Medical practices can face hefty costs associated with last-minute cancellations, no-shows, and unused time slots. Empty scheduling capacity slots cost an average of $200 per hour. Unfortunately, this also increases patient wait times at the clinic which can frustrate patients and harm healthcare organizations. Unused scheduling capacity costs practices a lot.

What is a Patient Scheduling Software?

Patient Scheduling EMR Software helps to automate the patient scheduling process for medical practices. It has powerful features of appointment reminders, patient intake forms, insurance eligibility checks, internal communication, and appointment management capabilities.

The Advantages of Online Appointments for Your Practice and Patients

  1. Convenience – Patients of today expect hospitals, clinics, and healthcare providers to automate scheduling and offer the convenience of online appointment scheduling from the comfort of their homes. Patients prefer an online booking platform from their doctor that offers them the complete ability to schedule, reschedule and cancel their appointments. Nobody wants to call the clinic and wait to be answered. Online appointment scheduling also helps your front office staff members to focus on other patient services rather than answering high-volume patient calls.
  2. 24/7 Availability – The online patient appointment scheduling system is available round the clock, so busy patients who don’t have time to reach during practice hours can easily book an appointment by visiting your website. This offers flexibility to schedule an appointment with the healthcare provider at any time.
  3. Fill in any appointment gaps  – Every practice wants to keep their schedules full and this is exactly what online patient scheduling does. Through online patient scheduling, patients can see you sooner due to any last minutes changes in your schedule which eventually helps to fill appointment gaps and ensure practice revenue doesn’t go down.
  4. Keep patients satisfied – Online booking facility help to improve patient satisfaction and enhance their overall experience even before their actual visit. This is particularly critical for patient retention and pulling more patients to a clinic.
  5. Tackle the issue of no-shows – A good online scheduling software system also have robust features of automatic reminders in the form of text messages and emails which can help reduce the issue of no-shows and late cancellations. Busy patients will also appreciate the automatic reminder alerts from your end.

How does automated patient scheduling software work?

Automated Patient Scheduling helps to monitor appointment scheduling routines without the involvement of staff members. If cancellation occurs, the appointment scheduling software will automatically look for patients who have appointments shortly and then consider who is best for the available time slot. Automated texts will be sent to eligible patients, and the first patient who replies wins the slot.

Why does automating the patient scheduling process help hospitals?

  1. Streamlines process – The Patient Scheduling EMR Software makes things simple for everyone involved in the care process. Front desk staff that have a heavy influx of booking calls can free themselves up for other important activities such as greeting patients at the clinic and having a nice conversation with them. By freeing up staff with the help of automation their productivity and efficiency levels can go up. Online scheduling relieves administrative burdens.  A 2017 Annals of Family Medicine study reveals physicians spend more than 2.5 hours a day on administrative tasks which impedes the patient care process.
  2. Reduce wait times in the waiting room – Online patient in-take form facility helps to reduce wait times at the clinic and the digital intake forms can be easily stored and retrieved when needed.
  3. Aids seamless communication – The patient scheduling software system also helps practices to easily communicate with patients through third-party apps. Patient and provider communication is facilitated on a secure and HIPAA-compliant messaging platform.

Conclusion

By automating the scheduling process healthcare organizations can streamline daily tasks and keep patients happier and satisfied with a fulfilling patient experience. Adding an online booking system is a good investment for any medical practice as it will attract more patients to visit your practice.