Elevate Your Practice: Medical and Dental Virtual Assistants

Maximize Efficiency with Medical & Dental Virtual Assistants

Medical and dental virtual assistants are two additions to the healthcare workforce that are quickly becoming more and more important. These two professions have become responsible for increasing the accessibility and quality of patient care in medical and dental offices. Not only are they important in assisting in administrative tasks, but they also play a part in ensuring the practitioner’s clinical tasks are done supremely.

Either job isn’t easy. A medical virtual assistant and a dental virtual assistant must be excellent at multitasking, attention to detail, efficiency, and communication. However, they’re also highly fulfilling jobs. Assisting medical professionals to perform their jobs well means ensuring patients are cared for properly. The responsibilities a virtual dental receptionist or medical VA handles all lead to patient satisfaction, security, and well-being.

Those who want to take this particular career path will need to consider a lot of matters. Do they want to become a virtual medical assistant for doctors and specialized practitioners? Or do they want to join the dental industry and become a virtual assistant for the doctors who maintain everybody’s oral health?

The Differences and Similarities Between Medical and Dental Virtual Assistants

The core functions of medical and dental virtual assistants are, in a lot of ways, similar. However, both jobs are highly multifaceted. A lot of the aspects of both jobs are similar, but many are also highly different. These are things one needs to consider before becoming one or the other.

With that being said, here are the contrasts and similarities between medical and dental virtual assistants.

Differences

These are the differences between a medical VA and a dental VA.

1. Base Clinical Knowledge – The base medical knowledge medical and dental assistants draw from are vastly different. From procedures, conditions, and medications to processes and patient handling. These two worlds are both in the healthcare sector, but the fundamental knowledge a virtual assistant must know to function in them are different.
2. Patient education – It is one of the duties of a virtual assistant to provide patient education whenever necessary. The doctor or dentist may task you with this every once in a while. That being said, educating a patient as a dental virtual assistant means talking about oral hygiene, post-appointment care, and dental procedures. On the other hand, medical virtual assistants educate on things such as treatment plans, general health, and specific medication.
3. Software – Due to the differences in work nature, a vast majority of the software that virtual medical assistants and virtual dental assistants is different. For example, virtual medical assistants use software that handles electronic health records. On the other hand, virtual dental assistants use applications like dental practice management software.
4. Types of procedures – As a virtual assistant in the medical and dental field, you’ll still have the responsibility of knowing the types of procedures your doctor or dentist does. This is for proper documentation and patient education, among other things. Medical assistants need to know about medical procedures, general health information, and diagnoses. On the other hand, dental assistants need to know about oral-health–related procedures, dental cleaning, and extractions.
5. Medical terminology – You’ll need to be incredibly knowledgeable in medical or dental terminologies if you’re to work in either field. However, the terminologies used in these areas are very different. There are many terminologies that get thrown around in dental clinics that are never used in medical clinics. This is another difference in education between these two areas.
6. Training – The training medical virtual assistants go through tackles broader medical areas. There are more things this type of job needs to know. It can also depend on the specialty of the doctor you end up working for. As a medical virtual assistant, if you end up working for a cardiologist, your training will lean more towards information in that field. On the other hand, as a dental virtual assistant, your training will solely be on dental procedures, terminologies, and everything else concerning this specific medical field.
7. Patient frequency, population, and interaction – The patient frequency, population, and your interactions between being a medical virtual assistant and a dental virtual assistant are noticeably different. The demographics and conditions dictate your interactions with these patients and the reason for one entering a medical clinic is sorely different than a dental clinic. One of these can be more dire than the other, thus affecting your entire interaction with them.
8. Regulation compliance – Both fields have different sets of regulations in terms of compliance. Virtual assistants need to be aware of this. In fact, this is an essential part of the training one will undergo before they become a medical or dental assistant. You’ll know these laws and regulations for the sake of the patient’s safety and the security of their information and health records.

