The Modern Virtual Practice: Upgraded with AI
5 ways we use AI and no-code tools to run low-maintenance clinical operations.
This year we launched our telemedicine practice, The Collaborative — a practice of elite national expert doctors focused exclusively on treating menopause and perimenopause with operations in nearly all 50 states. As co-founder and CTO, my key responsibility was to build the right infrastructure for an entirely virtual medical company, operated by a fully remote workforce and distributed leadership.
As I’m building in 2024, a distinct advantage I have, not available before, is the availability of AI tools and mature no-code tools. I’ve built three virtual care women’s health practices over the last decade. Building the technology infrastructure for a national telemedicine group is complex and expensive requiring investment from venture capital. This is not ideal, as the VC model doesn’t align well with the direct practice of medicine. So part of this experiment was to see if the time has come to build infrastructure for a national telemedicine group without heavy VC investment. To date, we’ve taken no venture capital investment.
So in this article, I want to demonstrate a selection of five innovative tools we developed for our environment.
1. Real-Time Notifications: The Heartbeat of Our Operations
Imagine this: every time a patient books, reschedules, or cancels an appointment, a payment is made, a Slack or Google Chat message arrives to every team member’s channel. We have such a system which functions as a a pulse check for all of our teams. Every time an important financial or operational event occurs real-time notification keeps all of our teams informed.
The technology team uses it as a way to keep tabs that all our 3rd party integrations are firing smoothly; the marketing team uses it as a way to immediately see performance from their social media campaigns, the C-suite uses it as a way to see that all areas of the company are operating smoothly.
This real-time flow of information means no more waiting for end-of-day reports or sifting through emails to see what’s happening. Everyone is on the same page, which translates into quicker decision-making and a more responsive practice.
How we did it
Our team uses Google Chat internally. We have a channel that any interested team member can subscribe to and observe the flow of activity of the virtual operations.
2. Self-Managed Scheduling: Empowering Patients and Providers
In our practice, patients and providers manage their own schedules seamlessly. We don’t have cumbersome, centralized, one size fits all appointment templates that is common in EMR’s. This means there is no individual responsible for setting appointment templates, opening or closing blocks for changes, to the calendar.
Patient-Led Scheduling A patient who suddenly has a conflict can open our app, find a new available slot, and reschedule their appointment in seconds — no phone calls, no fuss. This process not only saves time but also gives patients control over their healthcare, which is a huge satisfier.
Doctor-Led Schedule Management Doctors, too, have full control. If a physician needs to close a block of time for a last-minute commitment, they can do so directly in the system. Conversely, if they find an unexpected free hour, they can open it up for patient bookings, filling their day more efficiently.
This flexibility is key to running a modern practice. It keeps patients happy by making it easy to get the care they need, and it helps providers maintain a balanced, manageable schedule.
3. AI-Data Analyst: Daily Operational Reports
At the end of each day, we generate a report summarizing key metrics like appointment volumes, patient feedback, and daily revenue. The automation is set up using a flow in n8n. The flow is set up with an AI data analyst flow which not only presents the numbers, but compares trends, and for instance, if the AI detects a drop in appointment bookings on a particular day, it might suggest this could be due to a recent holiday or concurrent events. We continue to work on improving the AI analytical ability by giving it access to additional data sources that it can use to perform additional analysis and generate insights useful to our operational team. A short clip of the summary is then sent to our notification channel.
Every month, our AI tools additionally perform a deep dive into the data, automatically generating Excel files and graphical reports that break down how our scheduling and revenue systems performed. If there’s a trend of more patients rescheduling certain types of appointments, the AI flags this for us to investigate further.
These AI-generated insights save hours of manual data crunching and give us a clear view of what’s working and what isn’t. We can quickly pivot our strategies based on real data, rather than guesswork.
4. Internal tools built with no-code and AI
Our tools we use were developed in-house, tailored specifically for the needs of our practice. This gives us an edge — our systems aren’t generic; they’re designed to meet the exact demands of our virtual operation.
We’ve extensively used n8n in a self-hosted environment to ensure privacy and HIPAA compliance. This platform allows us to quickly connect our database to automation and AI processes. We use it to populate Google Sheets for reporting and send real-time notifications via Google Chat or Slack, keeping our team informed and aligned.
5. Lead Generation with AI Micro-tools
We’re discovering that AI micro-tools are a potent lead generation strategy. We deployed multiple AI micro-tools that provide valuable education or information personalized to each user. For example, we started by offering targeted quizzes on topics such as the optimal vaginal cream for menopausal symptoms and the specific stage of perimenopause or menopause a user might be experiencing. We engage potential clients in a personalized, informative journey. This interactive approach helps users foster a sense of trust and relevance, guiding users through our offerings in a manner that is both educational and customized to their needs.
The quizzes are anonymous but helps us understand our user’s unique circumstances and preferences, allowing for tailored recommendations. Moreover, the data gleaned from these quizzes is invaluable in refining our marketing strategies and enhancing our service offerings.
By directing social media and Google ad traffic to these microtools, we not only increase user engagement but also seamlessly transition interested individuals from casual browsers to potential clients, thus optimizing our conversion rates and driving growth in our virtual practice.
Final Thoughts
Running a virtual practice today means embracing these innovations fully — because in 2024, technology isn’t just part of the practice; it is the practice.
