Importance Of Virtual Queuing System In Improving Patient Experience
The patients are forever dependent on the healthcare system, which is always helping them stay physically fit and mentally healthy. Besides, with the help of several units now, and the emergence of the healthcare practices, which are aiming to provide the best healthcare experience to the patients, the patients are indeed getting the best of the healthcare support.
Digitalization can certainly be attributed to bringing something close to a revolution in all of the popular industries of today. Digitalization is a big boon for an industry as crucial to mankind as the healthcare industry. However, the industries that are now boasting of being privileged with the gift of digital tools and software are inclusive but not limited to the healthcare sector. The industry of trade and commerce, automobile, banks and finance, insurance, entertainment, marketing, and more, are some of the major examples of the industries that are leveraging the digital ways and practices, to rise to a level that was almost unprecedented.
It is digitalization, which is thus the main reason for the growth that the healthcare industry is seeing lately. With the improved medical tools, cutting-edge technology, and software products, the medical practices of now are attending to the increasing demands of the patients. Moreover, it is more than laudable to see how the digital ways and their improvements have successfully dodged the COVID-19 pandemic, which is easily one of the most challenging crises of modern times.
However, when it comes to rush, the modern era has seen enough of it already. Furthermore, when it comes to healthcare services, the patients are always in a queue to get their physical and mental conditions treated well. This rush has tremendously multiplied over the past few decades. Besides, with the world getting faster easy days, coping up with the same has become rather challenging so much so that the people living in it shall always be on their toes and get the fastest services possible, and this is the same even for practices. Nonetheless, patient experience is one such thing that no healthcare provider can compromise on.
Why should the practices aim for improving patient experience and satisfaction?
As the number of healthcare units and practices is on a rise, the competition is becoming unbelievably high these days. The diseases of the mind and the body have also increased considerably and more and more patients have now been accustomed to stepping into the hospitals and practices to get themselves treated right. Here, though some of the practices are turning into profitable ventures and franchises, many others are refraining to be so. This is possible because of the lack of patient satisfaction with others, and the patient experience plays a major role in building patient satisfaction.
The patient experience is a major guiding factor that carves in the ultimate patient satisfaction. This experience forms right from when the patients look in to book their appointments. According to a recently conducted survey, over 60% of the patients are discovered to be running adequate searches before scheduling an appointment with a particular provider.
Improving the patient experience would greatly benefit healthcare providers, certainly in ways more than one. Here are some common benefits that the practices witness if they care more for patient experience and patient satisfaction and concentrate on improving the same:
Credibility
Credibility always works wonders when it comes to businesses, regardless of whatever the form of business may it be. Besides, when it comes to the healthcare industry, a significant amount of trust should be present, especially because the patients lives and well-being are associated with the same. Thus, if a particular provider here is able to help in improving patient satisfaction by lifting the patient experience, then it will surely add to its credibility.
A patients experience depends on a whole lot of different factors, and among them, the wait time that they experience is mentioned to be somewhat important if not very important to build their overall experience, as per 84% of the patients surveyed. Heres where GrowPractices advanced medical and dental office software comes to benefit the providers. The leading medical office and practice management software manufacturers are even trusted by many of the US Federal government agencies and thus, extend secure and effective solutions for your practice.
Morale boost
With the increasing amount of good patient feedback and reviews, it certainly becomes rewarding for the healthcare practices and the medical workers associated with the same at the end of the day. Therefore, it is to be pointed out that effective digital services for the patients yield a significant amount of morale boost for the providers.
More referrals
Though there are many different ways of marketing today, the word of mouth marketing still remains one of the most genuine ways and this is valid especially when it is a healthcare industry. Referrals are much more rewarding here and can get the providers loyal customers who would eventually bring in more customers. However, it is to be checked that the patient experience they build is of a higher level.
Growth for employees
Healthcare employees are becoming scarcer than ever. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the medical employees have seen reducing at a rate of 18%. Nearly 1 in every 5 healthcare workers have resigned from their respective jobs due to overburdening work and burnouts. One another reason that demotivated the healthcare employees throughout the pandemic season and even now in the wake of the post-Covid era, is the lack of growth. However, with the implementation of efficient healthcare practices along with improved patient and practice management software and tools from GrowPractice, the growth for the healthcare employees is simply beyond bounds.
Quality healthcare
The healthcare industry is one of the oldest and most crucial of the sustaining industries today. Here, quality is deemed to be central, which is why quality software, systems, and practices should be embraced by the healthcare practices of now. This will not only improve the practice revenues but also increase the overall quality of the healthcare service provided.
