When it comes to making changes in a practice, many think “if it’s not broke, then don’t fix it.” While this is true in some cases, in many others, this mentality holds providers back from reaching their maximum potential! One simple positive change for practices to make is to offer online scheduling. But why is this such a valuable feature for anyone to have? Here are 3 benefits of online appointment scheduling!
Keep Phone Lines Open
One of the biggest benefits of online appointment scheduling is its ability to free up phone lines. By doing this, practices make their phones more available for important calls that need to be handled more urgently. Moreover, online scheduling will likely get appointments in the books more quickly. According to a study, nearly 60% of callers will hang up before being placed on hold for over a minute. Therefore, if phone lines are busy and the patient must wait a long time to schedule an appointment, then they’ll likely hang up before they get through to somebody. This means that they’ll keep calling back until they are able to book their appointment quickly, potentially creating an unending cycle of hangups after being placed on hold. Workflows like that decrease efficiency in a practice.
Reduce the Need to Hire More Staff
The more phone calls from patients trying to schedule appointments, the more front desk staff need the availability to handle all of them. If a practice is growing in patient volume, chances are they’ll have not only more appointment requests, but also other types of phone requests that need to be handled in a timely manner. At this point, many providers choose to hire on additional staff members to accommodate this growth, but the most cost-effective route to address the issue is to invest in software to do the work of a new staff member instead. One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is by purchasing online appointment scheduling software.
Improved Patient Satisfaction
A recent study indicated that 67% of patients prefer booking online. Additionally, 40% of physician appointments are booked after business hours when most people have left work for the evening. The message is clear here: patients want options to book appointments in ways that are most convenient for them and during the times when they are most available. When they learn a practice only accepts appointments by phone or only during certain hours of the day, then this not only inconveniences patients, but it could also be a deciding factor for whether a new patient chooses you as their next practice. In other words, online appointment scheduling options have the ability to make or break the prospect of patient growth in a clinic!
DocResponse Leverages the Benefits of Online Appointment Scheduling
If your practice is considering making the jump to online scheduling, then DocResponse is a perfect choice. This online scheduling software empowers patients to schedule appointments on their own time from simply a button on your website. Concerned your practice isn’t a “one-size-fits all,” so their online scheduling wouldn’t work for you? DocResponse has the ability to break it down to different appointment types, so if a patient needs more time during a certain visit, this is taken into account.
In conjunction with their digital check-in software, DocResponse also enables patients to register and complete all intake forms at the time of the online booking, saving an average of 16 minutes in the waiting room per visit. This improves both efficiency and patient satisfaction in any practice.
Ready to free up phone lines and hire less staff, all while making patients happier in the process? Schedule a time to chat with DocResponse today!