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.
Various industries throughout the world have relied upon video conferencing technology in order to take care of business. Some travelled this road ahead of the COVID-19 global pandemic, while others turned to virtual meetings once health and safety restrictions made it impossible for companies to maintain their usual in-office operations.
What the companies new to video calling quickly learned was just how important it is for the team to regularly gather online. This helped teams stay more unified and understanding of current projects, as well as those that could be incoming.
Throughout the COVID era, medical clinics have relied upon telehealth solutions to conduct online doctor’s appointments with patients. This limited waiting room congestion; the spreading of COVID-19; and the stress patients would have about trying to treat a pre-existing condition during pandemic-influenced lockdowns.
Beyond that, though, doctors in particular need to use their reliable virtual meetings solution as a way to effectively communicate with members of their clinical team. Here’s why:
Get Everyone in the Same Room at the Same Time
Yes, in theory the physician and their clinical team share an office space just about every single day. That said, we cannot pretend as if a medical clinic is a calm environment in which team interactions are not generally based on what’s happening around the clinic that day.
There are scheduling fires to put out; emergency medical situations to contend with; not to mention administrative obligations that mount as the day rolls on. What’s more, let’s consider the fact that not all team members will likely all be in the office at the same time.
As such, the doctor – or office manager – should attempt to schedule a weekly, or bi-weekly video call for everyone who works at the clinic. This will allow everyone to finally be in the same room at the same time. To ensure there are zero interruptions, pause clinic hours so that this pertinent team meeting is not postponed or thrown off course.
Use Online Meetings as a Way to Discuss Practice Happenings
As noted, medical clinics can be chaotic. This often means just trying to make it through the day, without actually devising ways to easily make it through such days.
By having regular video calls scheduled for the team, everyone will have the opportunity to bring up any questions or concerns they might have as it relates to how the clinic is operating.
What makes this type of gathering important is that it can help the team devise new strategies, processes and policies geared toward making the clinic function better. Now, this does not mean that a formal plan needs to be drawn up during this online meeting. Rather, it serves as a chance for the clinical team and physicians to communicate with one another and begin the process of making life at the clinic far more ideal for everyone who works there.
Determine How to Expand Telehealth Initiatives
Even if the clinic is doing relatively well with scheduling and conducting online doctor visits, more can always be done to ensure such appointments continue to flood in.
The clinical team can use its scheduled online staff meeting to come up with new ideas regarding how to get more patients interested in online doctor’s appointments. Additionally, the team can discuss how to best provide tech support to existing patients struggling with virtual visits.
During these calls, it may also be determined that certain staff members are struggling with the telehealth system the clinic has put into place. When this happens, the team can rally together to help make sure everyone’s online medicine skills are where they need to be.
