Table of Contents
The world has become increasingly digitized, and the healthcare industry is no exception. Research shows that 67% of patients prefer booking medical appointments online.
Thus, virtual medical assistants have become indispensable in the industry. They use specialized tools that enhance efficiency, optimize workflows, and improve patient care.
If you want to learn about these technologies, this article is for you. It explores the role of virtual medical assistants, the software and tools they use, and the advantages they bring to healthcare practices.
What are virtual medical assistants?
Virtual medical assistants are remote administrative professionals who support healthcare providers and practices. They are often hired through business process outsourcing (BPO).
Let’s clarify what BPO is before delving further. It is the practice of offloading non-core functions to specialized external firms. Healthcare BPO service providers typically deploy virtual medical assistants to perform the following administrative tasks:
- Managing appointments (e.g., scheduling, confirming, sending reminders for, rescheduling, and canceling appointments)
- Maintaining patient records (e.g., adding new information from patient encounters, updating insurance details, and ensuring the accuracy of all patient data)
- Answering phone calls and emails (e.g., answering basic questions, booking appointments, and directing patients to the appropriate resources)
- Handling insurance claims (e.g., verifying patient insurance information, submitting claims, and following up on claims to process them correctly)
- Coordinating referrals (e.g., scheduling checkups with specialists, obtaining medical records, and communicating with other professionals involved in the patient’s care)
- Transcribing medical notes (e.g., listening to audio recordings, converting audio to text, translating to medical codes, formatting, proofreading, and time stamping)
How outsourcing works is that BPO vendors equip virtual medical assistants with advanced software and tools to manage outsourced functions effectively, supporting patient care delivery.
Hiring remote healthcare professionals provides many benefits, making the practice widespread. Business Research Insights reported that the virtual assistant market can reach $19.27 billion by 2032.
What technologies do virtual medical assistants use?
The most common tools virtual medical assistants leverage include electronic health records (EHR) systems, scheduling software, and cloud computing tools. They also use workflow automation technology and data protection and security platforms.
BPO providers have the latest and most popular software seamlessly integrating with your existing systems. This accelerates setup time, minimizes disruptions, and allows virtual assistants to work with your practice quickly.
Let’s explore these tools in detail and discuss how they can empower virtual medical assistants:
1. EHR systems
Outsourcing administrative tasks in healthcare requires sharing critical data with virtual medical assistants. They use this software as a tool to store and manage the following patient information:
- Patient demographics (e.g., name, date of birth, address, contact details, emergency contacts, and insurance information)
- Medical history (e.g., past illnesses, surgeries, hospitalizations, injuries, family medical history, genetic predispositions, immunization records, allergies, and sensitivities)
- Medications (e.g., current and past supplements and medications, including dosage, frequency, and prescribing physician)
- Diagnoses (e.g., primary and secondary diagnoses, problem list, diagnosis codes, date of diagnosis, and related diagnoses)
- Laboratory and test results and photos (e.g., blood tests, X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scans, and other diagnostic procedures)
EHR systems eliminate the need for paper-based records and allow external staff to access and update patient information more efficiently and securely. Additionally, these solutions provide patients with safe access to their medical records, enhancing satisfaction, trust, and health advocacy.
With instant access to correct patient medical histories, virtual medical assistants allow your practice and patients to make informed decisions about treatment plans.
2. Appointment scheduling software
In the digitally growing healthcare industry, scheduling tools are a must. According to Zippia’s 2023 online booking trends report, 67% of patients prefer scheduling appointments online.
Virtual medical assistants use digital scheduling software and related tools to efficiently manage patient sessions. These technologies help them send consultation reminders and confirmations, optimize appointment slots, and handle rescheduling and cancellations.
Here is a deep dive into their primary functions:
- Booking and confirming in-person and virtual consultations
- Allocating appointment slots based on patient needs and provider availability
- Managing multiple provider schedules and coordinating across locations
- Tracking patient appointment history and cancellations
- Sending appointment reminders via email, SMS, or phone calls
- Adjusting appointment durations to maximize efficiency
- Allowing easy rescheduling or cancellation of appointments
- Automatically updating schedules and notifying affected parties
- Minimizing appointment gaps and maximizing provider productivity
Virtual assistants also use online scheduling systems to gain insights into patient scheduling behavior, including appointment volume, no-shows, and cancellation rates. The data can help identify peak times and staffing needs.
3. Cloud-based technology
Cloud computing has emerged as a cornerstone for virtual medical assistants and BPO in telemedicine. This technology can store data and applications on remote servers, offering many benefits that enhance professionals’ capabilities.
For one, it improves accessibility. Virtual medical assistants can securely manage patient information anywhere with the internet through cloud-based software and tools. They can also modify patient records or applications in real time across all devices.
Additionally, cloud computing improves scalability as virtual medical assistants can adjust power and storage based on workload. This way, they can handle increased patient volume during peak times without compromising performance.
Cloud providers also offer robust backup and recovery solutions so that clients can recover patient data quickly during hardware failures or natural disasters.
Some common examples of cloud computing platforms include:
- Email services (e.g., Gmail, Outlook)
- Online storage (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive)
- Software applications (e.g., Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud)
4. Workflow automation software
One prominent objective of the healthcare process in BPO is to help medical practices streamline workflows. Thus, many virtual medical assistants rely on workflow automation software and tools to optimize efficiency and improve productivity.
This technology automates repetitive tasks and creates a digital blueprint of how work should flow from start to finish. To achieve this, BPO teams map out the necessary steps of a process and then define triggers that would initiate the automated workflow.
Below are vital functions that benefit from automation:
- Appointment reminders and confirmations (e.g., systematically sending appointment reminders and confirmations via email, SMS, or phone calls on time)
- Patient inquiry routing (e.g., directing patient inquiries to the appropriate staff member based on their nature)
- Electronic prescriptions (e.g., generating electronic prescriptions directly from the EHR system while adhering to electronic prescribing mandates)
- Administrative tasks (e.g., handling tasks such as data entry, report generation, and document management with minimal errors)
Workflow automation software can help BPO teams and your medical practice increase efficiency, reduce errors, and improve consistency. However, choosing the right virtual assistant is crucial in maximizing these benefits.
5. Data protection and security tools
Protecting sensitive patient information is critical in the healthcare industry, as advocated by the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Virtual medical assistants safeguard this data by implementing robust security measures and leveraging cutting-edge software and tools. Here are some common types of data protection and security technologies they use:
- Encryption tools convert data into a coded format that can only be accessed with a decryption key.
- Access management tools control who can access specific data and what actions they can perform.
- Data loss prevention (DLP) tools identify, monitor, and protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, duplication, modification, or destruction.
- Firewalls act as a security barrier between a trusted and an untrusted network.
- Network security tools protect computer networks from unauthorized access.
BPO teams use specific tools based on your organization’s size, industry, and circumstances. To achieve comprehensive data protection, a combination of these solutions, along with robust security policies and procedures, is necessary.
For example, virtual assistants for Phoenix healthcare practices might implement intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) alongside the tools mentioned to prevent data breaches, such as the cyberattack on Change Health Care.
The bottom line
Virtual medical assistants are invaluable assets to any modern healthcare practice. However, behind their success lies a robust toolkit that empowers them to support telemedicine and healthcare operations.
Their catalog typically includes EHR software, scheduling tools, cloud computing, workflow automation software, and robust data security tools. These technologies help them maximize their abilities and provide quality patient care.
Let’s connect if you want to learn more about virtual medical assistants.
