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Jennifer: Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Ask the Doc. I’m your host, Jennifer Filsen, and today I have with me Sanju Zachariah of Portiva. Welcome, Sanju.
Sanju: Thank you, Jennifer. It’s a pleasure.
Jennifer: I’m so glad you’re here. So tell us all about Portiva and what you guys do.
Sanju: Yeah, definitely. Thanks for having me. A little background about Portiva: my name is Sanju Zachariah, and I’m the owner and CEO of Portiva. We’re a medical staffing company headquartered in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, in the greater Philadelphia area. We started back in 2009, and we had a different focus back then. We were engaged in back-office operations for doctors. We serve healthcare practitioners in general, so we have some dentists, some veterinarians, and so on. Back in 2009, we were focused on back-office operations, doing a lot of medical transcription. That was the main bread and butter of the company.
That continued until the pandemic hit. That’s when things shifted a bit because we started getting calls from our clients asking for more help, especially with front-office operations. We had a situation where people couldn’t come into the office anymore, like the medical assistants, because of restrictions. Doctors were strapped, managing everything themselves. So that’s when we started getting calls from doctors asking, “Do you have people who can help us with phone calls, scheduling, billing, and so forth?” That’s when we started our virtual medical assistant service. We added that to Portiva’s portfolio. That’s how it all began.
Jennifer: That is amazing, and you’re absolutely right. We’re already seeing that doctors are busy doing what they do, practicing and seeing patients. But to also be the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker within your own practice, running the back end, running the front desk, doing all the paperwork, and making sure everything’s sterilized, that’s a lot for one person to handle. So it’s great that you guys are providing a service that gives them the help they need. I’d imagine that with the labor shortage we’re currently seeing, you really are a blessing to a lot of these doctors and practices because it’s hard to find help these days. So are you doing temporary staffing specifically for this, placements that end once they’re no longer needed, or is it more of a headhunting model where you’re placing people permanently in these roles?
Sanju: It’s a permanent placement model. Basically what we do, and I don’t want to call it “disruption,” maybe that’s too harsh or extreme, but we’re looking to disrupt the traditional medical staffing industry. In the old-school way, doctors typically reach out to a medical staffing firm and say, “We need a medical assistant or certified medical assistant,” and they’d have to wait weeks, these days even months, because it’s hard to find people who want to work in an office. A lot of people have retooled because of the pandemic. They’re not going back into offices. Every industry is going through this, restaurants, hospitality, travel. People are having a hard time finding good people willing to work on-site. They’d rather work online.
So basically what we do, Jennifer, is maintain a roster of pre-vetted candidates with medical backgrounds. A lot of them are former nurses, and everything can be done remotely using voice-over-IP and conferencing technologies. A medical staff member gets interviewed and, depending on the doctor’s needs, whether it’s billing, medical scribing, patient scheduling, or other specialties, we already have candidates ready. They go through a process we call “Portiva University,” where they receive rigorous training and testing. Once they’re ready to be placed, they go into a queue. When a doctor reaches out to us, we provide a list of candidates, typically two or three, and ask the doctor to choose the one who resonates best with their practice.
Once that happens, they come on board, and we’ve had a wonderful experience so far. Doctors really like them. They’re logged in when the doctor comes into the office and typically log out when the doctor leaves, though sometimes they’re doing follow-up work even after the doctor leaves, like documentation and catching up. The great thing is that we become an extension of the doctor’s office, and it saves the doctor a lot of time. We have doctors who love their virtual assistants because they’re not taking up physical space in the office. We handle all the benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and everything else. The doctor just pays a flat hourly rate.
In the worst case, if the doctor doesn’t feel it’s the right fit after a month or so, which does happen sometimes, we can immediately provide another set of candidates. Compared to the traditional model, where a doctor has to wait weeks, go through interviews, and then start all over again if it’s not the right fit, with Portiva we already have candidates lined up and ready to go. We can typically place a doctor with a trained candidate within hours. We also have doctors’ offices that need more than one virtual assistant, or VA. Those are some of the benefits of the service we provide.
Jennifer: Amazing. Oh my gosh, I love your business model. You’re doing some great work, Sanju, truly. Now, we’re running out of time, but I tell you what, well have to have you come back in the future and tell us a little more about your origin story. In fact, let’s do a quick 30 seconds right now. How did you get into this?
Sanju: Yeah, no, it’s a good question. Portiva started back in 2009, and I’m an engineer by trade, but I have family members and friends in the medical field, some of them doctors. The idea came about because of a bad experience I had at a doctor’s office before 2009. I waited about 45 minutes to be checked in because my primary care office was so inundated, with the staff juggling so many different things. That’s when the idea originated. I felt like doctors need help managing their practice. As good as they are, and they truly are medical professionals, their time should be focused on the patient, not on administrative tasks. That’s how it all started, and that’s how the idea originated.
Jennifer: I love it. You didn’t just complain, you found a solution, and now you have a very happy business because of it. I love that. Well, we’ve run out of time, but truly, thank you, Sanju, for being here. And everyone, thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed hearing about the good work Portiva is doing. If you want to find out more, please go to BuzzTV.iab-buzz.com. Thank you so much for watching, and we’ll see you next time. Bye.
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A rapidly expanding healthcare practice was overwhelmed with high call volumes, patient scheduling requests, and follow-up coordination. Their in-house staff struggled to balance administrative duties with direct patient care, leading to longer response times and decreased satisfaction.
