Stay Safe in Your Car, The Virtual Waiting Room

The pandemic prompted an imminent need for a virtual waiting room in medical practices across the country this year. Now, providers and patients are realizing just how great this tool can be. Not only can a queue management solution create a safe public environment for patients and staff, but it can offer a positive waiting experience. Providers can use this tool to stay more organized and keep their patients happy rather than angry and waiting in a traditional waiting room setting. Patients historically hate the waiting room of a provider's office and the virtual waiting room is changing this forever. While queue management solutions were primarily adopted during the pandemic, providers and patients will continue to benefit from them even when it is over. Below are several ways your practice can benefit from a virtual waiting room.

Keep Patients Safe with a Virtual Waiting Room

The pandemic prompted a desperate need for providers to create a safe public environment for medical offices. Patient volumes hit an all-time low at the start of the year as there was yet a safe way to allow non-emergent patients into the building. While tools like telehealth were allowing some patients to visit with their providers virtually, providers needed something to help them increase in-person appointments without increasing public health risk. The virtual waiting room was, and still is, the solution for many providers as the US still fights the pandemic. Patients can stay safe in their car, away from crowded waiting rooms, while they wait for their appointment.

Streamline the Check-in Process

Safe Check-in

Patients can now check-in for their appointment from their mobile device. Safely in their car, they can alert the providers of their arrival from their phone. Providers will alert them when they are ready for the patient to enter the building, but not sooner. This keeps patients from tracking potentially dangerous germs inside your office, allows your practice to sanitize effectively between patients, and prevents crowding in the waiting room.

Track Themselves in Line

The most frustrating part of the traditional waiting experience is that patients feel like they are waiting forever with no idea of when their turn will come. The virtual waiting room allows patients to track themselves in line so that they always have an idea of when their turn will show up. This feature of the virtual waiting room decreases waiting frustrations.

Automated Notifications

Rather than having to call each patient to let them know they can come inside, your practice can automatically notify them when it is their turn. These notifications can be used to alert the patient when to come inside, where to go, what to bring with them, as well as COVID-19 related instructions.

Keeps You Organized

A virtual waiting room is key to keeping your check-in process organized and efficient. This tool also helps providers track their patients in line while also showing them what the patient needs at check-in. This includes pre-visit requirements, balances, and more.

Improve the Patient Experience

Lastly, the virtual waiting room is a key component to improving the patient experience. The traditional waiting process is incredibly frustrating for the patient. Not only do they not know how long they are going to have to wait, but they also have to sit in a quiet, stuffy, and sometimes crowded waiting room. The virtual waiting room allows them to wait comfortably in their care, listen to music, make phone calls, eat lunch, and many of the other things they would not feel comfortable within a traditional waiting room setting. Being able to wait comfortably and conveniently in their care improves their overall waiting experience.

To learn more about how your team can implement a virtual waiting room, click here.