Checklist for choosing patient appointment reminder vendor

With the fast lives that we all are living, most of us hardly remember to perform our daily list of activities, speak to our loved ones, let alone do something outside our daily routine. Patient appointments are something out of the routine of the patients, and it is for that most patients need patient appointment reminders.

Patient appointment reminders are a new emerging trend today to help the patients get the care that they have opted for, and need to continue with. We all know how important it is for patients to attend their due appointments. They need to arrive at the appointments for their own sake, but unfortunately, it has been seen that a large number of the patients miss out on their appointments.

The 19 studies that were completed recently, reported that 3.3% and 48.1% of the appointments were missed, which comes down to a mean of 15.2%. All of these misses of patient appointments strike up the patient no-shows, which is still a huge worry not only for the medical practices and other healthcare units but for the healthcare industry in general.

How important it is to attain the patient appointments?

The patient no-shows are increasing at alarming levels. The no-shows occur when a patient books an appointment but fails to turn up on a particular date, at a specific time, and at the right venue where his/her appointment is booked. These no-shows, along with being a crucial mistake on behalf of the patients, who are, therefore, devoid of the care that is due, also harm the providers as well in more ways than can be described.

The patient no-shows, as discovered in a recent study, cost the US healthcare system more than $150 bn annually. According to a poll by the Medical Group Management Association, 44% of respondents referred to patient no-shows as the biggest challenges that they are facing in recent times. These no-shows are the result of the patient appointments being missed and cost the healthcare system the loss of their crucial time, money, will, patience, and more.

Failed patient appointments, whether for new patient appointments or not, is a direct impact on the patients themselves, which directly hamper their care and may even go further to worsen their clinical condition. Besides, the not happening of the booked patient appointments may also give birth to a range of other problems like:

• Booking another appointment

• Paying fees for the no-show to the provider

• Delaying the medical care

• Losing their trust/credibility

• Losing on the preferred time slot options

• Postponing their future doctor visits

• Risking their condition further

All of these are just some reasons that needed to be mentioned, which might certainly add to the burdens and worries of the patients if they miss their appointments. However, talking about missed appointments, do you know why the patients miss their appointments?

Why are patient appointments missed?

Missed appointments have continued to bother the medical practices and healthcare units to date. Now, if you are wondering why a significant number of patients miss their appointments, then there are 5 major reasons why a large number of patients miss them. This usually happens because:

• They are forgetful

• They have transportation issues

• They are suffering from personal health issues

• They have family and employer obligations

• They have been a victim of other issues like the thoughts of long wait times, bad weather conditions, and financial problems.

Out of all these, the patients' forgetfulness has the crown of being the most pertinent reason that leads the patients to miss their medical appointments.

However, today there is a way that these appointments can be duly remembered, and then attended. An easy way to do this is if the patients have appointment reminders designed for them.

Why are patient appointment reminders needed?

Appointment reminders are crucial alerts or reminders set for the patients to help them remember their appointments so that they can show up at their appointments in due time.

The patient appointments of today happen through a wide variety of modes out of which these 4 methods are prominent. These patient appointment reminders happen via:

• Phone Calls - Reminders via phone calls are a traditional way of reminding patients about their doctor appointments. These phone calls are now either done manually, by live people or are automated calls that are carried out by systems.

• Emails - Ever since the internet arrived and the emails emerged, sending emails are used whenever it comes to official communication, and as patient appointment reminders are nothing but official communications, sending emails is a common method to do the same.

• Text Messages - With the emergence of mobiles one of the first things that we learned is to text. Sending text messages to communicate is extensively used by the healthcare industry too to remind patients of their appointments.

• Apps - Apps are the latest piece of technology that is introduced into the healthcare industry. The mobile apps, which have been a phenomenon with the popularity of mobiles, are also used by the medical units for effective patient appointment reminders.

All of the above ways are significantly used by the practices of today, who wish to keep their patients informed and updated with their appointments and don't want to stand a chance to lose their time and revenue.

As per recent statistical data, automated reminders have proven to reduce no-shows by around 90%. Therefore, the businesses without a reminder system might also see up to 90% higher no-show rates, as per reports.

