One element which has emerged very clearly from the Olympic Games is the extent to which sports science has grown up. Competitor after competitor has talked about getting a massage or having some treatment. We already knew that sport had moved on but the unmistakeable message is that sporting prowess is now inextricably linked with science and medicine; with psychologists, food nutritionists and physiotherapists all playing their part.
In fact it’s not just the Olympic athletes who will benefit from physiotherapy. A team of veterinary physiotherapists has also been drafted in to look after the needs of the 180 or so horses taking part in the Olympic and Paralympic games.
Whilst the top teams travel with their own support staff, the Olympic organisers have also drafted in a range of medical practitioners to help look after the athletes. One such, physiotherapist Sian Vaughan-Evans, has even postponed her honeymoon in favour of helping out this summer. Mrs Vaughan-Evans told the London Evening Standard that she was looking forward to meeting “athletes from around the world and sharing their Olympic experience, and doing what I can to aid recovery, prevent and treat injuries.”
This dedication to providing treatment is something which we see time and time again in the health practitioners that we come into contact with via Clinic Appointments. Perhaps it is because those who take advantage of our virtual receptionist service are constantly seeking ways to improve patient service and maximise treatment times. Using the Clinic Appointments service means that whilst patients are being treated, our reception team are booking appointments, answering simple queries and sending out appointment reminders. This means that patient treatment time is not taken up in answering the phone or administration and prospective patients are not lost due to unanswered calls.
When it comes to providing treatment it doesn’t really matter if the patient is a top athlete or someone who has twisted their ankle getting off a bus. The important thing is to provide the right treatment as quickly as possible to aid speedy recovery. Maximising the time available for treatment is one way to ensure that patients are not kept waiting for days to receive an appointment.
As an added bonus, taking advantage of the Clinic Appointment practice management and patient record services just might free up some time in the evening. This enables practitioners to watch or take part in their favourite sporting activities in free time which would otherwise be spent sending invoices or filing records.