With the coronavirus pandemic forcing us to change the way we practice medicine, you still may have some concerns that your patients will resist the switch to virtual visits with Direct Health.

However, many patients, like the rest of us, are already used to interacting with a variety of professional services in a virtual fashion.

So here are four reasons why patients will love having virtual visits with you using Direct Health.

Less Time in the Waiting Room (or Car)

If you’re like many practices, you’ve probably blocked off your schedule to see different types of patients during the day. If you see adult patients, perhaps you’ve postponed annual well-visits to be rescheduled once the pandemic subsides.

If you’re a pediatrician, well-visits can’t really be postponed, so maybe you have certain mornings blocked off to only see well-visits, and afternoons for sick visits.

Some practices are asking patients to wait in their cars instead of the waiting room to maximize social distancing and minimize potential exposure. Since everyone has a cell phone, it’s easy enough to have your office staff call the patient to come into the office when there is an exam room available.

And since everyone has a cell phone, why not see as many patients as you can through virtual visits? Using Direct Health is as easy as using any app on an Android or iOS smartphone. The look and feel of Direct Health’s interface is similar to the existing messaging, phone, and video call software already on these smartphones.

Eliminate child or elder care issues

By having a virtual visit, your patient doesn’t have to make arrangements for taking care of their children or elderly loved-ones.

Since school has been cancelled or switched to remote learning solutions, many of your patients are taking care of their children at home as they themselves are forced to stay home.

Or your patients may be caregivers for their elderly loved-ones. They may be even more concerned about exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and passing it on to their loved-ones, since the elderly with pre-existing conditions are particularly vulnerable to the complications of COVID-19.

When you provide virtual visits with Direct Health, you eliminate these risks while administering quality care.

Patients become more engaged in their care

By offering virtual visits with Direct Health, your patients are less likely to miss appointments and follow-up visits. This is especially important for chronic conditions, where improved compliance to treatment plans and medications can improve long-term health outcomes.

More convenient virtual care allows you to take better care of your patients because you can more easily reinforce positive behaviors.

Increase patient satisfaction

When you offer virtual visits to your patients, they’ll appreciate the convenience and the dedicated attention you give them. And with Direct Health, your virtual visits are secure and HIPAA compliant. Plus, since you already have a relationship with your patients, they’ll be confident you are providing them with quality care.

In fact, we consistently see patient satisfaction ratings increase when a practice begins to offer telehealth.

Interested in learning more about Direct Health? Contact us to schedule a demo or sign up now.

 

About the Author

Stephanie Kreml, MD is a former urgent care doctor and advises digital health and life science companies. Dr. Kreml also served as Chief Medical Officer for Accordion Health where she worked alongside data scientists to develop machine learning-based tools to enable healthcare organizations more effectively manage their patient populations.

She is an Advisory Panel Member for Dell Medical School’s Texas Health Catalyst program, enabling researchers to translate technologies into commercial healthcare applications. Prior to medical school, she held engineering positions with Motorola and Texas Instruments. Dr. Kreml received her Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine and her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

 

About Direct Health

Direct Health is working to change how healthcare is delivered by recreating the doctor-patient relationship. With the secure messaging app, physicians and patients have the ability to connect via text, call, or video, from anywhere and on their schedule. This enables patients to chat with their doctor, vet, or therapist at any time, and clinicians to extend care and get paid without extra overhead or burdensome schedules. With over 20,000 doctors across the platform, Direct Health is leading the way in the future of healthcare. For more information, visit http://www.directhealth.us.