn how to do that, you can scope out a variety of online resources that provide insight on how to succeed at online medicine. Beyond that, you can ask your peers about what they do to keep their virtual medicine appointments going well.
Lastly, seek feedback from patients. They – like you – could be new to telehealth. As such, they would likely be willing to share their impressions of it with you, which could subsequently shed light on how to improve moving forward.
Always Have a Dynamic and Personable Clinical Staff
For a lot of people, their professional environment is only as positive as the people they work with are. This is no different for physicians, as the lifeblood of any highly-functioning practice is a clinical team that’s both dynamic and personable.
The dynamic side of the equation will benefit the implementation and operation of your virtual medicine services. Having the right clinical team at this juncture will help you navigate any early logistical hiccups and forge a better path forward.
As for the personable quality, that is needed to help a practice make it through challenging telehealth experiences and keep a positive mindset no matter what happens. A team comprised solely of hard-working, yet high-strung individuals, can be a recipe for disaster.
