How Virtual Medical Assistants Improve Patient Care

You might have heard about virtual assistants. They provide their services remotely according to clients’ needs and requirements. They help website visitors via calls, texts, and emails and facilitate them by providing their services. Virtual assistants are of different types according to the type of services they provide.

Who Are VMAs?

Virtual assistants who assist healthcare providers and patients are called virtual medical assistants. Their services include appointment scheduling of patients and managing healthcare records (EHR), assisting patients by calling or texting and updating patient information, and taking follow-ups from patients. They are responsible for providing administrative tasks like:

  • Appointment scheduling
  • Documentation of patients 
  • Managing calendars
  • Handling medical billing 
  • Handling personal injury claims
  • Responding to emails 

Importance of Virtual Assistants in Healthcare

In today’s healthcare world, efficiency and productivity are crucial. Outsourcing administrative medical billing tasks like documentation of patients and personal injury claims services to a trained and specialized medical virtual assistant is a solution for all doctors, spending hours on documentation, and it’s growing because of proven records in the industry. These virtual healthcare services have not only contributed to allowing healthcare professionals to do their tasks effectively by spending more time with patients, but they are also more cost-effective than hiring on-site medical billing staff.

Why Every Doctor Should Consider a Medical Virtual Assistant

A virtual medical assistant can help a lot in managing many tasks of healthcare providers; accurate billing, documentation, and follow-ups can relieve the physical and mental exhaustion of doctors. Moreover, they can manage and organize patient data better than onsite healthcare staff, as they are aware of the latest technologies and AI. 

How Do They Help Providers in Their Services?

1. Regulating HIPAA Compliance:

The Health Insurance Probability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires healthcare to protect patients’ sensitive information and ensure its protection. These VMAs are specialized and trained professionals who protect patients’ data responsibly by limiting access to data and using encrypted systems to protect patients’ data during transmission and storage. Moreover, they identify and respond to security breaches.

2. Full-time Support

They provide their services day and night and are not bonded to any specific time; availability 24/7 not only satisfies the client and healthcare providers but also plays a role in maintaining a good reputation. Thus, medical assistants are heroes of the medical industry.

3. Cost-effective and time-saving

Another benefit of VMAs is that they can save doctors time by generating prescriptions, reminder calls/texts, and managing electronic health care records (EHR); moreover, they can save money. Hiring a medical assistant can cost $32,000-$37,000; however, an average VMA costs $7-$15/hour, which is quite cheap. Thus, these medical virtual assistants are not only more affordable, but their services are more convenient for your patient as well. VMA can save up to 70% on costs spent on in-house medical assistants.

4. Convenient Access

Virtual assistants are crucial for managing healthcare portals so these patients can easily access and manage their healthcare information. 

  • They provide 24/7 availability for patients. 
  •  Remote medical assistants onboard medical information and check whether the data is updated.
  • They provide accurate documentation by updating patient’s data.
  • Help patients in the personal injury claim process.
  • Assist in video calls, messages, and emails.

5. Managing and Maintaining Records Through EHR

Virtual medical assistant services use the best AI and documentation tools, such as electronic health records (EHR). These tools organize the data and make the documentation easier. Another advantage of using EHR is that it makes the document easy to share and preserve, with fewer chances of error in documenting and maintaining these records.

6. Insurance Verification and Authorization

It is the first step before a person receives any medical service. Traditionally, this involves calling insurance companies, waiting on hold, manually entering patient information, and verifying the coverage. Virtual assistants can do this by directly connecting insurance companies’ databases to verify patients’ recovery.

7. Prescription Management: 

They perform electronic prescription services, data entry, and refill transcription requests. Other tasks of prescription management include medical history recovery, tracking medical adherence, drug interaction alerts, prescription renewal requests, patient education, and medication instruction; cost transparency and insurance verification; comprehensive medical management; integration with telemedicine and virtual consultation; and supporting compliance with legal and regulatory standards.

8. Enhance Productivity

Private physicians have been challenged for accurate documentation. However, the increasing demand for documentation has increased the workload among health professionals. They spend about 3 hours on documents, enough to see 8–9 more patients. In this situation, medical virtual assistants have played a vital role in freeing health professionals so they can spend their time looking for more patients. 

9. Insurance Verification and Authorization

It is the first step before a person receives any medical service. Traditionally, this involves calling insurance companies, waiting on hold, manually entering patient information, and verifying the coverage. Virtual assistants can do this by directly connecting insurance companies’ databases to verify patients’ recovery. 

Wrapping Up

Virtual medical assistant services are becoming popular every passing day because of their immense use in the healthcare industry. By giving some administrative responsibilities to remote medical assistants, doctors feel free and more energized, having more time for their patients. In reality, both patients and providers feel relaxed and convenient due to these medical assistants. Thus, every doctor should consider a medical virtual assistant.

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