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Leveraging virtual medical assistants in your healthcare practice offers many advantages. These remote professionals can help streamline processes, increase accuracy, improve scalability, and reduce costs.
However, the key to maximizing these benefits lies in choosing suitable virtual medical assistants for your facility. You must ensure their skill sets and service offerings can help meet your goals and needs.
If you want to learn how to choose the best virtual medical assistant for your healthcare practice, this article is for you. It explores the steps and criteria to find qualified remote professionals who meet your standards.
Virtual medical assistants and outsourcing
Virtual medical assistants are remote professionals dedicated to providing administrative support to healthcare service providers. They are often hired through business process outsourcing (BPO). But what is BPO?
Outsourcing involves subcontracting specific tasks to an external team that acts as an extension of your internal staff. This setup offers many benefits, including streamlined processes, improved operational scalability, and increased focus on core competencies. Outsourcing is also known to help businesses reduce costs by 70% to 90%.
These features and advantages make outsourcing a popular business strategy. According to Statista, the global BPO market can reach $390 billion in 2024 and grow to $490 billion by 2029.
Five steps for selecting suitable virtual medical assistants
Although outsourcing to virtual medical assistants provides various advantages, it also has risks. Offloading tasks to a third-party team entails delegating a portion of control and information. That’s how outsourcing works.
Finding the most suitable team of virtual medical assistants for your healthcare practice is critical to maximizing the many benefits and your investment.
Let’s explore the critical steps on how to choose the best virtual medical assistants for your practice:
1. Conduct thorough research and gather recommendations
Researching and seeking referrals for virtual medical assistants is essential. This step avoids potential negative experiences with professionals who might not suit your needs, saving you time, money, and frustration.
Some sources you can rely on for this step include the following:
- Virtual medical assistant directories can help you list and categorize professionals by specialties or geographic locations.
- Review platforms, such as Google Reviews, Yelp, or health-focused review sites, provide patient and practitioner feedback on virtual medical assistant services.
- Social media groups and communities where people discuss their experiences with BPO firms and virtual medical assistants can provide valuable insight.
- Healthcare providers who know the local virtual medical assistant landscape can offer recommendations.
- Online forums give you access to recommendations from other medical service providers and patients.
- Forums dedicated to specific medical practices allow you to gain insight into the experiences of other healthcare providers with virtual medical assistant services.
- Telehealth discussion groups can provide information about the benefits and drawbacks of hiring virtual medical assistants.
2. Assess the service provider’s credentials and capabilities carefully
Once you’ve short-listed potential BPO providers, the next step is to evaluate their reliability. Assessing how their skills and capabilities align with your needs is critical in choosing virtual medical assistants.
One crucial factor is their knowledge and mastery of the complex healthcare industry regulations. In addition to the standard Healthcare Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), they must understand local laws.
For instance, virtual assistants for Phoenix healthcare facilities must know the city and state regulations regarding medical services. That includes rules mandated by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), the Arizona Board of Nursing, and more.
You must also verify the virtual medical assistants’ background and skills, such as the following:
- Medical terminology. A strong understanding of medical terminology is essential for effectively communicating with healthcare providers and patients.
- Computer skills. They also need proficiency in standard computer software, such as Microsoft Office Suite, electronic health records (EHRs), and teleconferencing platforms. Providers of BPO in telemedicine specialize in this area.
- Administrative experience. Experience in administrative roles, particularly within a healthcare setting, is vital.
Although optional, the following certifications can also influence how you choose your virtual medical assistants:
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA). This certification for medical administrative assistants covers medical terminology, insurance billing, and practice management.
- Certified Medical Administrative Professional (CMAP). This certification also focuses on medical administrative tasks, including patient scheduling, medical records management, and healthcare compliance training.
- Customer service certifications. Customer service certifications, such as the Certified Customer Service Representative (CCSR), can benefit VMAs when interacting with patients and other healthcare professionals.
3. Evaluate the BPO company’s internal practices
Another vital factor to consider when choosing the right virtual assistant is the BPO provider’s internal processes. This step helps ensure virtual medical assistants can provide high-quality, accessible, personalized care that meets your needs. It’s the key to maintaining control when outsourcing administrative tasks in healthcare.
Here are some criteria to evaluate:
- Communication strategies (e.g., ability to explain complex medical information clearly, active listening skills, and response time to your messages or calls)
- Availability and accessibility (e.g., flexible scheduling, operational capability, and platform compatibility)
- Privacy and security practices (e.g., HIPAA compliance, data encryption, privacy policies, and their ways of handling and protecting your data)
- Customization options (e.g., ability to tailor services to your specific needs and preferences and adapt their services to changing needs)
- Emergency preparedness (e.g., procedures for handling emergencies and their ability to effectively respond to crises such as data breaches)
4. Request a trial period with potential virtual medical assistant services
Before committing to an outsourcing partnership, a trial period with the virtual assistant team is necessary. This step gives you a clearer picture of their healthcare process in BPO. It ultimately informs the decision about whether the provider is the right fit for your medical practice.
During this pilot project, monitor the following factors and key performance indicators (KPIs):
- Task completion and efficiency (e.g., task completion rates, error rates, and turnaround time)
- Patient satisfaction (e.g., appointment wait times, patient complaints, and feedback on communication, responsiveness, and overall experience)
- Communication and collaboration (e.g., response times, communication effectiveness, and team collaboration)
- Administrative efficiency (e.g., accuracy and efficiency in appointment scheduling, medical records management, and insurance verification)
5. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis
After a trial period, weigh and compare the costs and benefits of healthcare BPO services. This step prevents you from making unnecessary investments or overlooking opportunities.
Here are essential steps on how to conduct a cost-benefit analysis when choosing virtual medical assistants:
- Evaluate the costs (e.g., hiring, salary and benefits, technology, training, and overhead costs).
- Assess potential benefits (e.g., increased efficiency, improved patient access, cost savings, enhanced patient satisfaction, and better scalability).
- Consider your practice’s needs (e.g., practice size and complexity, patient demographics, return on investment [ROI], and long-term goals).
To make an informed decision, create a spreadsheet or financial model to quantify the costs and benefits. Here are some best practices:
- Calculate the total cost of hiring and maintaining a virtual medical assistant.
- Estimate the potential savings from increased efficiency and reduced overhead costs.
- Project the potential increase in revenue from improved patient satisfaction and access.
- Calculate the ROI based on the estimated savings and increased revenue.
You can determine whether a virtual medical assistant service best fits your healthcare facility by carefully weighing the costs and benefits.
The bottom line
Selecting the right virtual medical assistant is crucial for ensuring the efficiency and quality of patient care in your healthcare practice.
Researching and evaluating candidates based on their credentials, communication skills, availability, privacy practices, and cost-effectiveness are essential. Remember to conduct a trial period to assess their performance firsthand before committing long-term.
By investing time and effort into the selection process, you can find virtual medical assistants who can become valuable assets to your team.
Are you considering hiring virtual medical assistants? Let’s connect and hop on a trial project to find the best solution for your needs.
