and healthcare practitioners
are moving online to help their clients.
by Jim Harris
Google+ and Skype are making virtual healthcare practice a reality. There is a high degree of interest today when someone mentions an internet or virtual-based healthcare practice. Questions arise relating to how a virtual practice works. People are curious whether it’s suitable for their personal needs.
All kinds of business consultants today are using social media, video calls and video conferencing. But this discussion primarily relates to holistic healthcare.
Holistic Healthcare in the 21st Century:
Google+ and Skype
Holistic practitioners work under the premise that the body has the innate ability to heal and/or repair itself.
For the repair or healing to occur, anything stressing the body must be removed and the correct building blocks need to be available.
The stressors could include:
- emotional stress
- chemical toxins
- metals
- organisms (such as bacteria, fungi, parasites)
The function of the virtual practitioner is to determine if there are stressors present and to develop a strategy or protocol for their removal.
The practitioner must also address a systematic approach for the healing or rebuilding of the body to occur.
Holistic practitioners work under the premise
that the body has the innate ability to heal and/or repair itself”
Potential clients of the virtual practitioner generally have gone through the practice’s web site and gained a degree of familiarity with the practice and the practitioner. The potential client tends to be well-informed and prepared with pertinent questions.
First contact between the new client and the practitioner is usually by either email or telephone. Subsequent communications are generally made by video conferencing using computers and free programs like Hangouts on Google+, or Skype.
A virtual practitioner will need to have good listening skills, a wealth of theoretical knowledge and years of prior hands-on clinical experience.
Advantages to Clients of Virtual Healthcare Practice
- no travel time required for appointments
- elimination of travel expenses for appointments
- weather at time of appointment is not an issue
- appointments are in the comfort of your home or office
- practitioner and client can be in different cities or states as the distance between them is not an issue
- necessary supplements, herbs, etc. are conveniently drop-shipped right to your door
The next time you think about wanting to have quality of life as you get older you may want to think about a contacting a virtual holistic healthcare practitioner.
Jim Harris is a Naturopath and Nutritional Consultant assisting people all over the world through his virtual practice at The Art of Wellness Center. Jim is a graduate from the American Naturopathic Medical Institute and recognizes that our bodies have the innate capability for self-healing — especially when the correct information and energy is supplied in combination with the correct food, supplements and herbs.
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What a time saver!
Hi Jared – It works for my clients all across the country. They just love it.
Jim
I use skype with my clients, too – one of the most important issues in the virtual relationship is to realize that we can’t see everything. This translates into a very real need to go at a “slower” pace than you typically might if the person was right in front of you. It’s easy to overwhelm and inundate the person with material that’s shared rather than allowing the “space” to invite it to emerge. I find that my “habits” that show up when interacting within the virtual world must be more conscious to be effective with virtual consulting.
The other key issue is the ease of ‘disconnecting” that the client has when connecting virtually. The possibility of running into them in the grocery store or at the gym, is less present, and the depth of the relationship is slower to build or maintain the thick thread of connection. For this reason, as well, I move much more slowly in the virtual world than I would if I were in person.
Interesting post — found myself thinking about my work “virtually” in more depth as I commented… thank you…
Hello Sam and thank you for your comments. I believe what you are saying is the importance of relationship-building. Relationships are primary in any professional situation and this includes trust. Before each client consultation I ask for a detailed email about what is happening in their lives as well as how the program I have them on is working for them. Not until I have this information will I begin to go to the next step.
We then have a video conference using Skype. Through nutritional supplements and herbs I supply the building blocks my clients require to repair the body. You can’t rush the repair process and as a result we do move forward at a slow pace.
Great observation and congratulations to you for being on the leading edge with your client communication techniques.
~ Jim Harris
This is wonderful and something I hadn’t thought about!
It strikes me that these new platforms and technologies would be the perfect vehicles to deliver health and wellness services to those who have the most difficulty leaving their homes. For them it is not just a convenience, but could also be a lifesaver! Of course, I am talking most about the elderly who are, unfortunately, less likely to use computers.
Now, for the $64,000 question (or $64 M with inflation): will this be the incentive needed to finally get these folks up to speed? And wouldn’t it be interesting if, in a way, eldercare nurses become the next wave of social media evangelists and IT specialists? Hmmm…
Thanks for your comments Paul. I do have elderly people in my practice and we communicate via regular mail and telephone. These folks have usually heard about me from their children who are already virtual clients.
~ Jim Harris
This is a very interesting post and concept for healthcare. Why not use it and help more people? Globalization of business made possible by this same technology has changed the way that people communicate everywhere in their lives.
Makes perfect sense to me!
Peggy
Hi Peggy – Thanks for the positive feedback. You are so correct… I can reach far more people with a vritual practice, people who would otherwise not be able to see me based on demographics.
~ Jim Harris