How virtual office support works
The traditional way of managing administration for doctors and healthcare professionals is to employ a secretary or PA who can handle calls, paperwork, basic accounting and other daily tasks. This has a cost, however – hiring someone on a full-time or part-time basis makes you an employer, with all the responsibilities and costs that entails.
In today’s connected world, your administrative support doesn’t have to be in your home office, or in a shared space that you pay for. Instead, it can be virtual – experienced, reliable and highly competent people who can manage everything for you without being in your office. Here’s a quick run-down of the ways an administrative virtual assistant can support your practice:
Telephone answering
All telephone answering can be done remotely – the phone is answered with the name of your practice, and your patients get a professional, timely and friendly response. Virtual assistants for doctors will have access to clinic diaries so they can book appointments and give out essential information. When you take on a virtual receptionist, they will quickly get up to speed with the way you work and the type of enquiries you receive so you can be confident that your patients are always getting the best service.
Database and file management
However you maintain your patient data, it’s often down to you to transcribe your notes, update your files and keep everything in order. Now that your practice has to comply with GDPR regulations, it’s more important than ever that you manage the information you hold on patients in a defined, secure way. A professional virtual assistant for healthcare service providers will have a full understanding of GDPR and be able to transcribe your patient notes, update online files whilst being compliant at all times. They will also be able to keep your database up-to-date so that it is easy for you to find patient notes, and to mail out to patients when you need to.
Invoicing and bookkeeping
Invoicing often comes a long way down on your list of things to do – but it’s vital for the success of your practice or medical business. Making sure you invoice on time, chasing late payments and reconciling your accounts are all time-consuming tasks that you could be outsourcing to specialist providers like virtual bookkeepers.
Managing insurance admin
If you are running a private medical practice, you will be dealing with a range of healthcare companies and patient claims. This can become complex and take your valuable time away from patient work. Free yourself up by working with a virtual assistance company that is efficient and direct – helping to support the health of your business whilst you support the health of your patients.
Time to take action?
These are just some of the ways virtual assistants can help. Doctors, consultants, GPs, physiotherapists, psychologists and a wide range of medical professionals benefit from the administrative support that a virtual office manager can provide.
If you’re short on time and need help with your practice’s admin, feel free to call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above.