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Tag: virtual receptionist

The Draft Care and Support Bill

After months of speculation, leaks and pre-emptive comments, the draft Care and Support Bill has been published.  Accompanied by eight fact sheets, impact and equality assessments the Bill is no lightweight.  For those interested in reading the full text or who intend to post formal comments on individual clauses the link to the bill is shown at the end of this article.

In releasing the Bill the Government’s stated aim is to consolidate a number of different laws into a single statute and to transform social care “from a service that reacts to crises to one that focuses on prevention and is built around the needs and goals of people”

One of the central planks of the Bill is the idea that people will control over how their individual needs are to be met.  This includes both a drive towards remaining in the family home for as long as possible and a personal budget to enable individuals to optimise their own care.   This will enable individuals to create a care package which is far more wide reaching than a simple need to be bathed or dressed.  In Factsheet 4 one example given is that part of the budget could be spent on gym membership which provides the exercise needed to aid recovery.

With personal care based on individual needs the way is open for health practitioners to make a real difference to people’s lives.  Whether by providing osteopathy or chiropody services, massage or exercise regimes or even helping with personal appearance; life could become far more fulfilling for those helping to provide personal care services.

This means that it is more important than ever to take steps to maximise patient care times and minimise “office” time.  One vital step in this direction could be the use of a virtual receptionist service.  With calls, diary appointments and even patient records taken care of the health practitioner can concentrate on making the most of helping their clients and growing their business.

By the time the draft Care and Support Bill has would its way through the Parliamentary process it may well be a very different animal from the one we see today.  But, whatever the result, maximising patient care time is one step that we can all take with or without the Bill.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/careandsupportbill/

Balancing the Health Budget

The news that the Health Minister, Andrew Lansley, has had to intervene in the running of the South London Healthcare NHS Trust has acted as a wake up call across the health sector.  The trust, which reportedly is running at a £1m per week deficit, may have to be put in the hands of an administrator tasked with turning the deficit around.

A further twenty trusts have reportedly declared themselves to be financially unsustainable in their present form.  Whilst some have put their difficulties down to the cost effects of building new premises under the auspices of the private finance initiative (PFI), others seemingly have more complex underlying financial pressures.

The action taken by the Health Minister is the first step in a process which was laid down in section 65 of the National Health Service Act 2009.  If the full procedure is followed and an administrator appointed they will have to produce a draft report within 45 days, followed by a consultation period of 30 days and a final report 15 days later.

Irrespective of the outcome, this intervention has highlighted the continuing financial pressure facing all those providing health services in the UK.  From large NHS trusts to a sole osteopath, the challenge to control costs and maximise income is the same.  For the smaller health practitioner the need to balance costs and income can prove to be a juggling act between time spent in treatment and time spent on business matters.

Taking appointment booking as an example; the more time spent on patient treatment, the more income generated.  But how do you juggle the need to be with a patient with the need to be available to answer the phone and take a booking?  This is where a dedicated health practitioner virtual receptionist service can play a vital part.  With a virtual receptionist answering calls, dealing with routine queries and managing the diary, health practitioners can concentrate on providing treatment for their patients.  Add in an appointment reminder service and the number of no shows falls, helping to keep income levels strong.

We can’t claim that a virtual receptionist service is the panacea which solves the NHS funding crisis.  However, for those working in the health sector from physiotherapists to beauticians and from massage therapists to health clinics a virtual receptionist may just be the first step towards balancing the budget.

Scoring Service Levels

Following a nationwide GP Patient Survey in 2011, users of the NHS Choices website are now able to compare the service provided by differing GP Practices.  Underlying data measures a range of factors to produce an overall GP Practice score out of 10.

The Department of Health has responded to BMA fears that the scores fail to take account of challenges faced by individual practices or areas by confirming that this will be considered when the data is published.  For patients, the main benefit of the data will be to enable them to compare GP performance within their immediate location and therefore choose a GP Practice which meets their needs.

