As the U.S. moves closer to the 50% fully vaccinated mark, and some states or counties have even reached as high as 70% of adults fully vaccinated, offices are starting to reevaluate their COVID protocols. Whether you are considering lifting some or most of your guidelines, it’s important to keep your patients informed. To avoid confusion, it’s better to cover all of your bases so you can ensure you get the message out whether it’s through email, phone, or text.
- You should have an email list of patients who have visited your clinic. Once you’ve decided how your protocols will be changing, send out a newsletter detailing the new requirements.
- Have a script ready to go for front staff when scheduling appointments over the phone. Older patients may not check their email as often or are not as comfortable texting, so this will be the main way you inform them of any changes.
- If you use text reminders, be sure to include your COVID protocols in there as well. Detail how they should check in and if they are allowed to be in the waiting room or should wait in their car until called in.
- Update your website and social media. Your more tech-savvy patients will benefit from this, but it’s also one of the best ways to inform new patients. When searching for a clinic, patients will often do research that includes looking at your website, so then they’ll know exactly what your current protocols are.
- If your clinic will require proof of vaccination to go maskless for the safety of your immunocompromised patients, then you will need to plan out what that process looks like. For example, asking them to bring in their vaccination card so you can copy it like their insurance card.
- Post a sign to the door of your office outlining the most important protocols such as “Masks Required” or “Maintain Social Distance.”
Additionally, clinics should still be prepared with disposable masks and hand sanitizer on hand as we get closer to herd immunity. It’s important for clinics to keep their patients’ best interests in mind, which also includes accurate billing. Patients start to lose trust in a medical office if they’re being billed incorrectly or are suffering from fees due to late claims that were out of their control. Outsource Receivables Inc. serves specialty clinics nationwide and helps them improve their revenue cycle and overall administrative duties. If you’re in need of new software or a billing evaluation, contact our experts for more.