Running a smooth flowing office is a challenge. Patients run over their session times, providers run late and staying on schedule is an idea of the past. As a provider, don’t forget your patients are also busy, and taking time to go to the doctor is a major contributor as to why patients don’t show up. Reduce no shows by offering simple methods to get high quality care they deserve.
How many sessions are no shows a week? A month? How much revenue do you lose as week? A month? A year? If you could find an easy solution to reduce no shows, why not go for it? An easy solution is to see your patients online, or via a mobile device. Try offering telehealth solutions to your patients, so that they can easily make their appointments and receive the best quality of care.
1. Offer easy, mobile transportation to your office to reduce NO shows
Easy transportation means without traffic and without a commute. Instead of taking the streets or the interstate, educate your patients about mobile, wireless transportation available on their laptops and mobile devices. Consider providing care through apps for the iPad, iPhone or bowser so your patients can simply hop online and cruise into the waiting room, without the commute across town.
When iTel started, telehealth was designed to accommodate to rural areas, offering patients care without having to commute for hours to get care. However, our beta testing has shown that telehealth is taking off in urban areas as well. Patients don’t want to leave the office if they can see their Provider in their own office, or in an empty conference room. Students share the same concern- instead of leaving campus, they can find solitude in their car or study room and have an appointment without having to miss class.
Telehealth with secure video offers patients a simple way to get quality care.
2. Send Reminders to patients to reduce NO shows
There are easy ways to do this- sending confirmation emails for their sessions, and resending them the day of the appointment (iTel offers a scheduler that automatically sends the patient an email when an appointment is scheduled, or postponed). Having an app on your iPhone or iPad with notifications and reminders also helps patients remember to quickly find a place of solitude and get online to see their provider.
3. Cut out long waits in the waiting room to reduce NO shows
Rarely does it occur that a patient does not have to wait at a doctor’s office. Unfortunately this is the norm and often this is a big reason as to why patients don’t want to show up. Not only does the patient have to drive to the office, but they have to wait, and sometimes wait, and wait longer. You are busy trying to fit in patients into your schedule, which is understandable. Patients are also busy, which is why, we at iTel, have designed an online waiting room for patients so they don’t have to be at the actual waiting room. Patients can carry on with their day until the provider is ready to begin the session. If the provider is running late, the administrative staff can also send the patient a secure chat via the browser and notify the patient that the provider is running late.
4. Make treatment habitual to reduce NO shows
Offer patients easy to remember appointments. Reoccurring sessions are much easier to plan for than a scattered schedule. Having a scheduler that has reoccurring appointments, with email reminders is a great practice management tool that vastly helps notify patients and keep your office flow running smoothly.
5. Show respect to reduce NO shows
This is an obvious step. Express that you care and that the reason you run late (if you run late) is because you are making sure that each patient is thoroughly examined. If a patient doesn’t have the time to wait in a waiting room or drive across town, educate him/her about telehealth and simplicity and accessibility of iTel’s secure platform.
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