Automated appointment reminders are largely becoming popular today. According to the Medical Group Management Association's most recent MGMA Stat poll, 9 out of 10 healthcare leaders responded "Yes" to the question of whether their organization uses automated appointment reminders.

Besides, it is also important to note that the patients absolutely love appointment reminders today. Over 57% of the patients now expect their doctors to send an automated text, voice, or email reminders that will ask them to schedule their appointments or take adequate medications. Also, in another survey, it has been found that 71% of the patients have specifically wanted online doctor appointment scheduling, and receive digital reminders for the same. This digital reminder process is simple now and automated with GrowPractice, which is one of the most trusted names when it comes to medical office software solution providers.

Effective Ways to Choose the Best Patient Appointment Reminder Vendor!

Now that we have already learned how important it is for the patients to have patient appointment reminders, it is also crucial that they have access to quality patient appointment reminders. Though GrowPractice would solve all of your appointment reminder problems and more with its easy and effective medical office, patient, and practice management software and systems, you should also be aware of an easy way to select who is the best patient appointment reminder vendor for your practice.

Here are some easy-to-follow but effective strategies to figure out the best patient appointment reminder vendor for your practice:

Choose an affordable provider

Affordability comes first in the checklist for choosing patient appointment reminder vendors. Being a medical practice, you need to look out whether the patient appointment reminder option that you will be using is affordable or not in the long run. Checking the unlimited messaging facility at a flat cost is far more beneficial than the other options because the latter then would charge you per message.

Automatize the patient reminders

Automatizing the basic processes in the healthcare industry saves a lot of the providers’ time and reduces a major portion of their burdens. Along with the patient appointments, you can also simply make the patient reminders automatic, which will significantly improve the revenues, attract more patients, retain the old patients, and will help them get quality healthcare services.

Get a patient appointment reminder software that reschedules and cancels

Rescheduling and cancellation of the patient appointments can come in even after days past the patient appointment registration. Most patients are now inclined to choose one such provider that will allow them to book, reschedule and cancel their appointments. All of these facilities come in bundles with GrowPractice medical office, patient management, and practice management solutions.

Look for compatibility issues

Compatibility issues bother most patients and practices today, especially now when things are online and most of the providers and users are riding the digital wave. However, these issues need not be there with the reminder vendor that you would choose. So, go for GrowPractice because this provider will help you overcome any compatibility issues that you might think of. With a wide support of 65+ PM/EHR software, GrowPractice would act as a problem solver for all of the providers!

Choose security over everything else

Security is primary in the medical industry, which always needs to be kept in mind. This is also valid if you are looking for a patient appointment reminder vendor. GrowPractice, the provider that offers medical office solutions that are safeguarded with multi-level security, powerful data encryption, and HIPAA compliance, would certainly help you receive all the benefits of a secure patient appointment reminder vendor.

Select scalable software

Scalability is important regardless of the industry and its size. Yes, you should also look for scalable medical office software before going for a particular patient appointment reminder vendor.

Be equipped with two-way texting

Two-way texting not only helps the patients get what they want, thereby lifting the patient experience, but also helps raise patient engagement as well. Such an engaging texting facility is available now with GrowPractice!

Go for a flexible and customizable option

A patient appointment reminder tool must be flexible and should be empowered with a wide range of options for customization. A flexible and customizable option for scheduling patient appointment reminders is a must that the medical practices need to possess.

All of these above-mentioned points and more can be satisfied with GrowPractice.

How GrowPractice stands as a useful patient appointment reminder vendor!

GrowPractice is a distinguished player in the league of medical and dental office software providers. With its unique software solutions for the medical and dental offices of today, GrowPractice will certainly offer them something more, thereby being one of the best patient appointment reminder vendors, if not the best.

Here's how GrowPractice will prove to be the best patient appointment reminder vendor:

• It provides optimum security

• It sends automated patient reminders to eliminate no shows

• The GrowPractice reminder systems reach more patients instantly

• It is easy to use and cost-effective

• It provides numerous add-ons

• It boosts the staff productivity

GrowPractice has already reduced patient no-shows by 89% and has trimmed the staff time by 75%, so it seems to have grown in all the major verticals, thereby helping the medical practices grow!