BLOG: Is your website COVID compatible?
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The era of social distancing is upon us now and for the foreseeable future.
Many patients will continue to receive some eye care services, such as initial consultations or postops, in a virtual setting. The distance spacing requirements between patients may limit the number of patients who can come to your practice at any one time. To limit contact between patients and your staff, much interaction will need to be accomplished through your website.
The following steps should help to ensure your website is in line with this trend:
Pay your bill online
The website should have a login so that patients can set up an account and pay online.
Call or text
The website should have a call or text feature listed on the desktop. On the mobile version, there should be separate icons so that the patient can simply click to call or text.
Contact form
Every website needs to have a contact form, not just a listing of the practice email address. The contact form allows you and the staff to more efficiently capture the information you know you need. The form should include fields for the patient’s name, desired time of appointment, virtual consultation option (check box) and procedure/condition of interest. The form should also include a selection for different locations, if applicable, and a captcha to limit spam. If you have online scheduling, the contact page should include an option to log in for this purpose.
New patient forms
To save time in the practice and to limit interaction with staff, new patient forms should be available on the site. Many of the EMRs have patient portals that allow patients to log in and fill out the information in a secure environment. If so, the site should include a link to this login. If not, there are a number of relatively inexpensive services ($50 to $100 per month) that allow you to set up encrypted forms on the website to maintain HIPAA compliance.
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