The Executive Suite: How to reduce missed appointments, improve patient satisfaction and increase profitability

The American health care industry has more than its fair share of complexities and inefficiencies, many of which leave patients disaffected and exasperated before support staff ever get a chance to greet them in the waiting room, let alone by the time a caregiver can ask, “What brings you in today?”

An age-old headache in the industry, which at first glance would seem to be one of the easiest to solve, is actually one of its most entrenched: missed appointments. Patients who fail to show up for an appointment can only be accounted for in the moment. A patient who is late can create a downstream effect that interferes with other scheduled appointments. A patient who is simply absent creates a layer of issues for a practice: Is the patient simply running late? Are they out of the mix altogether? How does support staff prioritize and rejigger the patient queue? And what is everyone at a practice supposed to do with the time that had been designated for a person who isn’t there?

In addition to the hassle involved, missed appointments cost the U.S. health care industry an estimated $150 billion annually. But as deep-rooted as this commonplace problem seems to be, the key to solving it could be surprisingly uncomplicated: an “add to calendar” button that delivers patients the reminders many need to prevent their busy schedules from further bottlenecking those of others, while improving a practice’s overall customer satisfaction and boosting ROI.

How missed appointments hurt ROI

A restaurant or a car dealership may technically “lose” business whenever a customer fails to show for a reservation or an appointment. But those are businesses for which a certain ebb and flow is expected and accounted for in their staffing practices and operational infrastructure.

Health care practices, on the other hand, require a highly skilled, trained and educated staff whose services are theoretically booked solid all day, every day. A 2022 survey by AMN Healthcare found that the average wait for a new patient physician appointment in 15 of the largest cities in the United States was 26 days – up 8% just since 2017 and up 24 percent since 2004, the first year of the survey. “Average physician appointment wait times are the longest they have been since AMN Healthcare began conducting the survey, a significant indicator that the nation is experiencing a growing physician shortage,” the provider wrote on its website’s blog.

With fewer physicians seeing more patients nationwide, the pressure on practices to make the most of every moment and all of their resources on hand is indeed higher than ever. As a result, every gap in the patient appointment schedule represents a missed opportunity, complicates the workflows of an entire staff and cuts into the total number of patients a practice can see in a day, diminishing return on investment.

Smart email tactics that elevate small health care practices

For smaller health care providers in particular, missed appointments can have a disproportionate impact. With smaller staffs and fewer resources, these practices have less flexibility to adjust on the fly and productively fill the time left open by a patient no-show. Decreasing missed appointments translates to better resource allocation, maximum number of patients helped and increased profitability – especially for smaller practices.

At the end of the day, decreasing missed appointments also leads to higher overall patient satisfaction. Not only do fewer missed appointments help caregivers and support staff more reliably project timelines and stick to schedules that can reduce patient wait times in the office, they also improve daily efficiencies that can cut down that average 26-day wait period for a patient to schedule a healthcare appointment. That’s a win-win for all parties.

And while there’s no fool-proof solution to missed appointments, there is a simple tool that can help reduce them and provide patients with information that values their time as well as that of their caregivers: “add to calendar” functionality” and appointment reminders. When these tactics are added to a practice’s communication system, patients miss fewer appointments. But with the customization built into these tools, patients also show up more often prepared for a procedure (one that requires fasting, for instance) and having had many questions they might have had for a caregiver already answered.

Leveraging simple tech to optimize operations

Today’s modern health care facilities feature some of the most advanced technological systems to help improve patient outcomes. An entire industry of medical tech sales is built around the sincere aspirations of providers to access best-in-class tools to help patients stay healthier, recover faster and live more productive lives. But what if something as simple and easy to implementing a link or button in your appointment confirmation communication in email or on your website could help caregivers achieve exactly that?

“Add to calendar” buttons have this capability. Missed patient appointments are a fundamental operational issue that can never be fully solved, but these tools are proven to help significantly mitigate the issue. When more patients appear for their designated appointments – and are better informed and prepared for the moment – a host of cascade effects come into play. Caregivers are able to address potential medical problems sooner, more accurately and more comprehensively. Patients enjoy shorter wait times, improved efficiencies and better outcomes. Practices see a lift in ROI and patient satisfaction rates. It all adds up to a happier, healthier health care industry for all.