Your Digital Practice Workflow – Which Components In Which Order?

 

Are you struggling to set up your digital practice workflow?

Payment gateways. Intake forms. Appointment bookings. Screening questions.

It is easy to be confused about all of the different steps in a telehealth consultation, and what order they should all go in.

This post is designed to get you thinking about the different components that can be included in your digital practice workflow, and provide some suggestions about where you might consider placing them.

Be sure to start simple.

Over time and as you grow, you must constantly review your process.

Adding systems and automations to your workflow will make much more efficient use of your time, and will make the experience more compelling for your patients.

 

Screening / Suitability Questions

Consider developing an online survey tool to ensure that the right patients see you online.

Is your population older or more dependant and require a carer with them on the call?

Are certain mental health conditions better managed in person?

For those who are approved you could follow this with your booking link.

 

Appointment Booking

There is no doubt that consumers prefer the ability to book appointments themselves online.

Is it time you activated this capability?

Be sure to keep your availability updated in your calendar so people don’t book in with you at 2am.

 

Patient Details Form

At an in-person clinic, it is not generally the role of the health professional to collect all of the patient details, so don’t waste time doing this on a video call.

Use the powers of technology to collect these details from your patient prior to your call without any time drain on you.

 

Payment

There is no easy answer to where in the workflow your payment gateway should go.

One thing is for sure – you certainly want payment before the video call.

This will prevent your valuable time being wasted by digital no shows.

A payment can be embedded into a form, sent as a button in an email, or incorporated into the start of your video call, just to name a few.

 

 

Subjective questions

Are there routine subjective assessment questions that you ask each patient?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had the answers to all of these questions before you started the video call?

Consider having your patient commence their assessment via a form asynchronously, in their own time, without you.

Your video call will be shorter, yet you will have much more knowledge about your patient’s condition.

 

Objective tests

Let’s face it, showing and teaching movements on a live video call can be clumsy.

Are there basic physical tests that you can get your patient to do before the call?

You could include instructions via images or video, and give them tick box options to make answering easy.

Perhaps it is as simple as having you patient sending you digital photos of an injury, desk set up or body part before the call.

Be sure to include clear disclaimers to keep you and your patient safe.

 

Follow up report

What happens after your video consultation?

Consider a structured report and email to send to your patient within a day of your call.

Be clear on their findings and goals, and what steps they need to take next.

Set expectations for follow up.

 

Home Exercise Program

You may feel that you told your patient what exercises to do on the video call, but this information is unlikely to be retained.

In digital practice you can no longer give your patient a piece of paper with their homework on it.

Consider a professional exercise prescription software.

 

Ongoing communication

Do your patients drift away after the video call, and you don’t hear from them again?

Be sure they know the best ways to contact you, and set regular alerts for you to proactively check in with them.

 

 

A great digital practice workflow gives us opportunities to make healthcare more effective and efficient than in person care.

With the therapist and patient already committed to using technology, make the most of the ways you can automate your process, while still providing very personalized care.

 

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