Going digital can mean a lot of different things to medical practices, but one aspect growing in popularity involves digital scheduling software. Unfortunately, however, most patients still like to make their appointments over the phone.
That’s the word from a new survey released by Relatient, which compiled survey data from more than 350 provider group professionals and compared it against data from patient surveys.
To find out how you can meet patients in the middle when it comes to patient scheduling processes, check out a few of the report’s key findings.
Staffing Challenges Make Automation Appealing for Practices
Medical practices are increasingly interested in using automated tools, such as pre-scheduled emails, texts, or patient portal scheduling software to allow patients to make appointments, reschedule them or cancel them. This has only been more important as practices find themselves short-staffed, the report noted.
However, even as practice staff members hope to boost the use of technology, patients seem resistant. The survey indicated that 84 percent of practices say that patients still call to schedule care with the front desk, while 73 percent of patients call on the phone to cancel or reschedule appointments.
That may change in the future. Among consumers below the age of 65, about 64 percent say providers with better online functionality can deliver higher-quality services. This could indicate that the future is digital: as more technologically savvy patients get older, they’ll be increasingly reliant on digital tools for appointment scheduling.
Consider a Hybrid Approach
Although these results indicate that it isn’t quite time yet for practices to shift to fully digital scheduling programs, it may be a good time to start nudging patients toward them, starting with your younger patient populations. A few options your practice might consider include:
- Give patients the option: They can phone your practice to schedule, change or cancel appointments OR use online software through the portal, email or text. By having two options, you’ll get to test out the programs to find bugs while you evaluate how many patients are interested.
- Slowly ease into it: Let patients know that you are planning to roll out a digital scheduling option and give them a six- to 12-month runway before you switch over to the new format. Maintain a phone number for those patients who aren’t able to figure out the new program, but encourage them to use the software whenever possible.
- Offer demos: If you’re just toying with the idea of switching over to patient self-scheduling, consider offering demos—either live or over the web—to demonstrate how to use the program. You can also post a how-to video on your site or talk to patients about it at check-in to gauge interest.
The key is to try and get more patients on your online schedule program every quarter, until eventually you have very few patients scheduling over the phone. Set a target and work toward meeting it slowly and carefully while balancing patient relations and ensuring that no one gets frustrated about the switch. It won’t happen overnight, but eventually you may be a completely digital practice.
Your front desk is responsible for a lot of patient-facing responsibilities, from scheduling and insurance verifications to answering phone calls, so you can’t afford to make mistakes. Shore up your front desk staff’s skills with this five-part Front Desk Essentials Training from expert Tracy Bird, FACMPE, CPC, CPMA. Sign up today!
 |
Subscribe to Healthcare Practice Advisor |
| Get actionable advice to help improve your practice’s reimbursement, compliance, and success in this weekly eNewsletter. |
|
|
|