Similarities

These are the similarities between a medical VA and a dental VA.

1. Administrative tasks – Both medical and dental virtual assistants tackle administrative tasks daily. From scheduling appointments and managing the schedule of everybody in the clinic to basic office tasks such as data entry, you can expect these tasks whether you’re working for an optometrist, an anesthesiologist, a general practitioner, or a doctor who handles dental practices.
2. Communication skills – Communication is another important skill to have when you work a job where you’re answering calls and emails regular. You’ll communicate with patients, doctors, and other healthcare organizations. If your client offers it, you’ll also be in charge of managing telehealth, which requires excellent communication skills.
3. The ability to adapt and be flexible – Healthcare practices are always changing. As a virtual assistant in either profession, you’ll have to adapt and be flexible to the changes that happen in the industry. New technology, new practices, regulation changes, whatever it is, you’ll have to quickly adapt to these changes without compromising work quality.
4. Customer service – You will have to communicate with patients constantly as a VA. You’ll answer calls and emails, follow up on appointments, and ensure a patient takes their medication, among a few others. You will be a virtual dental receptionist or a medical customer service representative for your client’s office.
5. Billing and insurance – You’ll need to ensure invoices are accurate and you’ll also have to communicate with insurance providers. Both medical and dental assistants do this task regularly. You’ll be required to handle billing processes and processing insurance claims. It will also be your duty as a VA to assist patients so that this process is simple and seamless.
6. Consideration of privacy – Privacy and confidentiality are important in the medical world. This is something you’ll take into consideration when you handle medical records. Regulations may be different for medical and dental offices, but the nature of confidentiality remains true with both. You’ll have to make sure the information of your patients is well-kept, private, and uncompromised.
7. Proficiency in technology – The software virtual dental assistants and medical assistants use are different. However, both require technological proficiency. You’ll have to know how to use any software your client’s office uses, quickly understand how to use an application after a new update, and most importantly, know how to use whatever application is given to you efficiently and effectively.
8. The ability to collaborate – As a virtual assistant in both the medical and dental fields, you’ll have to collaborate with other individuals. This includes other VAs and healthcare professionals. You’ll be in charge of networking, marketing, and being the productivity liaison of your office. This means collaborating with other employees to make sure your client’s office is working as efficiently and productively as it can possibly be.

Responsibilities of a Medical and Dental Virtual Assistant

Medical and dental assistants are in charge of a lot of responsibilities. As such, the job will be hectic. Your client and team will need you as much as you need them.

Understand just how important your job is to support these industries. Here are some of the key roles and responsibilities you’ll have to take on as a medical or dental virtual assistant.

Information gathering

Your client will consistently task you with assistance with information gathering when you’re a virtual assistant in the medical or dental field. You’ll gather things such as patient records, regulation documents, insurance documents, and so on.

It won’t only be your duty to gather these materials, you’ll also need to know where to get them. In some instances, you’ll be tasked to gather things without being told exactly where to get them. This happens on things such as research materials and specific documents.

Scheduling appointments

Scheduling appointments more patients is one of the daily administrative tasks of a dental or medical virtual assistant. Patients will contact your client’s clinic, whether through call, social media, or email, and you will have to be the one to respond to that.

Whenever a client requests an appointment, you’ll need to make sure you can find a schedule for them. Every call needs to turn into an appointment and no scheduling conflicts ever arise. It will also be your responsibility to inform your client of these appointments.

Managing patient and employee records

VAs keep and maintain patient and employee records. Every piece of data needs to be accurate. Time also matters here, which means everything needs to be up-to-date. You’ll need to update patients’ health records and employee information. This is time consuming and means you’ll have to contact the proper channels from time to time to update any relevant information.

You’ll also have to make sure records are organized. You’ll need to pay extra attention to detail for this facet of the job.

