The MVPs (Most Valuable Patient) in any practice are the ones who make and keep their appointments. Hanging onto MVPs is Job #1 on any given day. But when COVID hit, medical and mental health practices had to scramble to create safe access to their providers and coax patients back into care. Not all patients have returned, and some never will. So it has never been more important for a practice to leverage telehealth technology to make it easy for patients to stay in the practice’s eco-system. This means using telehealth to offer more access and services to current patients, and identifying future MVPS.
Here are some ideas your practice, health center or hospital can consider to keep the patients you have and increase your census.
What You Can Offer Your MVPs Today
You can retain current patients and re-engage dormant ones by expanding what you offer. That includes increasing the ways patients can connect with you:
- Use the online patient portal to give 24/7 access to the clinic. Make it possible for patients to make appointments, see their medical history, upload photos or documents, and send messages to the practice. Many practices have access to portals through their EMRs, but don’t use them.
- Make it easier for patients to communicate with you– offer text, phone and email.
- Offer follow-up visits and triage via video by appointment or even on demand.
- Create programs to monitor patients with diabetes, respiratory, COPD or other chronic conditions. Do this with monitoring kits, electronic surveys, and education modules, videos and messaging.
- Offer Chronic Care Management services for Medicare patients who qualify.
- Bring the lab to the home by contracting with mobile labs for bloodwork, COVID and other tests/screens.
- Monitor COVID patients using devices that transmit vital signs, surveys and video check-ins.
- Provide specialist consults to other providers using video and store and forward images and reports.
Find New MVPs with Telehealth
Think beyond the clinic and patient homes. Where else do people congregate? Business and community partnerships are the key to success with programs designed to serve these populations:
- Consumers. They can use a video-enabled kiosk in a retail store to connect to a practice for urgent or episodic care
- Students, faculty and school employees. With a telemedicine cart, they can see your doctor from school for an illness, injury. Your care team can monitor chronic or episodic conditions, conduct back-to-school physicals and manage medications.
- Employees. Contract with companies to have employees see your healthcare professionals via kiosk or tablet while at work.
- Homeless individuals or those who live in a shelter. Your providers can deliver primary and episodic care via video and telemedicine kit.
- Frequent flier beneficiaries. Payers can contract with you for chronic care monitoring and video visits to stabilize and reduce unnecessary ED utilization.
Is there something on these lists that puts a twinkle in your eye? Give us a call to explore your interests and design a roadmap to your success.
