Some Advantages of Using Electronic Patient Forms for the Clinics
For a few decades, technology has been improving rapidly and digital solutions are coming into existence for almost every problem. Industries are improving their work operations by the use of these technological solutions. The world as a whole is transforming from paper to paperless documentation. From filing tax returns to paying utility bills (including electricity and gas), the shift to a digitized life is in full swing. Some modern-day healthcare units are also improving their workflows by upgrading themselves from paper forms to paperless patient forms.
This change is not true for the health industry as a whole because many dental practices have been slow to adapt. Despite the ease and efficiency, these digital new patient forms offer, many front offices look the same now as they did 15 years ago. Clipboards, pens, stapled forms, and copying machines for insurance cards are the things they consider more reliable. Here in this article, we will enlighten them with some great benefits of going digital and using the captive portal tool to gather patient data.
Benefits of Using Digital Patient Forms in Your Healthcare Facilities:
The following are the advantages you can avail yourself of when using new patient forms in your healthcare,
Efficient for the Staff:
When a patient comes to your venue and you are using the old traditional way of patient intaking, you will have to go through a lot for registering even a single patient. You will start by placing paper on the clipboard and handing it over to the patient. Then, you will receive a filled-out form and an insurance card. Also, you need to copy the insurance card before handing it back to the patient. The next step would be to read (sometimes illegible) handwriting and then transfer this information into your practice management software. The procedure will end by replacing paper on the clipboard for the next patient. From all this, you can conclude that paper forms are flat-out inefficient.
Digital forms, on the other hand, don’t require any assistance from the staff. Patients can use their mobile phones to fill out these forms and submit them on their own. And the captive portal tool will capture this data for you. This practice leaves staff with a lot of time to do some productive work. Furthermore, these forms allow multiple patients to fill in their information simultaneously. All in all, when using electronic forms, your team will be happier and more liberated from the monotony of clipping, copying, deciphering, and transcribing, their days have now been freed up.
Efficient for Patients:
There is no doubt that the modern patient experience hinges on convenience. The most successful healthcare units find ways to connect with patients on the patients’ terms. Be it enabling patients to view their accounts through a patient portal or sending appointment reminders via text messages, healthcare works in accordance with the convenience of the patients. Additionally, when you offer electronic forms, the patient experience grows even further. It moves beyond a reminder or payment into an actionable, smoother way to come see the doctor.
Pre-visit Patient Data:
Having the patient's information ahead of time allows you to make more accurate decisions. In emergency cases or in cases of critical patients, you will have information regarding the health record and allergic problems of the patients in advance. And by the use of this information, you can take timely accurate decisions regarding your patient's health. With paper form, on the other hand, you are sometimes helpless to take hasty decisions and this increases the chances of errors.
Save Time and Money:
Automating your intake process with the help of digital forms eliminates labor and resource costs associated with paper-based procedures. Also, with electronic forms, you no longer need to scan or transcribe your patients' forms. You don’t need to store data on a single hard drive, rather the data will be housed on the cloud. With it, you won’t have the fear of data getting destroyed. Furthermore, when using the appropriate automation service, your data will be backed-up regularly, and you will be able to access it, wherever and whenever you like.
Secure System:
When dealing with patients' private information, you need to be very careful. You should make sure you are complying with regulations (HIPAA, PIPEDA, etc) and avoid severe penalties. That’s another very important reason for using a service that is compliant. You can let the experts deal with the mandated technical requirements while you focus on providing value to your clients. All in all, choose paperless patient forms because paper forms can’t provide as much security as they do. If you want to see these benefits in your own practice, sign up with Veerchual and start using e-forms with your patients today.