Why You Need To Offer 24/7 Patient Access?
The digital age is a testament to all of the conveniences that we are witnessing today. Yes, with the onset of digital technologies or what we often refer to as 'digitalization', the industries, almost all of them, started revolutionizing in one way or the other. The invasion of the digital media has been prominent in all of the major industries that we have now including the all-important medical industry or the industry of healthcare.
The healthcare industry is certainly one of the oldest surviving industries that we have to date, if not the oldest among them all, and the whole of the medical sector has been a witness to the influx of digital technologies. The digital way of life for the healthcare industry, both for the patients and the doctors, is becoming exceedingly convenient.
The digital tools and technology that we have now in the medical sector, are not only improving the patient access to medical records online but making the medical sector, as a whole, better in countless aspects. Besides, the latest research data reveals that around 59% of Gen Y patients are willing to switch their providers to the ones with better online access. One of the many aspects where the digital medical office systems are making lives better for the patients and practices is the easy and effective 24/7 patient access, which is a really new and promising concept in the medical sector today.
What is 24/7 patient access online?
24/7 implies 24 hours and 7 days a week, which signifies that a particular system or service is available all around the clock. The same thing implies in the case of the healthcare sector. The medical sector, with the growth of the digital wings of the healthcare industry, is now able to operate 24/7, which also makes patient access online possible 24/7, and offers them an easy and effortless access to the medical records, which they often want to browse.
Why is 24/7 patient access necessary for practices?
The healthcare service is mostly offered by the practices today, which act as a one-stop destination for the patients, providing all the essential treatment, tests, and medical checkups for the patients. 24/7 patient access is beneficial both for the patients and the practices in ways more than one. Now, if you are a practice owner or manager and you are looking to extend 24/7 patient access online, then you are certainly looking forward to the next successful milestone already!
Telehealth services and consultation has increased at an unimaginably high pace in the past few years. Though digitalization and globalization stand as two of the major phenomena for this rapid growth, telehealth witnessed a growth spurt with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic. According to the research data by the famous McKinsey and Company, telehealth services witnessed a 38X surge starting from February 2020, when the COVID-19 started to visibly dominate the world. With this recent gear to usher the digital technologies in the medical sector, the healthcare industry of the world is largely willing to shift to the brand new virtual system and methods of healthcare
The healthcare industry is also spending hugely to make the medical centers or practices digitally sound to lend the ultimate patient experience. Besides, in many cases, the demand for telehealth has also surpassed that for virtual urgent care. Recent studies report that US healthcare will utilize $250 bn of its total spending to shift to virtual or virtually enabled care.
A major benefit that the practices of now are offering due to the influx of the digital systems and medical office software, is the 24/7 patient access.
This all-around access of the patients is a boon not only for the patients but for the medical practices too, thereby improving the quality of the healthcare services as a whole. Heres a list of advantages that the 24/7 patient access online offers today:
Improve the quality of the healthcare industry
The healthcare industry is one of the most important industries that revolve around the health and well-being of ourselves, our friends, and our families. Though we have always relied on the healthcare systems and practices always, the most prominent cause of dissatisfaction of most of the patients was because of the time schedule that was applicable even in the case of the healthcare practices.
As the medical sector is counted as a part of the emergency sector of service that is bound by no laws, 24/7 healthcare service was essential right from the start. This will massively improve the quality and reach of the practices and other medical units of the healthcare industry. GrowPractice brings cutting-edge medical office tools and solutions to further improve the quality of the services lent by the healthcare units and practices.
Handle emergencies
Accidents and emergencies can occur anytime and in any way possible and it is the medical sector that is built to be almost habituated to both the emergencies. Yes, emergencies need no time, which is why the healthcare industry started adapting the round-the-clock assistance and services to handle emergencies of any kind quite effortlessly. Handling patient emergencies in wise ways and saving the patients life and alleviating their illnesses is something that directly affects the patients as well as the practices. This has proven to be a major boon for the healthcare industry and everyone associated with the same, including the patients.
Empower the patients
It is the patients who remain at the center of the healthcare industry. This is why patient-centric care is really important, and in fact, should be the motto of the whole of the healthcare industry, Empowering the patients have now got a new face with 24/7 patient access, which relies on empowering the patients around the clock, which is powered by the extensive healthcare solutions offered by GrowPractice.
Furthermore, more and more patients are gearing up to stay aware and more digitally sound to embrace all the benefits of the digital road that the healthcare practices are now walking on. As per the statistical data, over 80% of the patients are looking to avail the benefits of 24/7 healthcare facilities.
Improve patient-practice relationship
Our health is not only summed by our physical appearances but there is another palpable component to it, which is the mind. Yes, the mental health of the patients is almost as important as their physical condition, if not more. This is why the practices today need to consider the minds of the patients as well and cure them inside out. A significant portion of the mental health of the patients relies on the doctor and the overall treatment that he/she undergoes while availing the care of a particular practice. This makes the patient-practice relationship of huge value and this can be further strengthened by the 24/7 access of the healthcare centers and services for the patients, which help them bond with the practices at all times, including the most erratic ones and in emergencies as well.
