It’s once again that time of year — the one when your calendar is full of evening and weekend activities. They range from cookie exchanges to festive parties, from visits with Santa to holiday shopping, and everything in between. Your office staff will be hoping to punch out as soon as the clock strikes “end of day” so that they can prepare for and attend all of the holiday-inspired activities.
It’s also the time of year when flu and cold viruses are amping up their presence in your patients’ lives. It’s particularly true this year when, in addition to other viruses, RSV is heavily saturating the respiratory systems of many children. Your pediatric practice is likely experiencing an influx of sick calls from parents asking for medical advice relating to the increased cough and fever their children are experiencing. Many families will want their children to be seen; however, bringing them into the office has its own challenges, including increasing the spread of these viruses.
You are probably using some form of telemedicine to complement your practice. But, are you using a telehealth system that can work for you and your team? In this blog, we’ll explore how telemedicine can open up your calendar and allow you to enjoy your time off this holiday season.
How Can Telemedicine Bring Holiday Cheer to Your Pediatric Practice?
Surveys have suggested that up to 77 percent of patients prefer access to virtual care. This holiday season, you can gift them that option by offering telemedicine visits during office hours, as well as through your after-hours exchange.
The Anytime Pediatrics virtual solutions allow you to accommodate increased office visits for sick patients without increasing the time you are spending in the office. This translates to you and your staff being able to enjoy the winter festivities while your patients receive the high-quality care they’re accustomed to all year long! Here are three ways telemedicine can give you and your team time off this holiday season.
1. Less Burden on Your Practice
The Anytime Pediatrics platform allows for both versatility and flexibility in your practice. We offer the ability to choose the days, hours, and types of visits your office will provide via telemedicine. We will customize your system to meet workflows, meaning you can have telehealth visits go directly to the provider or you could have your patients stop by the virtual front desk for check-in and triage. Your practice can offer scheduled telehealth appointments or have hours for patients to have a virtual walk-in appointment. Telehealth is an efficient way offer lab follow-up visits or back-to-school permissions.
Overall, virtual solutions reduce your staff’s workload and decrease patient appointment wait times. A predetermined virtual workflow eliminates guesswork for your staff, so they know who can be scheduled for telehealth visits and when. You will be able to treat appropriate patients who need to be seen in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
2. Improved Winter Workflow
While this can be a wonderful and magical time of year, it inevitably brings about an onslaught of illnesses. Your patients are getting sick, and their parents want them to be seen. However, they are struggling to get time off of work themselves and oftentimes cannot make an appointment within the typical 9-to-5 timeframe. Many families find themselves remembering they need to call only when it’s outside your office hours, and they end up talking to your medical exchange.
After-hours nurse triage removes the burden of those evening calls and early morning call-backs. Anytime’s registered nurses utilize Schmitt-Thompson protocols and have at least five years of emergency room or pediatric experience. You can find more peace of mind this holiday season, knowing that your patients are getting the exceptional care they need at all times.
3. Reduction in Unnecessary Emergency Room Visits
Telemedicine has given the healthcare system a chance to recover from the incredible stress it has endured over the last few years. When telemedicine is not available, an astonishing 46 percent of patients go to urgent care, and 5.6 percent go to the emergency room.
Offering your patients safe and accurate medical guidance allows them to stay in their medical home. This helps to reduce the overall transmission of viruses and thereby decreases the number of gratuitous emergency room and urgent care visits that would otherwise occur. In addition, keeping patients in the medical home translates to fewer hospital follow-up visits to your office and opens up appointment slots for those who truly need them.
Are you interested in learning more about how you and your office staff can enjoy this holiday season without compromising patient care? Anytime Pediatrics can help! Contact us today to request a consultation.
