What factors should be considered when implementing a virtual healthcare service delivery system?
The key factor to consider when delivering virtual healthcare services is the impact on patient experience and human relationship between clinician and patient. If technology streamlines efficiency or decreases barriers to care, that’s great! However, if it creates more obstacles for making a personal connection with a clinician – it’s time for reevaluation. Avoid unnecessary phone trees which might prevent direct communication with medical staff. No need to make patients climb unnecessary branches!
Embrace technology that removes such barriers and promotes seamless bi-directional communication between clinicians and patients. The goal of utilizing healthcare technology should always be reducing friction and increasing free flow of information across all parties involved. ️We’re not just introducing tech into our organization; we’re facilitating better care processes by automating where possible, thus freeing up valuable resources!
The Patient Experience in Virtual Healthcare
When implementing a virtual healthcare service delivery system, the biggest consideration should revolve around its impact on the patient experience and the human relationship between clinician and patient. The goal of technology in healthcare is not to replace this relationship but to enhance it. It’s important that any technological implementation doesn’t place unnecessary barriers or make patients jump through more hoops when trying to connect with their clinician.
Reducing Friction with Technology
A key factor that needs attention is how often there are unnecessary steps like phone trees which prevent direct communication between clinicians and patients. These types of systems can be frustrating for both parties involved. Instead, using technology to eliminate such frictions can significantly improve the overall care process. For example, asynchronous messaging through text or email could be employed rather than having patients navigate complex phone trees.
Technology should streamline and simplify communications between clinicians, organizations, and patients; not complicate them further. In essence, it should aid in reducing friction while increasing bi-directional communication flow.
The Role of Automation in Care Delivery
In determining what kind of technology will best support your clinic’s transition into virtual service delivery, one must analyze areas within your current process where automation or autonomy could remove barriers for both staff members and patients alike.
This could mean automating repetitive tasks so that time-strapped clinicians can focus more on patient interaction rather than administrative duties. On the other side of things; consider ways you could reduce friction for your patients – does every contact point really require going through a phone tree or an email system? Or could they simply reach out directly to an individual?
The Main Point
When transitioning towards a virtual healthcare service delivery model at your organization; always remember – use technology as a tool that enhances human relationships, not as a replacement for them. Minimize friction, maximize communication and carefully consider where automation could bring added efficiency.
What are some factors you consider when implementing virtual healthcare services?
For more content like this, check out our Insights Page and check out The Better Outcomes Show. Or if you want to humanize healthcare through your business or organization, learn how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help here! You can also schedule a call with Rafi to discuss your company’s positioning strategy and brainstorm a business development plan here. Check out Rafi’s latest book, Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare, on Amazon!
Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) is the Principal Owner of Rehab U Practice Solutions and the host of The Better Outcomes Show and the author of Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare. His career trajectory includes 10+ years of experience in healthcare management, clinical operations, programmatic development, marketing & business development. He even spent some time as an Assistant Professor in a Graduate Program of Occupational Therapy and has served on numerous boards and regulatory committees. He has worked on projects ranging from patient engagement initiatives to marketing communication campaigns to a multi million dollar project assisting the State of Georgia's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities transition individuals out of state institutions to community residences. His work on Telehealth has been discussed in Forbes.
Today, Rafi helps innovative healthcare companies like technology startups, platforms, and SaaS companies develop effective positioning strategy and business development plans through his consulting work. He also leverages his experience as a professor and academic to speak and train on the topics around humanizing the healthcare experience. In addition, Rafi also owns and operates ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness, a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic treating patients with musculoskeletal pain.
Work With Me
If you are an innovative healthcare company looking to humanize healthcare through direct service delivery, technology, a device, or software, then reach out. We'd love to talk with you about how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help.
What we can help you do:
✅ Clarify your product, service, or organization's positioning...
✅ Identify what is most valuable and least valuable to your targeted healthcare stakeholder...
✅ Develop a Market Penetration Roadmap to align your company's value proposition with your targeted healthcare stakeholder to develop a bottom up marketing strategy...
We help you not only craft your positioning strategy, we help you identify your highest value offer for your target audience, align that value with your market, and help you develop a business development system that leverages insights from market data & industry-specific resources to enable your business development team to effectively drive business for your organization.
In short, we help your whole organization become focused on the most important thing in healthcare: people – the people who work for your organization, and the people who your organization treats or serves.
very helpful article