Benefits of Using Remote Patient Check-In System
Hospitals and medical practices have long been credited for providing the utmost care for the patients and helping them cope with their lives normally. Sometimes, even the worst of physical and mental illnesses are triumphed over with the help of the right care from hospitals, medical units, or practices.
Though in the past it was the hospitals that took care of the patients mostly, the medical industry has seen a wide expansion and as a result of which healthcare is now segmented into a wide variety of medical care units, which work with the same motto of treating patients to overcome their ailments.
The healthcare industry was last recorded to be valued at around $8.8 trillion. The healthcare industry has surely witnessed a period of rapid growth in the last couple of decades. But that is not all of it, because along with the growth it has seen, the medical sector also went through a rapid transformation and this evolution is the result of the expansion of medical science combined with the innovation of IT.
Technology is one of the major game-changers even for the medical industry as it is for any other office and industry. Successful medical offices of now reveal an interesting combination of the implementation of medical science and technology to retain old patients, attract new patients, boost patient engagement, and enhance the patient experience.
Patient Experience and Why Practices should Monitor it?
A patient's experience is a result of a journey that he/she makes to and from medical practice. The experience of a patient is made up of all the episodes both good and bad that he/she faced in a medical facility, the overall communication, wait times, obstacles, the overall charges, medical equipment, workflow, doctor's visit, and the final follow-up, which differs from patient to patient. This is why there are sometimes huge differences between the patient experiences. The patient experiences, in most cases, are subjective but the medical units and practices must consider these experiences to improve their own staff and facilities.
If you are an owner/manager or an individual in charge of medical practice and you are looking to grow the practice you are in, then it is essential that you review almost everything in your practice that is in connection with the patients. Boosting patient experience is one of the primary things that you need to bring about with the help of your patient practice in order to help it see an era of enviable growth.
Successful medical offices need to monitor and improve their workflow and systems in each phase of the patient's journey in order to make the clinic or practice dedicated to the welfare of the patients. Making your practice patient-first should be your aim and for this, the first thing you need to consider is the patient check-in system.
Patient Check-ins and how it influences patient experiences!
A patient needs to first check in a clinic, hospital, practice, or any other medical facility in order to see a doctor and proceed with his/her diagnosis. As soon as an appointment is booked, a patient should check in to make the doctor visit smooth and less of a hassle. Being one of the primary phases of patient interaction, patient check-ins directly influence the first impression of the patients, which thereby has a direct connection with the overall patient experience.
The first impression is often referred to as the last impression, which instantly reminds us how lasting a first impression can be. This is the reason why modern patient practices are always looking to improve patient check-ins in order to enhance the patient experience. The patient experiences surely help the practices in ways more than one. Here's why the patient check-ins need to be something on the priority list of the practices:
Now that you are aware of how crucial the patient check-ins are for your practice you must be willing to revamp the patient check-in system that is in operation in your practice. However, if you are unaware of how you can do so, then we can certainly help you improve your patient check-in system in no time.
Useful Guidelines to Improve the Patient Check-Ins of a Medical Practice Effortlessly!
Patient check-ins not only carve the way forward for a patient but has a huge hand in improving the practice growth and revenue along with influencing the overall care that the practice provides its patients. So, hurry up and revamp your patient check-in ways to boost the performance of your medical practice without delay. Here are some of the tried and tested methods you can use to boost patient check-ins:
Embrace remote patient check-ins
Embracing technology has always been effective for any industry including the medical industry. Recent surveys reveal that over 68% of the patients would prefer to choose a medical provider that would offer them the ability to book, change, cancel appointments, and check in online.
Digital patient appointments and check-in processes are thus a must for the practices of today. They not only extend the utmost convenience for the patients but significantly reduce the wait times.
Hire less but efficient medical staff in the front office
Medical workers are leaving at an alarming rate today and more so after the outbreak of the global pandemic. 18% of the medical workers have already left the medical facilities since the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. However, you need not give up on it because you can still hire smart and efficient workers to influence the patient experience.
Be upfront and transparent
The patient check-in process often includes the discussion of the charges and the approximate wait times. According to the surveys, around 43.4% of the 'patients rarely or never know the length of their appointment'. This plays a great role in influencing the overall patient feedbacks and reviews. Besides, research also reveals that more than half of the patients are of the opinion that knowing their appointment time would alter their attitude about the appointment.
Another thing that plays a great role in building the patients' feedback is the cost. Around 65% of patients believe that the transparency in the cost of healthcare services is 'critically or very important to their overall satisfaction.' Therefore, patient check-ins need to be built as a transparent system that would help the patients understand the cost and the overall wait time.
Cut down on the wait time
The wait time has been identified as the most annoying part when the patients visit a doctor by over 43% of the patients. Cutting down the wait times is, therefore, an urgent need of the hour. However, if you are have always tried to reduce the wait times of your practice but weren't successful in doing so then GrowPractice's innovative medical office software and systems go a long way to drag down the overall wait time of your practice. Businesses lose over 75% of their customers due to their prolonged wait times. So, steering clear of it would be the best thing to do!