Tools and instrument sterilization and maintenance coordination

While you’re not physically at your client’s clinic, the doctor or dentist may still task you with making sure their tools and instruments are sterilized and properly maintained. In your client’s office, you are someone who makes sure productivity and quality are always high. Your client and their colleagues won’t be able to do their jobs efficiently if the tools they’re using are not up to par. You’re there to make sure that always happens.

Keep track of the quality of the materials that are used in your client’s office. Make sure nothing falls victim to wear and tear. You’ll do things such as putting “sterilization” in the schedule of someone who’s responsible for sterilizing the tools. Finally, you’ll be in charge of informing the right channels whether an item needs replacing or not.

Communicate with patients

Communicate with your client’s patients on a regular basis whether it’s to follow up on an appointment, inform of a treatment plan, provide a solution to a specific problem, or simple query for the sake of paperwork management.

This is also for the sake of patient satisfaction. You will communicate with your client’s patients to make sure they’re properly cared for and that their medical needs are met. Otherwise, you will be tasked to do surveys to make sure patient satisfaction remains high. It will be your duty to treat them to ensure they are satisfied with your client’s services. This can mean assisting them with medicine refills and prescription inquiries.

Finance and insurance

Money keeps your client’s practice going. In return, this means money is keeping your job afloat. As it happens, as a medical or dental virtual assistant, you’ll be responsible for assisting in billing processes and medical coding. You’ll process invoices and make sure everything is in order for accurate and proper billing.

You’ll also be in charge of handling insurance verification. You’ll be in charge of submitting claims. From time to time, you will assist patients in communicating with insurance providers so that their insurance verification information is accurate and in order. Everything that involves financial transactions may fall under your hands as a virtual assistant for a healthcare provider.

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Medical scribing

Medical scribing is another responsibility every medical and dental virtual assistant takes care of. This means taking down notes or accurately transcribing appointments and procedures so that your client can actively focus on their patients and their needs. You may then hand over the notes you take to the doctor or dentist afterward.

Research

Research also plays a huge part in your role as a virtual assistant. A client may entrust this to you so that they can save time and focus on their patients or personal endeavors. After all, doctors and dentists have a lot on their plate. Removing the workload of research from their schedule frees them up to handle other, more crucial responsibilities.

From researching medical materials and papers to regulation documents, you’ll have to gain access to a lot of materials so that you can hand them over to your client. You’ll also learn a lot about the industry you’re in while doing this task.

Training and Skills: Assisting in Medical and Dental Practice

Medical and dental virtual assistants undergo extensive training before they are carried over to a client. This is a job that requires a lot of training and practice. Organizations such as VMeDx ensure VAs are well-trained and go through a proper vetting process so that clients see that they are prepared to take on any challenges and tasks that may go their way.

This begins in the hiring process. VMeDx will only hire those who have enough skills and experience in medicine or dentistry. These are fields that require both. However, where you lack in experience, you’ll have to make up for in skills and dedication. The training you’ll go through will hone skills such as:

• Communication
• Organization
• Punctuality
• Performing under pressure
• Confidentiality
• Multitasking
• Taking initiative

You’ll be placed under simulations that are based on real-life and practice scenarios so that you’re well-prepared to perform despite whatever situation arises. The medical and dental fields can be incredibly high-pressure. You’ll have to work well in these situations to perform efficiently.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll also be educated and trained in HIPAA compliance. This is so you will not compromise EHRs (electronic health records). This is a vital aspect in this industry and VMeDx will ensure that you’re well-educated on it.

Conclusion

Medical and dental virtual assistants carries huge responsibility. However, as already mentioned early on in this article, being a VA is a highly satisfying and fulfilling position. On top of that, it is also a job that can provide you with financial security. It’s a tough job, but it rewards you well with proper pay and good benefits.

The services and expertise you provide in the business you work for will pay you back ten-fold. You’ll feel challenged and tested, but you’ll also be rewarded and fulfilled for being an incredible VA. Be the best VMeDx VA you can be and you’ll reap the rewards.

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