Transitioning your medical practice to virtual service

Transitioning your medical practice to virtual service

Private primary care practices have been going through some difficult times for many years and the COVID-19 pandemic has just added insult to injury. According to a recent study from the Harvard School of Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine primary care practices are projected to lose $15 billion in 2020 due to cancellations of patient appointments at the start of the pandemic.1

Some the challenges that primary care practices have been facing over the past several years include:

  • Inadequate reimbursement
  • Increasing overhead costs
  • Financial insecurity
  • Clinician burnout
  • Increasing rate of medical trainees moving into speciality care2

While the office-based business model has resulted in huge financial losses for private primary care practices during the COVID-10 pandemic, primary care providers have found that, by going virtual, they’ve been able to remain operational.

By modernizing the old business model to provide patients with virtual, home-based care, the goal is to provide higher quality care at lower costs. But, what are some of the ways that a virtual doctor’s office is better?

Adding personal touches in a virtual world

The United States spends approximately $3.3 trillion every year on healthcare, the majority of which goes to conventional medical treatments, including regular visits to a healthcare facility to manage a chronic condition or a visit for an acute condition, such as a fall, which results in an injury.3

Telemedicine appointment

Not only does virtual service or telehealth have the potential to decrease the number of urgent care or ER visits, but it also enables physicians and other healthcare professionals to effectively engage with their patients after regular office hours, saving time and saving money. This is especially important for people living in rural or remote areas with limited access to healthcare and healthcare facilities.

While virtual office visits provide a convenient alternative to in-person office visits, giving good patient care online is about more than virtual visits, secure email messaging, and customized patient portals. Patients still want that personal touch from their doctor. They’re looking for a doctor who will take the time to listen to their medical concerns and to take them seriously, who will have more time for diagnosis and treatment plans, and who can discuss preventative health and wellness.

Start the conversation

Transitioning to a virtual medical practice will provide improved opportunities for connectedness, transparency, and dialogue with patients. Virtual healthcare may provide opportunities to make healthcare more efficient, more affordable, better coordinated, and closer to home.

Friendly doctor

Virtual office visits can improve communication as well as coordination between members or a patient and their healthcare team and specialists, if necessary. And they can provide support for self-management of a patient’s healthcare. 

One way to promote self-management among patients is to address their diet and nutrition and recommend specific vitamins and supplements depending upon their individual health needs. Private label health supplements for private practices is a great option for patients. 

The GHT Companies’ created Green Leaf Sciences to offer providers the opportunity to maintain their own customized line of nutraceuticals. By offering your own vitamins and supplements — produced by Green Leaf Sciences — you can be confident that your patients are getting high quality products that exceed industry standards.


References

1  Basu, Sanjay (2020), Primary Care Practice Finances In The United States Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic, Health Affairs | Project Hope. 
2  Farmer, M.M., Rose, D.E., Rubenstein (2014), Challenges Facing Primary Care Practices Aiming to Implement Patient-Centered Medical Homes, J Gen Intern Med | Springer Nature. 
National Health Expenditure Data, CMS.gov Centers for Medicare & Medicaid. 

NOTE: The Project Hope, Springer Nature, and U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, have not reviewed or approved the above article.