Blog Virtual care, and more, with Plato

With the spread of COVID-19, patients seek doctors but may be hesitant to go to clinics. They understandably fear being exposed to the virus in clinics or while getting there. In light of this, Today reports that both the public and doctors alike are embracing telemedicine to facilitate digital consultations. With telemedicine, doctors can manage repeat patients without having their patients fear exposure or even incur time and costs otherwise involved in clinic visits.

Plato lets you do just that, and then some more.

Plato empowers you to run the end-to-end operations of a consultation digitally, without compelling the patient to physically visit your clinic. From booking appointments, consulting online, having medicines delivered, collecting payments, monitoring their health with surveys, monitoring their experience with feedback and even reminding them to visit again, Plato lets you run your clinical practice digitally.

Here’s a walk-through of your typical digital journey on Plato.

Imagine your patient has a chronic condition for which they see you repeatedly – you know the patient extremely well and they need to pick up their medicine from you and check in. The patient is scared of coming to the clinic because of COVID-19, and you want them to be comfortable. Your patient can call or book an appointment with you through your website: either way, it will sync seamlessly into your calendar on Plato.

You want to check in with your patient regularly to monitor their health over time. To collect this information, ask your patients routine questions through pre-consultation surveys that you can build using Typeform, a third-party app accessible on Plato’s Appstore.

You may want to inform the patient about the process, benefits, and risks of a teleconsult before they choose this option. Use Plato’s email-out consent forms to send the patient a custom-made consent form prior to their teleconsult. The patient can peruse this form at their leisure and read it thoroughly, letting them make an informed decision.

When the time comes for the patient’s teleconsult, all you and the patient need to do is click to join the call. PlatoConnect works for both Singaporean and Overseas patients – don’t let distance (or a virus) get in the way of checking up on your patients. See each other on PlatoConnect, and even add caregivers to the call if needed.

Following the call, you can provide the patient with follow-up medication if needed. These medicines can be physically delivered to your patients from using the G-MEDS integration with Plato. Your patient will receive medicine from the comfort of their home.

To collect payment for these services, allow patients to make card-based payments to you digitally using PlatoPay.

Once the consultation is over, monitor your patients’ satisfaction with a quick survey on Delighted. This third-party app, integrated via Plato’s Appstore, uses Net Promoter System® to gather actionable feedback in minutes requiring no technical knowledge on your part.

Finally, if you need to ensure your patient keeps a regular schedule of visits. set up an appointment reminder on Plato Recall. For example, if your patient is diabetic or requires a medication refill and checkup periodically, Plato lets you automatically remind patients to book appointments with you and stay adherent to their care plan.

Whether virtual consultations are a temporary and occasional stopgap measure, a way to engage with foreign patients, or a permanent add-on service to your practice – Plato now gives you the option to conduct a fully virtual visit.

Note: Typeform and Delighted are third-party apps that are integrated with Plato and listed on Plato’s Appstore. Regulations and SMC guidelines may apply to the practice of telemedicine; please review the same before using PlatoConnect.

– Swathi Bhat