Thursday, December 4, 2014

Is Your Medical Appointment Software Making a Great Impression?

 

medical appointments
 
A strong start helps swimmers and runners win a race. Medical appointment scheduling software works the same way. Similar to your front office staff, appointment schedulers contribute to all-important patient impressions of you and your practice.
 
With many different scheduling software solutions on the market today, how do you choose the right one for your practice? They all promise fast, error-free appointment planning, but many deliver the opposite because of inferior design and poor usability.


If your appointment software does not cut patient no-shows, improve staff productivity and increase profits, it could be time to look for something new.

Improved Efficiency

Quality scheduling software should ease the organization of your workday. Look for software that syncs continuous updates to all staff members so everyone in the practice works off the same schedule.

Color-coded calendars make it easier to track the appointment process in real time. As the patient moves through scheduling, eligibility and check-in, the color of their block changes for quick and easy visual recognition.

When a patient calls to change an appointment, drag and drop features can speed rescheduling. With a few simple clicks, your front office staff can rearrange the daily calendar with ease.

Speaking of easier, software your staff can use from any device can simplify scheduling. A web-based solution allows you to make changes at any time without having to come into the office for something as simple as rescheduling a patient appointment.

Drive Revenues

The correlation between medical appointment software and profits may not be clear at first, but it exists.

Online patient self-scheduling – like appointments make through a secure patient portal — can save money and free staff from scheduling drudgery. Practice staff then can focus more on revenue-producing tasks like collections.

Additionally, make sure your appointment scheduling software automates the eligibility check process prior to patient visits. This expedites check-in and medical billing. Earlier insurance validation can cut denials and improve collections as well.

Reduce No-Shows

We all know patient no-shows cause frustration.

Reduce your patients’ no-show rate with automatic appointment reminders that contact patients via automated phone calls, emails or texts. Instead of wasting valuable time making reminder phone calls, the system handles this mundane task for you.

Furthermore, scheduling software that syncs with Google Maps can offer patients driving directions. This option will be particularly useful if your patient population comes from a large geographic area and/or includes a high percentage of patients coming to your practice for the first time.

Finally, if you’re part of a medical group, remember to ask the vendor if their software works well for multiple-physician practices. Also, scalable software solutions can work seamlessly as your practice thrives and grows. The last thing you want to buy a product that doesn’t meet your group’s current and future needs.

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