Transform your patient follow ups with video

We are the busiest that society has ever been. Most people are juggling a full time job, kids, a household, personal care and growth, socialising and trying to get a decent night’s sleep. We do not switch off, and in all of this output, we are often still too busy for sufficient follow up appointments with our healthcare providers, leaving us to self-assess and decide whether that appointment is really worth leaving the office a couple hours earlier for. Our work commitments override our best interest in our own health, so healthcare practices are looking at new methods to keep in contact while working with the time constraints life throws at us. 

One of the many ways healthcare practices across the UK have implemented technology to aid in patient communication is through web chat software such as Click4Assistance. Web chat software allows patients to quickly book appointments through a text based live chat system or have a chat with their practice’s customer care team to follow up on prescriptions or attain basic healthcare advice for non-urgent situations. There is also an AI chatbot to assist you immediately, no matter the time of day. This helpful AI chatbot, Artie, can speak with an unlimited number of website visitors at a time, and also assist with directing patients to the right customer care team member by asking a series of questions, ensuring they get the information they need faster and increasing productivity for the team. 

Getting patients to attend their follow up appointments 

Technology is great for a lot of things, but how can it be used to get patients to attend their follow up appointments? A simple method is to implement video calling for followups on non-critical patients who don’t require a physical assessment. There are so many benefits to this method, and the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Not only does it manage contagious illnesses during flu season, it is also a massive cost and time saver for the practice and the patient. Patients won’t have to take time off work for 10 or 15 minute follow up appointments and healthcare professionals can see more patients in a day virtually, keeping their records up to date and connecting with them more regularly. 

This will greatly aid attendance rates of follow up appointments as patients who are weary of healthcare waiting rooms, or who have strict work commitments can now attend virtual meetings without having a negative impact on their daily lives or physical well-being, but it will have a positive impact on the overall population’s health status. 

Slow the spread of contagious disease 

One of the biggest bonuses of using video calling for follow up appointments is ensuring the safety of your patients and slowing the spread of contagious disease, especially if your patient has just recovered, or has a weakened immune system. This is not only helpful for follow up appointments, but also for standard appointments with patients who have the flu or a contagion like the common cold where a physical visit may not always be required. This has now become a reality with the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak where self-isolation is recommended to slow the spread of the disease. 

Video calling is ideal in a situation where a patient is self isolating and needs to speak with a doctor, or when a patient has difficulty meeting in person at the practice for any reason and does not require a physical attendance. Some patients who have mobility restrictions may find follow up appointments that do not require a physical assessment much easier to attend, and this will also have a positive impact on the NHS’s patient transport service (PTS) since many of these patients require an ambulance to transport them to healthcare appointments. 

Click4Assistance has had extensive experience with supporting the healthcare industry with their patient and internal communication strategies in the last 15 years. With a robust and comprehensive web chat software solution featuring CRM or patient relationship management integration, social media integration, artificial intelligence, video calling, and a sleek dashboard where everything is integrated, Click4Assistance is the chosen communications software developers in the UK for the healthcare industry. 

 If you’re interested in deploying Click4Assistance, the UK’s premier GDPR compliant live chat software solution, to digitally transform your health practice, give us a call on 08451235871 or send an email to theteam@click4assistance.co.uk and one of our experts will be with you right away. Not ready to reach out yet? Discover how it works, try a demo, or better yet, try Click4Assistance completely free for 21 days.