Help the patients obtain medical records and view them conveniently
Medical records are invaluable pieces of information both for the practices and the patients. Such records contain a detailed view of the patients medical data along with a thorough history of the checkup of the same patient at a particular practice.
The patients simply love to get access to their medical history and other details about their mental and physical health. Research states that over one-third of the patients using patient portals have downloaded their medical data from the same in the year 2020, which is almost double the number of patients who did so in 2017. This surge in the patients accessing the easily available medical data is boosted by the drive to provide the patients with 24/7 accessibility to their medical data.
Keeps the practices from overburdening their staff
Gone are the days when medical office workers are abundant and are assisting the physically at all steps of their journey. This is because, in recent times, medical workers are becoming scarcer than ever. Besides, with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical workers have resigned at a pace that was never seen before. Almost 18% of the total strength of the healthcare industry is reported to have retired since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out on large scale.
Keeps the patients' data secure
As per the HIPAA guidelines, the patients data should be well-recorded and easily accessible to the patients. Along with this, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), has also focused on the security systems that should monitor all of those data that are patient-sensitive, and therefore, would not be utilized or wasted at any cost.
A considerable number of patients (78%), look forward to using secure online methods to view their medical history and share relevant information with the doctor. The all-around patient accessibility of the medical data also ensures that the same would be well-protected too virtually. To make things easier, GrowPractice promises multi-level security, robust data encryption systems, and absolute HIPAA compliance for your practice patients data in order to keep it secure and out of reach of the cybercriminals and other fraudsters.
Boosts patient experience and satisfaction rate
As per the recent survey conducted, 78.8% of patients attested that they have used a patient portal to view their medical records and/or correct them like what is stated under the HIPAA. This clearly indicates the growing drive for the patients 24/7 access to medical records, which, therefore, boosts the patient experience and the patients rate of satisfaction hugely.
Attracts new patients and retains the older lots
Attracting new patients is largely becoming a challenging feat for the practices but with GrowPractices effective medical office service and systems, this is becoming an achievable task for most of the practices that are now able to offer 24/7 patient bookings, and access to medical records, treatment, checkup and more. All of these have readily revamped the total patients that the practices see today and have further helped them retain all the older patients that they see.
How are the practices offering 24/7 patient access to their patients?
It is true that the practices today are offering 24/7 patient access to their facilities but this access is not only limited to a particular facility or data but for all of them or a broad section of them. The 24/7 accessibility for the patients is opened by the practices in multiple segments. Some of the prominent desks of the practices that are currently leveraging this round-the-clock availability of the patient practices are:
Patient portals are offering 24/7 patient access to the online medical records
The medical practices are forever ready now with the medical records for the patients to view them, use them or amend them, of their own free will. This is due to the EHR/EMR and other patient management and practice management software and tools that the practices use today, which are making lives easier for the patients along with benefiting the medical practices as well by lifting their revenue.
Patient appointment scheduling is open all the time
24/7 access for the patients is not only reserved for them to go through their medical data smoothly but also to effectively book their appointments in erratic time schedules as well. Around 40% of the patient appointments were found to be booked outside of the working hours, which reflects how crucial the scheduling of the patient appointment is. The patients often need to book their appointments irrespective of the fact that whether the practice and its staff are working or not. GrowPractice is one of such trusted providers that helps the practices of today book the patient appointments all around the clock along with enabling them to record their medical data online without any hassles.
24/7 assistance of other support and assistance
Along with helping the patients obtain medical records easily, and easing their ability to avail of the smooth patient access to medical records, the practices are now also equipped of helping their patients get all kinds of assistance and support from the practices. Furthermore, the practices also stand in cooperation with their medical office software service providers, who promise to stay by the medical staff, medical office owners, practice managers, or anyone else belonging to the management of the medical practice. This is really effective again for the practice and the patients it sees.
GrowPractice Eases Patient Access Online to Medical Records
The medical practices and other healthcare units are always on the edge of providing the best medical office software and systems to better the patients experience and leave them satisfied with the healthcare service they received. However, there are only some reliable medical office software providers like GrowPractice who takes healthcare very seriously and extend an all-around benefit for the industry and all the patients who are dependent on it.
Along with providing patients with easy and effective ways to book appointments, intake them, check them in smoothly, help them pay flexible, deliver them fast and effective service and follow them up effectively, the patients are also provided with easy patient access online to medical records, which can easily be regulated by their favorite EHR/PM software.
So, without further ado, lets scan through some of the most invaluable services offered by GrowPractice, which helps the practices make the patients access to medical records easier than ever:
This certainly does not end here because GrowPractice is right beside you with numerous other benefits that will help your practice improve in terms of quality as well as quantity and help it steer ahead of the competition. GrowPractice promises to reduce 89% of the patient no-shows, increase patient satisfaction rating by 97% along with saving 500+ hours for your medical workers, which is entirely beneficial for any patient practice. So, hurry up, reach out to GrowPractice now, and up your game!
