We know that running a home care business is challenging as there are many moving parts for managers, admin and medical staff. However, some physical tasks, such as going to and from a care patient’s house to monitor them, can be streamlined by integrating telehealth and other medical advancements.

With the increasing number of workers shifting out of the home care industry, remote staffing is becoming a more frequent alternative solution to the medical staff shortage, with thousands of medical businesses recruiting virtual assistants from companies like My Mountain Mover. Medical VAs are more flexible than their in-office counterparts and even help businesses cut up to 70% of their usual staffing costs.

Say you hire a virtual assistant to make managing a home care business easier; what are the behind-the-scenes tasks you can delegate to virtual assistants? Here are some of the most common:

Billing

Because providing home care services has a business aspect, billing is one of the core responsibilities that maintain it. However, virtual billers can complete this tedious task without being present physically. These remote professionals simply need system access to the business’ billing software, and they can perform duties like:

• Preparing, reviewing, and transmitting claims
• Identifying and billing secondary and tertiary insurance
• Cross-checking for payment discrepancies
• Obtaining referrals and pre-authorizations
• Responding to patient inquiries on accounts, eligibility, and benefits

Coding

When providing quality patient care, there’s no room for any mistakes that can be detrimental to the service provider. That’s why patient records must maintain maximum accuracy. Home care businesses can leverage the attention to detail and industry knowledge of virtual assistants by recruiting them for coding-related tasks. In most cases, these remote talents can handle responsibilities such as:

• Managing and monitoring patient records
• Assigning and sequencing codes for rendered services
• Identifying deficiencies in patient documents
• Working with the medical biller for proper billing

Medication Handling

Medical virtual assistants can also order medications and refills electronically. Regulations surrounding controlled substances can differ from state to state, but this is a manageable factor in what virtual assistants can do. In addition, they can take over tasks such as:

• Monitoring the medication intake of patients
• Educating patients on the proper medication dosage and usage
• Checking for possible drug allergic reaction
• Consulting with physicians when necessary

Nutrition Consulting

One of the things that help improve the quality of life of home care patients is proper nutrition, and virtual assistants can easily provide instructions for appropriate food choices as virtual nutritionists. They can design health education programs based on their diet and nutrition recommendations. In addition, virtual assistants can handle the following:

• Creating meal plans for patients
• Educating patients on what foods they should avoid
• Evaluating patients’ weight changes
• Conducting visits through remote patient monitoring or RPM software

Remote Patient Monitoring

Through medical advancements like telehealth, virtual assistants can efficiently monitor patients without physically being near them. Through remote patient monitoring or RPM, physicians and other in-office staff can have more time for other tasks because virtual assistants are capable of:

• Evaluating and confirming that documents in the EHR are current
• Performing assessments about the patient’s progress
• Collaborating with other healthcare professionals
• Ensuring that patients have orders and consents for RPM

Why Delegate Tasks to Medical VAs?

The primary aim of home care businesses is to provide the necessary care services for patients who are elderly, recovering from serious medical illnesses, and have special needs or disabilities – everything else is secondary. When you delegate other tasks to virtual assistants, you focus on tasks closer to that aim.

You might think that managing a team of in-office staff is easier because you’re all working in the same location, but there are other things to consider. Because virtual medical assistants are remote workers, they are used to working independently and with minimal supervision. They know they are judged by their work, not by how busy they appear.

In conclusion, integrating medical VAs from a reputable virtual assistant company into your home care team will make managing the business more efficient and less time-consuming.