How to create practice efficiency with patient management tools
Posted: August 16, 2018 - By Elizabeth VelezA typical provider has 53 patient calls a day which averages to more than an hour of overhead. But is all of the hour productive? Patients may be calling because they are running late, or because they can’t remember when they visited your practice last. This distracts your staff, and takes away time they could be spending on patients that have an appointment that day. Luckily, there are tools that can help your practice save this hour and use it wisely.
Here are 3 tools that will improve your office efficiency.
Appointment Reminders
Usually a patient ends their visit by making their appointment for next year. Now the patient is guaranteed their annual exam and your practice knows they will be coming back. But rarely can anyone remember an appointment they made one year ago. Instead of the patient calling months or days before, your practice can send an appointment reminder as early as 30 days in advance. The most efficient appointment reminders are automated and sent either by voice recording, text or email.
The most convenient part is the patient’s confirmation will be sent straight to the automation software your practice uses.
2-way Text
The everyday moving parts of a practice can be full of juggling, so having to answer a phone call while checking out a patient is a common occurrence. But – if your scheduled patients had another option of reaching your office when running late or needing to cancel – they will surely use it. In fact, 97% of Americans use text messaging, so the odds of them using text in order to quickly reach out to your practice are truly in your favor.
The best part of having a two-way texting feature to offer your patients is that your staff can discreetly send a response, while having the patient that’s standing in front of them feel like their experience was completely uninterrupted.
Recall Reminders
A year can pass quickly, and not many patients remember exactly when they visited your practice the prior year. Instead of having them call to inquire, which is inconvenient for them and an interruption for your staff, remind them. Recall reminders are meant to bring back patients to your practice that are past due. With an automation software, these messages can be sent before or after their past due date, whichever works better for your practice. The method in which they are sent is also discreet, so no parties involved are interrupted. These reminders to continue care are probably the most important as they ensure you retain your patients, and your practice continues to generate revenue.
Not only will your practice gain efficiency with these tactics, but your patients will also experience convenience, making them more inclined to keep coming back.
https://blog.sprucehealth.com/doctors-losing-hour-day-phone-call-overhead/
http://www.offthecusp.com/texting-your-patients-statistics/
