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After the virtual consultation

As you already did in preparation for the meeting, reserve some time after the meeting to ensure that patient records are updated, necessary files are copied into the organization storage and archive systems and deal with other administrative duties and your organization guidelines.

Follow-up

Use the post-meeting time to prepare and send a follow-up communication or email to the patient summarising the call and the agreed plan. Patients lose confidence in using online consultation if they don't get a quick response, ideally within minutes or within the hour so, if some aspect requires more in-depth analysis from your side, do not let this to delay your communication, just report that more details will be given on a separate email and estimate the necessary time for you to do that, so you can set a reminder for yourself to deliver on promises.

Communication content

Guidance on contact for the patient for any further questions should also be included in the letter/email with a reminder of timescale to avoid any unnecessary or early follow-up from the patient. Ensure any referrals, follow up appointments, prescription or treatments are actioned before the next patient call or activity. Set some further milestone or reminder in between appointments to gently guide and nudge the patient during the follow-up phase and prevent the process from going out of control. Patients will also very much appreciate you to add some extra content to your communication that could relate somehow to their case: think about internet links to find responses to common questions, bibliography, tips for stress management or for staying healthy. Sharing common trusted resources will help reinforcing your reputation and binding with your patient.

Adopt best practices

The healthcare practices are changing, and you can take this chance to start doing thing differently and shine. Setup a system to continuously review your performance and learn from experience: reflect on and write down what went well, what could be improved. Then comment with other professionals present during the meeting. Consider planning some routine meeting with your colleague also adopting virtual consultation to share best practices with them. 

Feedback

An essential part of the learning process are feedback questionnaires for staff and patients. You or your organization shall have a dedicated workflow to get feedback right after your virtual meeting, including open questions that allows the patient to fully express what she found good and what could be improved. Aggregating those data will allow you to detect improvements areas that you did not think of, and routine reports can be used to understand both volumes, efficiency and effectiveness of performance.

Don't give up

Even if, at the beginning, you may find some difficulties, we encourage you not to stop from using remote interactions. Practice makes better and the more you will use remote systems, the more chances you will find of using them for a wider audience. The benefit of that approach will help:

  • Preventing the transmission of COVID, or any other disease by reducing the need for patients to travel into hospital. 
  • Allowing you to speak to patients who are unable to travel to hospital (e.g. patients in at risk groups, or due to self-isolation or travel difficulties). 
  • Carrying out clinical work from home (e.g. if you are in “at risk” groups, or you have to self-isolate) and reduce the number of hours you are exposed to infection risk in an ambulatory setup. 
  • Supporting your organization to meet increased demand in a particular locality. 

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