Patient appointment reminder systems offer several benefits, but a lot of places still aren’t using them. If you work with patients, then you should read the rest of this article. It will discuss what patient appointment reminder systems are, who should use them, the different types, and the key benefits that they offer.
What Are They
Reminder systems are exactly what they sound like, systems that remind people that they have an appointment coming up. Generally speaking, it is software that is implemented within a business that deals with patients. For example, if a dentist uses a patient appointment reminder system, then the system would contact their patients when the day of their appointment nears or whenever the dentist decides to set the reminder for.
Who Should Use The Systems
Doctors, massage therapists, counsellors, physical therapists, and dentists should be using patient appointment reminder systems. Other professionals include veterinarians and cosmetic surgeons. Eye doctors should also be using these types of systems.
The bottom line is anyone who works with patients should use appointment reminder systems. The above examples are only a handful of professionals who should. Even if you currently use a reminder system, it may be an excellent time to upgrade to a more modern one.
Different Types
Phone-based systems have been around for a long time, and they consist of making automated calls to patients. Then there are text-based systems, which involves sending out text messages to patients. Email patient appointment reminder systems are popular types too. Some systems can do all three, but bear in mind that there are many makes/models out there, and some have more features than others. Visit https://www2.relatient.net/services/patient-appointment-reminder-service/ to know about all the features that can be accessed using patient reminder system.
The Benefits
There are several benefits. The top ones are:
- The Types Of Reminders-Various types of reminders can be set. As previously mentioned, you can send patients a text, email, or phone call to remind them that they have an appointment coming up. Here’s a tip, ask your patients how they prefer to receive their reminders, and then you can set the system to send out those types of reminders if the system you choose has a feature that lets you do this. The chances are your patients won’t mind receiving calls, emails, or a text about their appointments, but it’s still a good idea to ask them what their preferences are.
- Improve Show Up Rate– Another benefit is improving your show-up rate. Irrespective of the type of business you own, be it a dental office, doctor office, private hospital, and so on. You want your appointments to show up, but the truth is that many patients cancelling at the last minute due to forgetting about their appointment, or they don’t show up. When patients don’t show up, it means you lose money, and it means other patients could have seen you. By implementing a patient appointment reminder system, you’ll drastically improve the show-up rate.
Here’s a tip, send out two reminders to your patients. Send out a reminder two weeks before their appointment, and then another one a week before. Alternatively, sending out a reminder days before an appointment can also improve the chances of patients showing up.
- Customized Reminders– You can customize reminders, such as using your patient’s name, date of appointment, and things of that nature. Customizing reminders is a great way to connect with your patients and to let them know that you value them. They’ll appreciate the fact that you’re reminding them about their appointment, but they’ll appreciate it more because you’ve personalized it for them.
- Manage Your Calendar– If you see patients regularly, then you already know how hard it can be to manage your calendar, even when you have office help or a highly-skilled receptionist. They too can become overwhelmed when your practice starts to become busy. When you are unable to manage your calendar correctly, then things can become even more hectic.
This brings us to another advantage of using patient appointment reminder systems. These systems can make managing and scheduling in patients much easier. You’ll have no problems with scheduling patients throughout the months, and you’ll be able to keep your calendar organized.
- Productivity– You probably have office staff take care of reminding patients about their appointments. However, they could be doing other productive tasks, and this is why using a reminder system is a good option. You can rely on a Relatient appointment reminder system to remind patients, while your office staff can focus on other essential tasks. You will be surprised at how productivity increases when you use a system.
- Saves Time– The busier your practice or business gets, the more time you’ll spend on chasing down appointments and reminding people. That is unless you use a patient appointment reminder system. Using a system will save you a tremendous amount of time that can be spent marketing your practice to prospective patients, improving your services, and so forth.
Do you want to reap the above benefits? How about the many other benefits not discussed? If so, then you should start using a patient appointment reminder system as soon as possible.
When it comes to patient appointment reminder systems, you want to take your time to compare a few before deciding on which system you should use. By doing this, you’ll eventually find the right reminder system for your practice. All you have to do now is find a provider of patient appointment reminder systems.