New ways of working

Get the right people on board! 5 roles to get on your side when you start your virtual clinic

Anna-Lena Kärrstrand

<span id="hs_cos_wrapper_name" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="text" >Get the right people on board! 5 roles to get on your side when you start your virtual clinic</span>

Which factors are the most important ones when you want to launch a virtual clinic? Easy-to-use tools, good planning, and clear goals are all great points but in fact, it’s the people that are the crown jewel of digital transformation. Below we list the key people in your organisation you should get on board to drive the change.

1. The Project Manager – secures the progress of the venture

Step 1 is to appoint a Project Manager who sets the framework of the organisation’s work with digital healthcare. The Project Manager should have overall control, work with strategies, goals, and planning and be able to answer questions internally and externally. The Project Manager is responsible for driving the project forward; he/she should be in close dialogue with management and have the mandate to make decisions on important issues.

2. The Pioneer – inspires and engages

The Project Manager should take a look around the organisation and appoint a number of people as Pioneers – those who will be the first to work with digital healthcare consultations. They can be doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals such as care navigators or mental health professionals who deal with patient consultations in their daily work. Pioneers should be interested, solution-oriented and open to trying out new methods of working. They usually handle the video consultations themselves, and they can take immense pleasure in sharing their experiences at regular intervals through evaluation meetings or newsletters. They should have clear and measurable targets to work towards. set by the Project Manager, e.g. the number of video consultations performed weekly.

Would you like to know more about what to think about before getting started with your virtual clinic? Read our guide!

It is immensely important to involve healthcare professionals at an early stage of the change management process. These people will become ambassadors for the development of digital healthcare. By listening to them, becoming familiar with their experiences and letting them have the opportunity to influence others, their level of commitment will rise. They can gradually help the Project Manager to motivate others as well as recruit more resources to work with digital healthcare within the organisation.

3. The Referrer – provides the patients with the right guidance

To increase the number of digital healthcare consultations, it’s crucial to market the option internally and within the organisation. It is particularly important to inform healthcare staff who are involved in referring and signposting patients to the right healthcare professionals. These can be receptionists or nurses working at NHS 111, as well as staff at a GP practice who receive incoming calls from patients who want to book consultations. By encouraging them to refer patients to digital healthcare consultations, the digital forms of communication can spread rapidly.

4. The Communicator – spreads the message

As mentioned above, internal marketing is important, but don’t forget external marketing either. If the patients contact the healthcare provider, e.g. during drop-in, they should be aware that a digital option is available. Make sure that your work with a Communicator who can develop a clear communication strategy that effectively reaches out to the patients with your new offer, and can decide which platforms you should use for different target groups.

5. The IT Technician – supports and helps

Frustration over malfunctioning technology can be very energy-consuming, and that’s why close cooperation with the IT department makes life easier. The IT department generally doesn’t run the project itself but they should be there for business support and facilitating. Having someone nearby who can support and assist with network settings, technical equipment, and firewalls are of immense value to those working with the new tools.

Visiba Group AB
Adolf Edelsvärds Gata 11 Göteborg, 414 51
Phone: 0761993666