Greetings!
We are excited to send out our second newsletter, the winter edition, as hopefully cool weather and ice come to an end and more spring days filled with sunshine are in our near future.
In this newsletter we wanted to focus on patient engagement. With our ever changing world and abilities to connect via technology, we wanted to give an overview of the tools we are currently able to use to engage patients and families. We also want to conclude by opening the conversation up to you if you think of any ideas or suggestions that will better allow us to connect, engage and inform as we seek to provide compassionate, competent care in the Triad and beyond.
Patient Engagement: Leveraging Technology for Good
Technological advancements and developments in our society continue to evolve at what at times feels like warp speed. We are grateful for a local medical software partner, TriMed Technologies (https://www.trimedtech.com/), that serves to keep us on the cutting edge of technology and ways to regularly engage with patients and families.
Here is a summary of our current tools that many of you are familiar with: a website (https://www.triadpediatrics.com/) that allows you to register and book appointments online; a patient portal that allows you to view records and send secure messages to nurses and providers; and texting features that allow you to confirm or cancel appointments, as well as let us know when you have arrived for an appointment and check-in online (which saves time and cuts down on the use of paper!).
Did you know that US smartphone users send and receive five times more texts than they make and receive calls, and 78% of people wish they could have a text conversation with a business? We want to make sure your children are receiving the best care possible, so we really enjoy utilizing this technology and improving it to better serve you. Studies have also shown that 98% of text messages are opened, so we aim to send you updates and reminders in the easiest way possible.
Our software company updated our texting features just in time for the changes that came with 2020! We have always had the ability to send outgoing texts regarding appointments, but allowing parents to text us has been a huge advantage. These features have really served us well during the Covid pandemic. We have essentially been able to eliminate our waiting room during this time, informing you when your nurse and provider are ready so that you can come right in and right to your exam room. In addition, now with two buildings, texting allows us to send an appointment reminder letting you know if your appointment is in “Africa” or “Asia”.
Another texting feature that has been added over the last year is the ability to send a link to upload pictures straight to your child’s chart. This is extremely beneficial in situations when you are trying to decide if your child should be seen in our clinic. If you call us with questions, we can send you a link to upload a picture for the provider to review and let you know if your child should be seen! This is also helpful when a telemedicine visit is scheduled and you know your child may not cooperate to be seen on the video call. The last way we utilize this feature is to upload pictures of insurance cards, which is very useful for our front and billing staff.
We are grateful for the ever improving technology we use, and we hope to always use it for good in order to serve you and serve others.
We appreciate how many of you have asked, “How is Dr. Dillard and his family? And, “When are they planning to return?”
Overall they are doing well. The demands and difficulties of Dr. Dillard’s work at Tenwek are definitely painful and tiring. But the Lord has sustained them up to this point, and we trust that His provision will continue to provide and sustain as they enter this final phase of their period of service at Tenwek. Lord willing, they plan to return to the states this summer and then hopefully he will be ready to begin seeing patients again late summer, early fall. Please continue to pray for faithfulness and strength for his entire family.
We want to hear from you! If you have any suggestions on ways we can better engage, providing tools and resources that make access to care and providers easier, we would love to hear from you. We can’t promise we will be able to implement all suggestions, but we will definitely consider and review. Click here to reach us!
Stay healthy & safe!
Your Triad Pediatrics Team
Credits:
Created with images by syahirhakim - "nature pine snow" • DariuszSankowski - "phone smartphone sony" • Jonny_Joka - "elephants family africa"