Virtual clinics: everything you need to know about this trend
It's no longer news that digital transformation has become a reality in our daily lives. The innovation reached companies in all segments and, in health, virtual clinics have been gaining attention for revolutionizing the way in which organizations, professionals, and patients relate to medicine.
Without a doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the main responsible for driving digital transformation in health. According to Ivisen Lourenço, Innovation and Ecosystem Manager at Inova HC:
“the general perception is that the sector has developed more than in the last 10 or 20 years. Throughout the ecosystem, support and promotion initiatives have evolved considerably, with the opening of new sources of public funding focusing on Hard Science and Deep Tech, inauguration of new health innovation HUBs and the approval of the Legal Framework for Startups. A digital health took its place in the sun once and for all”.
One of the changes that gained the most strength in recent years was the use of telemedicine, both by patients and by professionals.
In addition to online consultations, the concept also embraces other uses, such as training health professionals, dissemination of clinical protocols, training and updating of knowledge, meetings to discuss clinical cases, and much more.
According to the “Telemedicine in Brazil” survey conducted by Datafilha and Conexa Saúde, 73% of the patients who had already used telemedicine for an online consultation would do it again and could adopt the service on a regular basis.
For 68% of doctors, telemedicine promotes better access to health for the population, and More than half of them also believe that in the coming years this modality will be increasingly prioritized due to the difficulty of accessing specialized professionals, especially in some more remote regions.
Another study showing that digital health is here to stay was published by the magazine Globalization and Health. As a conclusion, the author of the article points out that:
“The multiple uses of telemedicine are here to stay. A technology brought a lot of advantages, but it's not a panacea. It is necessary to regulate and monitor. For certain uses and specialties there may be a loss of quality with the online one. Off-site service often means low quality care.”
Mário César Scheffer, professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine (FM) of USP
In this article, we will delve into the world of virtual clinics, learn about their advantages and some essential tools for their operation.
Digitalization in the health sector: virtual clinic
Virtual clinics, or online clinics, are falling in the liking of the population mainly because of their convenience and lower costs. That's what he says 77% of the people interviewed for the survey “Telemedicine in Brazil”.
Even though it is one of the few countries to offer a free health system for its population, Brazil still lacks solutions to expand access to professionals in the area. That's exactly where they come in, along with their purpose of innovation.
Created with the purpose of optimize and improve the quality of medical services, virtual clinics go far beyond remote consultations. These companies are recognized by expand the possibilities for doctors and patients, providing new routines and procedures that are not possible in an offline environment.
Currently, there are already several clinics that operate 100% online, without the need for physical infrastructure. In the same way, it is increasingly common to find hybrid institutions that, while maintaining their physical addresses, make good use of digital tools to offer a better experience for their patient.
With these tools, virtual clinics are able to automate everyday tasks and processes, reduce bureaucracy and optimize the routine of professionals, to scheduling and carrying out medical appointments in practice, sending medical records and prescriptions digital, to have even more financial control of the company, among other features.
What are the advantages of a virtual clinic?
Now that you know a little about this world of virtual clinics, let's discover some of the reasons that made the eyes of the market turn to this type of company. Follow up!
1. More patients
Along with Telemedicine, virtual clinics have no barriers to serving their patients. After all, without having to be in person at an office, professionals can impact and serve clients from anywhere in the world with more flexible hours.
The online environment also allows the creation of various types of “packages”, which can range from a single consultation to a more extensive treatment follow-up, resulting in fairer prices tailored to each need.
2. Time and money savings
By serving your patients online, the costs needed to maintain a clinic or office drop dramatically. This ranges from investing in infrastructure and renting or buying the property, to routine bills such as water, electricity and telephone.
In this way, professionals also gain an increase in productivity, saving travel time in traffic, making it possible to use this time in other more important activities.
3. New doctor-patient relationship
The online environment allows health professionals to be closer to their patients. With the use of some tools, doctors are able to follow up almost Automatic the evolution of your patients' health.
As a result, patient monitoring becomes more humanized and accurate, which provides an early diagnosis of potential diseases and the prescription of the ideal treatment, according to the person's unique characteristics and data.
5 Essential Tools for the Operation of a Virtual Clinic
During this article, we mentioned how the proper use of the right digital tools is essential for the functioning of virtual clinics. Now, it's time to learn about some of those solutions responsible for this digital transformation in the health area.
1. Telemedicine Platform
This tool will be used to carry out online consultations, monitor patients remotely, in addition to having a medical marketplace to promote the services of professionals.
2. Online scheduling
With this solution, in addition to optimizing the scheduling process, clinics are able to better organize their schedules, monitor the scheduling status, integrate with their own system, and even automate appointment reminders to be triggered for the patient.
3. Electronic medical record
After a remote consultation, the doctor must send the medical record digitally. Using innovative tools, professionals will have greater information protection, cloud storage and can also offer features such as digital signature, which guarantees the same legal validity as one signed by hand.
4. Financial management software
Like all other companies, virtual clinics also need to have good control over their finances. With financial management solutions, it is possible to monitor cash flow in real time, record all inflows and outflows automatically, access transaction statements easily, and much more.
5. Digital Marketing Tools
In addition to facilitating the daily lives of professionals, digital tools also enable clinics to impact and win over their clients. Investing in email marketing, inbound marketing, and social media are great ways to captivate your patients and keep your customer base always filled up.
Virtual Clinics and digital health are here to stay and are already dictating reality in the sector as a whole. This is the right time to open your institution's doors to digital transformation and see how these tools can enhance your results.
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