How Doctors Can Use Cloud PBX to Consult from Home
Anita Raghav
Nov 22, 2023
How doctors can instantly set up a cloud PBX solution to streamline their telephonic conversations and consultations with patients.
These are unusual times. The small pediatric clinic in our neighborhood is closed for the first time in years. But even before the lockdown, the pediatrician there had begun discouraging parents from visiting. With the threat of COVID 19 looming, he was already encouraging patients to consult him via phone calls.
I am sure that panicked parents worrying about everything from colic to more serious diseases, continue to call him during the lockdown. And unsurprisingly, that’s how many doctors across specializations, are continuing to help their patients.
Social distancing is set to be the norm even after lockdowns lift. This means that most doctors and patients may have to resort to phone consultations, recommending in-clinic appointments only when absolutely necessary.
So, if telemedicine is here to stay, should doctors start thinking about formalizing their telemedicine practice? It seems so.
Telemedicine is formally recognized in India
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently released their official telemedicine guidelines. The purpose was to encourage care doctors and health workers to “consider the use of telemedicine as a part of normal practice.”
Of course, not all consultations are conducive to telemedicine. However, some routine checks, follow-ups, or continuous monitoring can easily be conducted over a simple voice call. If further tests are required, the patient can always email or send photos of the test results to the doctor. Essentially, if they use the right technologies, doctors can keep things organized.
The simplest way to consult your patients is via the telephone. By subscribing to the correct applications, you can streamline your consultations.
It lists the following long-term benefits:
- Reducing the risk of contagious disease transmission to doctors & healthcare providers.
- Reducing the burden on secondary hospitals.
- Improved documentation since call recordings can be automated.
How Can you Consult from Home using a Phone?
A Cloud PBX is the answer. You do not need to install any software or hardware to get started. To use Cloud PBX you simply subscribe to a cloud PBX provider, login, and get started.
You can speak to patients on your mobile phone, or you can grab a set of headphones and answer calls via your laptop or computer system. This lets you go hands-free for making notes while speaking to your patient.
Setup an Auto Attendant
All cloud PBX systems come with an IVR, also known as a virtual receptionist. This IVR can greet patients and collect certain patient details in the same way as your clinics’ receptionist would have.
Right at the start for example. You can have a pre-recorded message that asks the patient to dial “1” for emergencies, “2” for a routine check-up, and “3” for a follow-up consultation. If it is not an emergency the IVR can continue and collect more details such as if the patient is a new or existing patient.
Your IVR can relay messages too. For instance, it can outline your consultation fees and payment methods to your callers.
Also Read: Doctors, Here’s How to Design a Call Flow for Your Phone Consultation
Make it Easy to Pay
At the end of the phone call, using your cloud PBX application itself, you can send a UTI payment link for the caller to pay. You can tell your patients yourself or have your auto-attendant relay your fees to the patient.
Automate Record Keeping
As per the new telemedicine guidelines, maintaining patient records is compulsory. This is easy with a cloud PBX since it automatically maintains all your call recordings. You can easily access the recordings from the reports section of the application.
Conclusion
The world today has changed suddenly and undeniably. People rapidly reworking what they thought was unlikely, inconvenient, and even impossible. Everyone, across sectors, is changing the way the work. It is becoming clearer that these changes need to be mid to long term, and so naturally doctors need to rethink their consultation styles too.
Do You Want to Try a Cloud PBX Solution For your Practice?
Ozonetel provides a rental free cloud PBX with automated IVR and call recordings. If you are a doctor or run a nursing home or healthcare center, contact us today. We would be happy to show you a demo of how the system works or set up a solution for you.