For those interested in delving deeper into the statistics, the overall score out of ten is broken down into varying areas including the levels of service provided as well as clinical experiences.  This broad approach recognises the growing swell of opinion that good levels of health care start with the experience patients have when trying to contact the healthcare practice and make an appointment.  Indeed, Patients Association chief executive, Katherine Murphy, told the BBC that the Patients Association helpline “is seeing a trend of increasing complaints about GPs, covering a number of areas, including difficulties obtaining an appointment, complaints about behaviour of reception staff and other factors that affect their overall experience.”

Of course GP practices don’t have a monopoly on the need to constantly juggle clinical and administration time.  Other health professionals such as chiropractors and osteopaths also have to manage the twin demands of being easily contactable whilst maximising the time given to treatments.

One answer to this dilemma is the use of a virtual receptionist service.  With telephone answering and diary management outsourced to trained health receptionists; clinicians need not worry about receiving a low score for contactability or professional image.  Add in features such as appointment reminders, invoicing and managing patient records and health professionals can concentrate on providing the high level of service that their patients require.

The use of a virtual receptionist service also brings a revenue benefit.  With ease of contact comes a fuller diary and with appointment reminders comes a reduction in no-shows.  This helps to increase income at a cost which can be as little as the equivalent of one new client each month.  Whilst this latest NHS scoring initiative is confined to GP Practices, other health professionals can learn from the GP experience.  Using a virtual receptionist service may just be the step change needed to improve service levels alongside revenue and patient care.

Helping the nation to work

Speaking  in April 2012, Legal & General director John Pollock said that the Government could save £billions if they adopted a coherent long term sickness absence policy.  Mr Pollock believes that the current sick pay system “doesn’t deliver the right mixture of support for employer or employee and is not delivering value for the taxpayer in the long term.”

In part the comments reflect the conclusion of an earlier report from November 2011 which stated that early health intervention helped to reduce sickness absence with specialist expertise playing an important role in promoting a swift return to work.  This in turn helps both the country’s budget and the individual’s wellbeing.

Of course, any report about sickness absence is likely to be the catalyst for some debate.  On the one hand the Government is actively seeking to move claimants from long term sickness benefits and back in to work.  On the other comes a report from Opinium which said that 12% of those taking sick leave in the first two months of 2012 were not ill enough to justify taking the time off.   In the middle we have the health and safety debate centring on whether those with illnesses such as colds and mild flu should go into work and risk passing their illness on or stay at home to protect their workmates.

Key to the debate is the degree to which early intervention is possible.  Certainly when it comes to muscle and skeletal problems, in general the earlier the intervention the swifter the cure.  OK there is the prevention is better than cure argument and that has led in general in recent years to workplaces adopting more stringent health and safety procedures. But no matter how careful someone is, there are going to be times when our muscles or ligaments give up on us.  And when that happens, it’s can never be too soon to start on an appropriate course of treatment. Those visiting  physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths  may well be unable to work in the short term and the longer the injury goes untreated the more likely secondary problems may develop.

This requirement for speedy treatment places a logistical challenge on health professionals.  On the one hand they need to maintain a regular treatment schedule for existing patients whilst on the other hand time needs to be made available in order to start new treatments on those whose injuries have just occurred. The challenge for health professionals is therefore to maximise treatment times whilst making it easy for patients to contact and make appointments.

This is where a virtual receptionist service comes into its own.  Professionally trained receptionists can take calls, book appointments and answer simple patient queries leaving the health professional free to provide treatment. With appointment reminders sent to reduce “no shows” the use of a virtual receptionist service can help to ensure that the maximum number of patients are treated in the time available.  This helps to ensure early intervention and therefore speeds up the return to work.  Whilst we can’t do much about those taking a “sickie”, a virtual receptionist service can make the difference both for those who need to see a healthcare professional quickly and for the professionals themselves who wish to maximise their working time.

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