Guest Post from Symplast Marketing Manager, Kaleigh Lipka
It’s time to modernize your practice to meet and exceed the needs of the virtual patient. Stepping into the digital space is the first step to accelerate positive change in your business.
Technology has developed at an exponential rate over the years and shows no sign of slowing down. It’s no surprise that practices and patients would need to adapt the ways in which they use technology during a pandemic even further, to stay up to speed with the everchanging health and safety protocols during and post the healthcare crisis.
Adapting to a New Era of Digital Healthcare
The demand for virtual care has drastically changed the processes and workflows needed for a practice to efficiently operate. As healthcare processes transform, the way we process and receive payments has shifted as well. Although the current shift of digital healthcare was brought on by the guidelines and challenges of the pandemic, the changes made have instilled long-term benefits throughout all areas of practice.
As we navigate through our new normal, we have subconsciously begun to adapt to these new healthcare payment methods that will revolutionize our future processes. Foregoing face-to-face contact directly translated into the rapid increase in telehealth visits and accelerated the trend toward digitization and automation of payments.
With most people working remotely to stay safe, telemedicine has replaced the need for almost all office interactions. Digital solutions such as patient portals and contactless payments have gone from aspirational to operational practically overnight. Yet the convenience they created for consumers and efficiencies they enabled for providers showcased a need for a digital transition that has been building for years.
It has become imperative, and almost non-negotiable, to provide Telehealth medicine and virtual care to your patients. Although adapting to change can be a daunting task, making your practice contactless can only bring on positive effects. It’s time to reap the benefits of our virtual future.
Shifting Your Healthcare Practice Contactless
There are numerous ways a practice can go contactless and adapt to the ever-changing digital needs of your customers; one of the predominant ways being through the business’s payment technology. There is a need for the integration of healthcare technologies and data, and it requires proper systems integration to realize the full benefits. Adding telehealth software to patient management, medical records, accounting systems, and payment processing can create one seamless system and workflow. Leverage digital technology is a fundamental way to achieve a contactless workplace.
One of the relative benefits of this digital transition is the virtual elimination of cash. Simply put, there is no home for cash in the modern practice environment using telehealth tools. Without an in-person visit, there’s no place for in-person payment. Yet the benefits extend well beyond the patient’s convenience. Cash is also a safety concern for patients and staff, which brings on the risk of passing viruses to one another. Cash also requires being safely stored and processed. It also requires time to be accounted for and deposited before it will ever become a liquid asset. You can now eliminate cash entirely with contactless payment options.
Some examples of contactless payments your practice can take on are NFC (near field communication) payment options such as Apple Pay, Samsung pay, Google wallet, and more. These contactless payment options allow wireless data to be transferred through smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other devices. Virtually anyone with access to technology can take part in these transactions. NFC empowers your patient to have perceived control over their financials and simultaneously streamlines your practice’s payment intake process.
Your EHR and Practice Management software should have the capabilities to provide these options to your patients. Symplast uses the integrated payment solution Stax. This built-in software has various contactless solutions to help your practice stay secure, safe, and compliant during present protocols and beyond. Stax payment services and agile business analytic tools are a strong fit for healthcare and medical aesthetic practices.
Medical and aesthetic professionals need to be able to reliably and securely collect payments from their patients, members, and customers. Stax’ payment processing technology seamlessly integrates invoicing, recurring billing, in-person charges, and over-the-phone payments.
Should I Update My Payment Software to Go Contactless?
If these tools offered by Stax elicit a need to change the current payment process of your practice, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Does the system I’m using have a direct integration and posting efficiencies with my EHR/PM platform?
- Is there seamless processing from scheduling all the way through billing?
- What do the posting flows look like, and how do they fit with my current processes?
- Do I have good technical support and is it available 24/7?
- Does my current system offer guaranteed response times?
- Are they consistently working to update their technology with the changing digital landscape?
If you’ve answered no to any of these – it’s time to update your practices payment software.
Provide your customers with not only more customizable options to safely make payments, but also monitor, accept, and track their financials from anywhere. Step into the digital space and accelerate positive change in your businesses today.
Learn how you can have the best all-in-one integrated payments experience with Symplast today.
About Symplast: Founded in 2013 by a group of plastic surgeons, Symplast is the first complete, 100% mobile, medical software solution designed specifically for plastic surgeons and medical spa providers. Built to be device agnostic from day one, Symplast boasts an easy-to-use, cloud-based solution that is fully functional on any smartphone, tablet, or PC. Symplast saves practices time and money by increasing revenue, efficiency, and patient engagement. For more information, please visit www.symplast.com or contact [email protected].
FAQs about Contactless Healthcare
Q: What is meant by ‘contactless healthcare’?
Contactless healthcare involves creating a safer, more streamlined environment in medical practices. It minimizes face-to-face interactions, maximizes utilization of digital technologies, and evolves healthcare processes. An instance of this is the adaptation of contactless payment methods in the healthcare sector.
Q: How does technology impact the implementation of contactless healthcare?
Technology plays a significant role in modernizing healthcare practices. Digital solutions such as telemedicine, patient portals, and contactless payments have transitioned from being aspirational to operational, especially during the pandemic. These tools have proven beneficial both in terms of customer convenience and operational efficiency.
Q: How can a healthcare practice transition to a contactless system?
A healthcare practice can transition to a contactless mode primarily by innovating its payment technology. Integrating telehealth software, patient management systems, medical records, and payment processing can create a seamless, efficient workflow. NFC (near-field communication) payment options like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Wallet can also be leveraged for this purpose.
Q: What are the advantages of transitioning to contactless payment methods in healthcare?
Contactless payments provide a host of benefits in the healthcare sector. Besides being convenient for patients, these methods eliminate the need for cash and the associated safety concerns related to handling and storing money.
Q: What should I consider when integrating a contactless payment system into my practice?
The choice of a contactless payment system should be made considering factors like its integration and posting efficiencies with your EHR or PM platform, its processing capacity, the availability of technical support, and its adaptability to the changing digital landscape.
Q: How do contactless payment systems like Stax contribute to a contactless healthcare practice?
Stax’s payment processing technology integrates various aspects of patient billing – from invoicing to over-the-phone payments. This variety of contactless solutions helps keep your practice secure, compliant, and agile in the ever-changing digital landscape.
Q: Is it essential to update my practice’s payment software to contactless?
Updating your payment software to contactless is highly recommended in the evolving digital healthcare scenario. It offers patients a safe and customizable platform to make payments while providing the practice with a facility to monitor, accept, and manage finances effectively from anywhere.
Q: What is NFC, and how does it contribute to making a healthcare practice contactless?
Near Field Communication (NFC) allows wireless data transfer between devices like smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc. In a healthcare scenario, it provides patients with control over their finances while streamlining the practice’s payment intake process, thereby contributing to a contactless healthcare practice.
Q: What should a healthcare practice do to facilitate contactless payments?
A healthcare practice should integrate its processes with software like EHR and Practice Management software, which have the ability to offer contactless payment options to their patients. Overcoming the reliance on cash and promoting digital transactions is a significant step towards facilitating contactless payments.
Q: Is stepping into the digital space vital for a healthcare practice, and why?
Definitely, the digital space offers numerous benefits, like streamlining processes, enhancing patient convenience, improving operational efficiency, and enabling contactless healthcare practices. It’s essential to leverage digital technology and adapt to the ever-changing digital needs of the patients.
