Improving the patient experience at your pediatric practice helps build trust with both patients and their parents. While genuine care and expertise are the foundations of a relationship between healthcare providers and patients, here are three services pediatricians can offer to help enhance patient experience at their practice.
After-Hours Call Service
Providing an after-hours call service to families allows concerned parents to connect with their healthcare provider no matter what time of the day it is. When a child is sick or injured, parents want the reassurance of a professional that they know and trust. By offering an after-hours call service that can handle scheduling appointments, paging the pediatrician on call, and even recommending basic care advice, pediatric practices can provide parents with peace of mind.
After-hours call services also help pediatricians improve the quality of care that they offer their patients. If a parent has to take their child to urgent care or the emergency room outside of a pediatric practice’s regular office hours, an after-hours call service allows parents to leave a message with their pediatrician. Pediatricians can then begin coordinating care and making sure the facility providing care for the child has the medical records it needs to provide high-quality care.
Telehealth Software
Telehealth software comes in many different forms, and pediatric practices can easily choose the format that works best for them. Practice-specific mobile apps are one example of telehealth software. A mobile app gives patients and their families the ability to access important medical records remotely, message a pediatrician, and manage appointment scheduling. By offering patients access to a mobile app, pediatric practices empower patients to play a more active role in their care and improve an office’s efficiency.
Virtual telemedicine visits are also made possible by telehealth software. Virtual visits allow pediatricians to provide remote care to patients via secure HIPAA compliant video conferencing. Virtual visits provide more freedom and flexibility for both doctors and patients. They also reduce the risk of exposure to potentially infectious diseases, decrease the time and financial burden of travel on families, and help pediatricians provide continuous care to patients. Virtual visits can’t completely replace in-person visits, but they can be used to diagnose and treat everyday illnesses as well as behavioral health concerns from the comfort of a patient’s own home.
Sick Child Visits
If a child is sick, the last thing a parent wants to do is wait a day or two for an appointment before their child receives care. By setting aside a specific time during the day to see children who are sick, pediatricians can be sure patients receive the care they need as quickly as possible. Whether a practice offers sick child visits first thing in the morning or later in the evening, a dedicated time to address sudden health concerns offers patients and their parents peace of mind.
By incorporating these three services into a practice, pediatricians can enhance the patient experience and convey to their patients that their health is their top priority.