By providing trained virtual medical assistants, Portiva helped the practice streamline front-office operations and ensure no patient communication was missed.
The result: office staff gained valuable time to focus on patient experience, while overall efficiency and patient satisfaction significantly improved.
Portiva provides top-tier virtual medical assistant services designed to enhance healthcare efficiency.
We give our clients the freedom to select the receptionist who best fits their practice. You’ll work with the same professional every day just like having an in-office team member.
[Scene: A busy medical office. A receptionist juggles ringing phones.]
Receptionist: Dr. Taylor’s office yes, he’ll be right with you. (to coworker) Can you please call in this prescription for Mrs. Brown?
Narrator: Are you tired of the chaos that comes with a staffing shortage in your office? Are you tired of overworked employees and the stress that comes with not getting everything done on time?
Portiva has the solution for you. With our virtual medical assistants, you can delegate nearly every administrative task in your office remotely, without having to physically hire new staff.
Our HIPAA-trained virtual medical assistants support healthcare practices by answering patient calls, scheduling appointments, verifying insurance, assisting with medical billing, managing medical records, updating electronic health records (EHRs), and handling a wide range of administrative tasks.
Portiva virtual medical assistants help reduce administrative workload by handling patient calls, appointment scheduling, insurance verification, billing support, and medical records management. Your office phone can be seamlessly linked to your virtual assistant, helping ensure patient calls are answered promptly while your in-office team stays focused on patient care. Working with a virtual medical assistant can also reduce the overhead associated with hiring additional in-office administrative staff.
Get the support your practice needs while reducing administrative burden. Keep your team focused on patient care while your Portiva virtual medical assistant helps manage essential administrative tasks efficiently.
[Music]
Here’s why modern medical and dental practices trust Portiva as their reliable virtual front-desk staffing partner:
Our strict screening process ensures you get only the most highly qualified and skilled candidates.
Get top-tier talent in an instant—faster than most other virtual medical staffing providers.
Portiva is fully HIPAA-compliant, giving you confidence that patient data is always handled with care.
Every receptionist completes training in HIPAA compliance, patient communication, and phone etiquette.
We take pride in long-term partnerships. Our team members stay with practices for years, ensuring continuity and reliability.
Our virtual medical receptionists are trained and certified to handle patient information with complete confidentiality and compliance.
| Feature | Portiva | Standard Medical Transcription Services |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Starts at $10/hour | Pricing varies |
| Accuracy | 99.5%+ quality-checked | Varies by provider |
| HIPAA Compliance | HIPAA-compliant workflows | Depends on the provider |
| EHR/EMR Support | Supports EHR/EMR integration | Varies |
| Turnaround Time | As fast as 6 hours | Varies |
| Staffing | Certified medical transcriptionists | Qualifications vary |
| Support | Dedicated customer support | Varies by provider |
At Portiva, we provide medical staffing solutions designed to support your practice with reliability and professionalism. Our dedicated remote medical receptionists and administrative staff are carefully selected and trained to meet the specific needs of healthcare providers. By handling patient calls, scheduling, and front-desk responsibilities, we help you focus more on delivering quality care.
We understand the importance of consistency and trust in healthcare. That’s why our team members undergo rigorous vetting and training in HIPAA compliance, patient communication, and medical office protocols. With Portiva, you gain a skilled staffing partner who not only manages day-to-day administrative tasks but also safeguards sensitive patient information with the highest level of confidentiality.
We combine expertise, experience, authority, and trust in every transcription. Our team has years of healthcare documentation experience and stays updated with the latest guidelines. We prioritize data security and accuracy in every report. With friendly, professional communication and dedicated support, we make the process simple. Plus, our rates are competitive because we blend human skill with efficient processes – delivering great value.
Calvin Elado
“We were overwhelmed with calls while our staff focused on in-clinic patients. Portiva came highly recommended, and since bringing on Jennifer as our Virtual Front Desk Receptionist, things have run much more smoothly.”
Stephen Sisselman
“I am currently employing and managing 3 virtual medical assistants in various roles including billing, population health and back office. These exemplary individuals are smart, self-starters who can be trained to perform new tasks.”
Aly Gonzalez
“Prior to Portiva, I used another virtual staffing agency and I was not happy with the candidates or the service. Portiva does an excellent job pre-screening qualified candidates that meet the requirements of the job.”
Brianna Gunther
“It has been a pleasure working with Portiva and their VMAs. Before working with them, we faced challenges managing the increasing workload that came with our growth, especially with limited on-site space.”
── WHO'S BEHIND THIS
Sanju Zachariah
Founder & CEO, Portiva
Sanju Zachariah is the Founder and CEO of Portiva, a healthcare staffing company he established in 2009 to help medical practices reduce administrative burdens and operate more efficiently. Before founding Portiva, Sanju worked as a management consultant at Accenture and PwC, where he gained extensive experience in process improvement and operational strategy.
Inspired by firsthand frustrations with inefficiencies in healthcare administration, he built Portiva to provide scalable virtual support that allows healthcare professionals and business leaders to focus on higher-value work.
2009
3
US
Find answers to your queries about Portiva’s medical transcriptionists services.
Certified medical transcriptionists improve documentation accuracy by applying healthcare documentation expertise, current guideline knowledge, and careful attention to report quality. Portiva emphasizes accurate, secure medical transcription performed by trained professionals to support reliable clinical documentation.