Engage the patients while in waiting
Wait times are evident in healthcare but they can be cut short. Furthermore, the waiting patients can also be engaged with an interactive display of the patient updates and more. Therefore, forming unique ideas to engage them in their wait times is what you can certainly do!
Listen to your patients
Waiting patients can be impatient and this is when you need to be alert and mindful of them. Listening to your patients and heeding their requirements is what you can easily do to boost the patient experience.
Keep a lively environment
A neat and decorated medical practice with illustrative posters, interactive banners, and alluring houseplants wonderfully deck up practice without hassles. Making up a lively environment not only charges up the patients and lifts up a downcast soul but also keeps them engage effortlessly along with keeping the atmosphere lively!
Keep staff in backup
Having medical workers in backup almost always work out wonders for a medical practice. You don't know when you will need them. These healthcare workers can easily help in providing assistance to patients who are waiting.
Manage queue effectively
We often discover queues when it comes to medical practices but these queues might also go haywire and here's when it becomes chaotic, which often lands both the practice staff and patients in unpleasant situations. Managing queues efficiently, on the other hand, boost patient experience beyond doubt.
Remote Patient Check-ins!
Patient check-ins are always identified as a process that is lengthy and marred with mistakes. However, in the present age of the digital, this impression has been rapidly changing for the patients and practices with the emergence of remote patient check-ins. These check-in processes can be conducted online from anywhere and at any time. Remote patient check-ins are rapidly revolutionizing the medical industry now.
Why should you go for Online patient check-ins?
The online patient check-ins or the remote patient check-ins bring in a range of benefits for the practices. Here's why you should go for the remote patient check-ins:
Convenient for the Patients
Patients are increasingly growing self-sufficient in this age of the digital. It has been recently discovered that over 81% of patients are eager to schedule their own appointment online. Remote patient check-ins and booking patient appointments online are really convenient for the patients. The online methods of patient bookings and check-ins from a reliable medical service provider like GrowPractice help them proceed with their healthcare faster and more efficiently.
Contactless and Safe
The growing concern about the safety of the patients after the coronavirus is apparent and this fosters the need for bringing in remote patient check-ins to reduce the physical check-ins to the minimum. This is why GrowPractice is here to reduce patient contacts and make the journey of the patients safe and contactless.
Secure and HIPAA-Compliant
In the digital age security is the prime concern, which is being compromised in most instances in numerous industries as well as the sector concerned with healthcare. HIPAA, therefore, provides a list of guidelines for the clinics and practices to obtain, handle and use patient-sensitive information and personal data.
Over 78% of patients are inclined to go for secure online methods whenever opting for medical aid. Abiding by all the guidelines that are declared by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is sometimes really difficult to follow but GrowPractice brings the easiest tools that you can incorporate at your practice to make your systems secure and HIPAA-compliant.
Cuts Time into Half
Wait times of the patients are something that every practice should consider but they cannot also leave their medical staff engaged all day. Optimizing the time taken by the patient check-ins works a long way to cut the time wasted. GrowPractice's online patient check-ins reduce 75% of the staff time, thereby helping boost the overall workflow.
Eco-friendly
Going green and paperless is the new drive for the industries of now. Eco-friendliness gets a new boost with the innovative ways and technologies that are used in diverse industries including the medical industry. Remote patient check-ins are another addition to the growing need for eco-friendliness in the medical sector. These patient check-ins are instant, easy-to-do, and completely devoid of any use of paper.
Cost-effective
As the world is staying away from the use of paper and with things going digital, the price of paper is increasing constantly. Therefore, if you need to cut down the costs of your practice, then going for online patient check-ins is one of the best ways you can do that.
Takes off the Burden from the Employees
It is important that the employees in your practice are less burdened and see their work done seamlessly to the end. There are innumerable occasions when the medical workers need to interact with the patients. These interactions leave an impact on the overall patient experience and help boost patient engagement and patient retention. Working on making the patient check-ins online works great this way. This helps the medical workers continue with their work at ease and see them till the end!
Enhances Patient Experiences
Patient experience will certainly have a boost with the implementation of the online patient check-ins. They are fast, convenient, and effective, which helps them get on with their check-ups seamlessly and without a second's delay. The remote check-ins that GrowPractice extends to the practices, help them save the time of the patients and the practice staff, thereby enhancing the overall patient experience.
Boosts Practice Revenues
Practice revenue is directly related to the service that practice provides on every front including the check-ins. Easy and effortless patient check-ins with the help of GrowPractice's online patient check-ins are simply an added boost to the practice revenues.
Boost Patient Engagement, Patient Experience, and Patient Retention with GrowPractice!
GrowPractice is one of the most trusted medical office software providers that bring in a wide range of effective software solutions for private medical offices, practices, and urgent care units. GrowPractice understands the practices' requirements for online patient check-ins, which is why it brings hassle-free remote patient check-in to:
GrowPractice has already started changing the medical landscape and has already saved over 500 hours annually per provider. Not only this, but it has also revamped the medical office, thereby resulting in a prominent increase in patient experience and patient retention with the help of diverse medical office tools and software solutions that it provides. So, don't miss your chance of improving your practice to serve the patients better!
