Tips for Zero-Contact Patient Check-In at Your Practice

Advancements in technology have made life easy for people in all fields, including medicine. Today, with new social distancing guidelines being implemented, technology has become more important than ever.

Zero-contact patient registration™ is one way that you can make sure staff and patients feel safe at your practice. With digital pre-arrival and check-in solutions, zero-contact patient check-in is now easier than ever before to implement.

The Switch to Zero-Contact

As a result of COVID-19, medical facilities have had to reimagine patient check-in to reduce person-to-person contact and follow social distancing guidelines.

When staff check-in patients, objects like pens, clipboards, paper forms, driver’s licenses, insurance cards- and credit cards are items of potential surface risk. Not only is there potential for surface germ exposure, but patients and staff must also be in close proximity, which is thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

Luckily for medical practices, there are a variety of solutions built-in to electronic patient check-in platforms to help solve for the new normal. With solutions, like Clearwave, practices can immediately implement zero-contact patient check-in, virtual waiting rooms, digital pre-check all while ensuring up-to-date patient eligibility logic is running in real-time in the background.

Here are some tips to enhance digital patient check-in at your medical practice.

Tip 1. Digitize Check-In, Allowing Patients to Check-In From Home

Before COVID-19, the patient registration process had as many as six “touch” points during check-in. This included anything from touching pens, the handling of insurance cards, to passing over clipboards and paper forms to patients to fill out.

By digitizing patient check-in with options like Zero-Contact Patient Registration, patients can check-in from the comfort of their own home while also eliminating these six “touch” points. Using Zero-Contact check-in offerings enables office staff to send patients a link to check-in via text or email prior to their visit.

After receiving this, patients can then follow a short questionnaire to complete medical history and patient demographic information allowing them to check-in remotely. This includes the ability to upload any required pictures of their insurance card and answer COVID-19 screening questions. These steps keep patients and staff safe because the patient never has to step foot in the office to complete them.

For patients that do come into your practice, you can look for electronic patient check-in platforms that offer a physical set-up like kiosks or tablets. These additional check-in options provide your practice with flexibility if there are several patients that need to check-in without sacrificing the safety of your staff or your patients.

Electronic check-in platforms can even help verify insurance eligibility in real-time, leading to better patient data, an efficient eligibility verification workflow for staff and less contact at the front desk between staff and patients.

Tip 2: Use Mobile Pre-Check™ To Set Up A Virtual Waiting Room

It may become challenging to put social distancing into place at your practice if you are struggling with long wait lines. Mobile Pre-Check is a platform that allows patients to check-in the day or hour before and confirm appointments on their smartphones.

You can use mobile pre-check to limit contact between your patients and staff by setting up a Virtual Waiting Room, which is paired with in-office visits. With Mobile Pre-Check, the patient still receives a text or email reminder before their appointment.

Next, they complete the pre-check process, where they are then informed of the virtual waiting room option. From here, the staff at your practice verify the patient’s information, as well as the COVID-19 screening process and any flags.

Once the patient arrives at the practice’s parking lot, they call the provided number, which alerts you of their arrival. Your staff then checks the patient into Clearwave, which then automatically checks them into the Patient Management System.

The staff updates the patient status in Clearwave once the doctor is ready. A real-time text is then sent to the patient to alert them that they can come inside for their appointment. Thanks to the Virtual Waiting Room process, your practice can keep contact between patients and staff at an absolute minimum.

With a host of zero-contact solutions available from Clearwave, practices can now select a check-in option that works best for them. These solutions will reduce contact between staff and patients, ensuring their safety while minimizing the disruption of business.

Tip 3: Communicate Enhanced Safety Protocols to Your Patients

It may seem like the hard part is getting your patients back into your practice for appointments, but another thing to consider is how you’ll communicate with them. Make sure that you are keeping patients informed and communicating enhanced safety protocols that your practice is currently taking.

If your practice is currently implementing virtual waiting room technology, you may want to consider adding Clearwave’s Certified Zero-Contact Patient Check-In badge to your website. This is an easy way to reassure your patients that you are taking all necessary precautions and continuing to put their safety first.

Patients may be nervous about coming in to see their physician but it’s important that you reach out and be proactive. Set up a system where your staff can reach out to patients and easily reschedule any canceled appointments due to the coronavirus. Beyond calling and sending notices in the mail, send patients automatic text messages or emails that go straight to their mobile devices. These are the devices that they check the most and will likely use for further communication with your practice.

Refine Your Patient Check-in Process Today

Clearwave is here to ensure that your practice is compliant with all social distancing guidelines because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Integrating technology with zero-contact patient check-in is the best way to keep your patients and staff safe.

To learn more about how our solutions can help your practice, schedule a demo with Clearwave today!