Hälsocoach online (Online health coach) meets all clients digitally and uses a lot of the functionality of the Visiba Care platform. Thanks to smart configuration, the client can do much of the work themselves – for example, book and reschedule appointments and fill out forms or questionnaires prior to the appointment. Giving coaches more time to coach.
Hälsocoach online (Online health coach) is a service accessible to all Västra Götaland residents over 16 years of age. Clients who want to make a lifestyle change to improve their health, such as by eating better or trying to quit tobacco addiction, come to them.
Digitally, for the sake of the clients
Hälsocoach online (Online health coach) is a virtual clinic – all client appointments take place remotely, via the Västra Götaland region’s app: Mitt vårdmöte (My healthcare meetings). When the business started in 2017, clients were received both in person and digitally, but at the clients’ request there were more and more digital appointments and in the end, only digital coaching programs were offered.
“It is a very accessible service. Digitally, we can reach target groups that we would not otherwise reach, such as those who live far from a health centre where they can get this kind of help, people who cannot take time off work, and those who are housebound.”
– Sofia Nankler, Operations Manager of Hälsocoach online (Online health coach)
All parts in one platform
At first, several different solutions had to be combined to make the service work. But as the region transitioned to digital healthcare, Hälsocoach online (Online health coach) was able to find all the parts they needed in one platform; Visiba Care. Moa Kuitunen, team leader at Hälsocoach online (Online health coach), explains how it became easier when they started using Mitt vårdmöte (My healthcare meetings). Compared to the previous procedures of dealing with booking clients in one system, completing questionnaires and forms in another, and conducting the client appointment itself in a third, today’s flow from booking to actual appointment is almost seamless.
Clients book new consultations themselves
In addition, Hälsocoach online (Online health coach) allows clients to book their first appointment on their own initiative. This is in line with two of the basic criteria of the coaching: taking responsibility for yourself and being motivated to make a change. Your own responsibility starts at the time of booking.
“By the client being able to choose and book an appointment that suits them, there is a greater chance of it happening.”
– Moa Kuitunen, team leader Hälsocoach online (Online Health Coach)
Bookable time slots
The business has developed work templates that govern how many coaching sessions are available per day. For example, the set time for new consultations is slightly longer, in order for the time to be sufficient for both forms and journaling. The vast majority, 70%, of consultations are follow-ups and the remaining 30% are new clients. Based on the type of appointments booked, the scheduled times can then be customized.
Easier rescheduling gives results
In cases where the client is already receiving coaching and needs to reschedule their consultation, this can also be easily done via the app or web interface. With the ”Ombokning av återbesök” (Reschedule follow-up) option, the client can book a new suitable time, giving them the responsibility. This is a big win for employees, as the rescheduling of appointments was previously a time and energy-consuming task.
“When we were able to customise the client’s interface and, based on the reason for contact, associate the right meeting templates and let the clients themselves reschedule their appointments, we did not have to chase them and ask: hey do you want to book another appointment?”
– Moa Kuitunen, team leader Hälsocoach online (Online Health Coach)
It is particularly gratifying for Moa and her team to see that more clients are actually completing the entire coaching program thanks to the new configuration. Accessibility makes a difference!
The main work tool
The employees at Hälsocoach online (Online Health Coach) spend a large part of the working day in Visiba Care. Sofia Nankler, Operations Manager at Hälsocoach online (Online Health Coach), says that in addition to bookings and digital appointments, the platform helps with meeting calendars, questionnaires/forms and messages. The messaging feature replaces email, as it is a secure login channel adapted to share sensitive information, documents, or anything else related to personal coaching.
The questionnaires/forms are part of the way of working
Questionnaires/forms provide important support in the work with the client, to collect information and measure development over time. As a client of Hälsocoach online (Online Health Coach), you get a follow-up appointment three months after the coaching period has ended and another after nine months, to see if you have maintained your new lifestyle habits. The client always fills in at least four questionnaires/forms; the first before the first consultation and the last at the final follow-up consultation. The lifestyle habit surveys sent out before the meetings and follow-up appointments measure perceived health, smoking and snus habits, activity minutes, diet index, and Audit-C on these occasions.
Health benefits – for the individual and society
According to the statistics produced by Hälsocoach online (Online Health Coach), they can see that 84% of their clients feel that they have achieved more than half their goals through coaching. They can also see that clients perceive their health as better during the coaching period. In the beginning, 30% of clients rate their health as a seven or higher. In the end, 70% estimate their health as seven or higher. Hälsocoach online (Online health coach) has also obtained help to perform a health economic analysis that shows that their method is cost-effective – the health economic model shows avoidable healthcare costs worth SEK 142,000 per coached individual. That saving is equivalent to the cost of coaching an additional 30 individuals.
Valuable for coaches and clients
At Hälsocoach online (Online health coach), the benefits of a digital healthcare platform are clear: appointments, meetings, questionnaires/forms, and messages are gathered in one system. Thanks to the online and app booking feature, coaches can spend less time making appointments and rescheduling. Finally, digital appointments mean greater opportunities for clients to influence when, where, and how they conduct their coaching, leading to greater commitment and more completed coaching programs.
