There are a lot of things that you have to consider when managing a healthcare organization. You can’t try to handle everything on your own, so it is a good idea to have a medical assistant at your side.
More healthcare professionals are recognizing the need to have good medical assistants at their side. There are over 727,000 medical assistants in the United States and that figure will grow each year.
With the right interpersonal skills and qualities, a virtual medical assistant can create the perfect bridge between a modern medical practice and its patients. Medical assistants offer a lot of great services that can help healthcare providers offer better services to their patients.
Whether you’re a family physician, a dentist, or even a veterinarian, there’s no doubting that you’ve got a lot on your plate. From examining patients to managing your staff and balancing your personal life, there’s no shortage of tasks on your to-do list. This is why you need to strategically delegate.
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Fortunately, a virtual medical assistant is often the perfect tool that can help you save time, cut out redundant non-clinical tasks, reduce operating costs, and help you better manage your overall daily operations.
Below, we’re helping put all of this into perspective by reviewing the ten essential qualities of a virtual medical assistant.
#1 – Relevant Training And Experience
As a medical professional, if you’re looking to add a new member to your team, you will want someone who has the proper training and experience. And that’s precisely why all reputable virtual medical assistants are trained in both the most common medical terminologies and best practices.
Many virtual medical assistants have experience working as registered nurses or already have some other background in the medical field.
So whether you’re looking to hire someone to gather patient medical history, audit your electronic health record systems, discuss health concerns with your patients, or update your patient records, a virtual medical assistant can help!
#2 – A Trustworthy Background
Medical professionals also need virtual medical assistants with trustworthy and credible backgrounds aside from previous work experience.
Reputable medical virtual assistants are certified in HIPAA-training and undergo NBI background checks, ensuring the safety and confidentiality of your patients and their medical records.
You should always be able to ask your virtual medical assistant for their HIPAA-training certificate and NBI background check.
#3 – Scheduling Flexibility
Just because it’s five o’clock somewhere doesn’t mean that patient exams and treatments can end for the day. And because patient care is a twenty-four-hour per day and three-hundred and sixty-five days per year job, you need a virtual medical assistant that can be flexible with their scheduling.
Schedule flexibility ensures that your patients can get the care and attention they need, no matter what time it is.
Whether you need a part-time customer service agent to answer calls and schedule appointments or a full-time assistant to help you during patient exams and consultations, a virtual assistant can help.
With the help of virtual medical assistants, your practice can remain open at total efficiency during regular office hours and operate after-hours or on weekends if needed, providing your patients with the round-the-clock care they need.
#4 – Empathy And Bedside Manner
When interacting with your patients, a virtual medical assistant must understand the importance of empathy and bedside manner.
After all, not only do medical professionals need to address sensitive medical issues promptly and effectively, but they also need to do so while harboring a genuine human touch making patients feel comfortable and listened to.
According to a study by MGMA-Healthgrades, approximately 52% of medical patients desire their healthcare providers to be compassionate, patient and have an overall comforting bedside manner.
Therefore, something as simple as empathy is genuinely one of the essential qualities of an excellent virtual medical assistant.
#5 – Organization Skills
There’s no doubt that your practice has a ton of medical charts and other electronic medical records to deal with daily.
According to a 2018 study by the Physicians Foundation, doctors work 51 hours per week on average, seeing as many as 20 patients per day. However, roughly 25% of their time is spent on non-clinical tasks and redundant paperwork.
Therefore, virtual assistants must be attentive and well-organized, allowing providers to focus on what matters most: providing their patients with the best care possible.
Essentially, healthcare providers need someone who can update medical history changes, document medical equipment or inventories, understand detailed medical notes based on patient condition, and handle many other repetitive administrative tasks without getting their wires crossed.
That’s why virtual medical assistants who have a healthcare background and understand the importance of being well-organized when coordinating with you and your patients.
#6 – Professionalism
In any related field, outstanding competency and professionalism provide a sound foundation for how your patients will view your practice.
In other words, if your virtual medical assistant does not appear or act professionally, your patients will most likely walk away with a negative impression of their experience with your practice.
That’s why virtual assistants who are trained according to the many established standards in the medical field and are knowledgeable of all medical terminology and best practices.
This ensures that each patient interaction will be as flawless and efficient as possible, leaving your patients with the best overall experience possible.
#7 – Problem Solving Skills
Whether you provide patients with general medical services or specialized services, such as dental work or even veterinary services, it’s crucial to have help and support workers that can lend a hand whenever possible.
Because medical virtual assistants have a strong knowledge of the industry, their job is to help you out in every way they can.
So whether you need someone to aid you in charting and diagnosis, consulting, or just a helping hand to update records of patients monthly, our virtual assistants can help!
#8 – Being Proactive
According to a study by Duke University, doctors would need to work roughly 17 hours per day, seven days a week, every day of the year, and all without taking a single break, to accommodate all of their patients’ recommended needs.
So if you’re looking to optimize your medical practice’s ongoing activities, you don’t just want another set of hands.
You want an active team member who isn’t just there for the sake of it.
#9 – Adaptability
It’s a fact that no two medical practices are the same.
After all, while your practice might specialize in a particular field of health, other medical practices might offer a broader level of service to their patients.
Therefore, it’s essential to find virtual medical assistants who understand how to be flexible and adaptable depending on the practice that they’re hired to help.
Whether they’re working alongside family physicians, therapists, veterinarians, behavioral health providers, or any other type of medical healthcare provider, virtual medical assistants have the skills and experience needed to adapt to and meet the established standards of your practice.
#10 – Friendly And Approachable
Did you know that the virtual healthcare assistants industry is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 39.5% between 2021 and 2026?
And that if the industry stays on track during this time, the global market is estimated to grow to a whopping $6 billion by the end of 2026?
Along with this growth comes an increasing need for virtual medical assistants who understand how to be friendly and approachable while working with doctors and patients.
In other words, whether you’re consulting with them about a patient’s chart or they’re speaking directly to your patients, you need a virtual medical assistant who understands how to make people feel at ease during every interaction.
Making The Most Of Every Minute At Your Medical Practice
Medical care is about so much more than simple examinations and treatments. And everything from the skills and experience to the empathy and bedside manner of a care provider can make all the difference in the lives of a patient.