In recent years, the delivery of healthcare services has greatly changed, with an emphasis on virtual services as we adapted to the demands of the 2020 pandemic. I've heard it time and time again, especially when it comes to physical therapy, how is it even possible to provide virtual services? This same issue rings true, but maybe even more so for pelvic health PT.
During this post, I'm going to walk through some of the key benefits to providing pelvic health services in the virtual setting.
If you’ve just opened the doors to your pelvic health practice, learn more about your next steps at my blog post here.
Technology Advancements
Not only has the healthcare world shifted tremendously over the past several years, we're all aware that technology continues to get better and better. For healthcare practices, and even pelvic health PT providers, these advancements in technology have made it possible to deliver quality care to patients in a remote setting.
I would encourage any physical therapy practice, especially pelvic floor physical therapy practices to jump on this digital train. Technology, even though it comes with a learning curve at times, allows us the opportunity to meet our patients where they're at. It allows us to further the reach of our services and serve better those we are so passionate about helping.
If you’d like to learn more about marketing your practice, either virtual or in-person, check out my blog post here.
Benefits of Virtual Pelvic Health Services
First, let's walk through some of the benefits of providing virtual pelvic health services as a practice. Many of these benefits may seem obvious from a "virtual sense," but may not have crossed your mind as a physical therapy provider.
Improved Patient Accessibility
One of the most significant advantages of virtual pelvic health services is the simplicity of improved accessibility to our patients. Virtual options eliminate the need for in-person visits, making it more readily available to individuals regardless of where they live.
Take it from me personally, I live in rural Emporia, KS. We have exactly one pelvic health PT within a reasonable commute here in the community. If she's booked up, patients will have to drive at least 45 minutes to an hour to access the care they need. By providing virtual options, patients no longer have to worry if they're in driving range of the pelvic health PT they want to go to, completely axing the issue of geographical location.
Convenience of Care
I don't want to discount the fact that it takes commitment on both the patient and provider end when it comes to pelvic health services, regardless of if they are in-person or virtual. With that being said, virtual options allow patients to schedule appointment times that are convenient to them without having to worry about commute time or where they are when they participate in their appointment, whether that be at home, the office, or at a gym.
In that same token, virtual services allow pelvic health providers to offer more flexible appointment times accommodating more individuals without the constraints of the traditional clinic setting.
The Comfort of Your Home
We know as pelvic health providers that the issues we treat, talk about, and exploit with our patients are sensitive. They're not something that most people enjoy sharing about to just anyone and in any environment.
During my time working in the busy outpatient setting, I can't imagine how patients would feel comfortable talking about these sensitive subjects when "Joe" and "Connie" that are being treated five feet away could possibly be eavesdropping.
Virtual services provide a level of privacy and comfort that may not be as easily achievable in the clinic setting without the right set up. By providing virtual services, this gives the patient the opportunity to discuss their concerns in the comfort of their own home or private space. This can help to greatly reduce the feeling of embarrassment and guarded tendencies for sharing by putting patients in a setting they are most comfortable.
Wait, We Can Both Save Money?
It may be hard to believe, but virtual services can also open up opportunities for both the patient and provider to save money. For the patient, they aren't having to pay excess gas prices if they have a commute to the clinic and they're probably also not having to take as much time off work to attend their virtual session.
On the flip side of things, for the provider, virtual services can help save overhead costs on a clinic facility. This also gives the provider the opportunity to provide virtual treatment in the comfort of their own home, eliminating the need for high costs of rent and utilities that typically come with a brick and mortar facility.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, virtual pelvic health services offer many benefits that can be achieved on their own or in complement to in-person care. As I said before, I would encourage each pelvic health provider to consider adding virtual services to their care options because I do feel like it will benefit both you and your patients in many ways.
Our goal is to help the people we serve and if providing virtual services gives us an opportunity to do just that, why not consider it?
If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed as a pelvic health practice owner, or if you want to learn more about how I could help you and your practice, get in touch!
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