A radiology practice in hard-hit Florida recently started asking patients to snap pictures of their referrals and driver’s licenses to help limit contact with staff during the pandemic.
Tampa-based Tower Radiology said Monday that its new virtual registration process begins once a customer schedules an appointment. Patients then will receive email and text message responses, steering them to start virtual registration.
Tower said its patients can then complete forms using their smartphone or computer, including submitting pictures of their ID and imaging exam prescription. To complete the process, the practice is sending out text message instructions 90 minutes before the appointment, with patients advised to leave without checking out at the registration desk.
“The launch of Tower’s new virtual registration process is a great way to support social distancing and decrease interactions between patients and staff,” CEO Larry Smith said in a June 29 statement. “Tower patients can complete their registration forms in the comfort of their home or car before their appointment,” he added.
They also hope the new registration procedures will help to shorten lobby wait times along with improving the patient experience. Smith and colleagues are now looking to add virtual scheduling soon, too, which would allow patients to pick times for their exams “at their leisure” over the web.
Around since 1992, Tower Radiology is affiliated with 1,010-bed Tampa General Hospital, employs 65 radiologists, and operates more than a dozen locations across the Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The Sunshine State has seen a recent explosion in COVID confirmations, with more than 8,500 new cases and 29 deaths reported Sunday, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.