Multiplying revenues
Using the latest medical software, hiring the best staff, obtaining patient feedback and reviews from time to time, and improving patient satisfaction scores significantly contributes to the practice revenues.
improving patient satisfaction is the heart of the healthcare industry and thus, lies at the core of the practices. Now that we already know how the digital ways have started improving the healthcare services and transforming the practices for good, we must also know that the digital system, along with everything else, has also implemented a virtual queue management system, which is exceedingly beneficial for patients and practices alike.
What is a virtual queue management system?
The queue is a physical order of positioning one person or one vehicle after another. Thus, virtual queues refer to the queues that exist virtually. Due to the rising drive of digitalization virtual queues are something that should exist to group a cluster of persons into pre-defined orders. A virtual queue management system is crucial in one such industry like the healthcare industry, which deals with patients adn emergencies.
No one person inherently is a lover of chaos and with virtual queues, the whole of the healthcare system and its practices can be organized as ever in each of its departments from the patient appointments to the final follow-up process.
Virtual queue management is really a boon for the healthcare practices of now, empowering them with the ability to organize things and carry them out via effective processes. Easy management of the patient queues looks orderly and really impressive for the patients. Organized workflow in a healthcare practice significantly leads to improving patient experience and satisfaction.
Here are some of the prominent ways via which the virtual queuing system is helping the practices improve their patient experiences and patient satisfaction scores:
Streamline patient appointments
The healthcare practices receive the patients, a majority of whom prefer to book their appointments via the online system. However, it is important to understand that this process to be secure and effective. As many as 81% of the patients have preferred the option where they would be able to schedule, reschedule and cancel their appointments. GrowPractice brings in improved patient experience with advanced HIPAA-compliant, two-way texting methods and inbuilt virtual queuing systems for the practices to streamline their patient appointments.
Reduce the wait time
The wait times that the patients experience is still something intolerable for the patients. A significant number of the patients have been known to believe that the patient wait time is either 'somewhat important' or 'very important' to the overall experience that they obtain in a practice. Furthermore, the wait time has also been denoted as the most frustrating part while visiting a doctor, according to an overwhelming 43% of patients. Here, the introduction of the modern patient and practice management software and systems from GrowPractice would do its part in reducing the overall patient wait time.
Document and manage visits at odd hours
Around 34% of the new patients have been seen to be booking their appointments outside of the usual work hours. Such patients earlier used to go uncared for but now, these patients can also book their appointments efficiently at all times. The virtual queue management system that exists with GrowPractices online patient scheduling software helps in scheduling, rescheduling, and canceling patient appointments a breeze. Furthermore, it also helps the practice keep all of the patient bookings in order.
Improve the workflow
A virtual queuing system at work in a healthcare practice helps the provider understand their patients better and thus, helps them improve the workflow accordingly. The whole system will further get a boost with the effective customizable workflows for the patients, with which they can be treated with utmost care.
Boost the performance of the staffs
A well-organized workflow existing at a practice where the patients are well attended, certainly boosts the performance of the staff, filling them up with positivity. Furthermore, with the new-age medical office software and systems from GrowPractice, the medical workers of today will remain free of the major burdens that they would have to shoulder earlier while using the manual methods.
Maximize the efficiency in operations
Operational efficiency is something that is hugely in demand in all of the present industries, which includes the healthcare sector. Mistakes on bills and claims, missed or failed collections, lack of proper patient engagement, and more are some of the major flaws witnessed at a practice. All of these can be targeted once and for all with the help of the digital medical office tools that GrowPractice offers, in-built with a virtual queuing system. Such a process will definitely improve the efficiency in operations for the practices.
Boost transparency
Transparency is another thing that the practices need to note. The healthcare costs are unpredictable, says over 77% of the patients. The cost of the healthcare services largely varies, which is the reason why 65% of the patients have termed the medical service charges as a critical element that builds the overall satisfaction of the patients. Here, the virtual queuing system that is built into the patient and practice management software of GrowPractice greatly helps boost the overall transparency.
Increase patient satisfaction
Virtual queues not only help the practices and their workers but also fosters patient satisfaction. While the patients are well-informed and updated with their own positions in the queue, they always feel that they are associated with the right practice, which uses fair methods to serve their patients. All of these helps in boosting the overall patient satisfaction and help the practices retain the older patients and attract the newer ones.
Better quality of service
Quality of service plays a major role when it comes to a service provider. This is, even more, a reality in the case of healthcare service providers. Updated digital medical and dental office software from GrowPractice that is integrated with virtual queue management systems will surely better the overall quality of service that the patients receive.
Reduction in the overall expenses
The virtual software and products that are now being used in healthcare practices are lowering the requirements for hiring staff, particularly to a specific department or process along with reducing the time taken for the work that was earlier done manually. All of these processes not only cut short the total time taken and minimize the room for errors but also decrease the overall expenses of healthcare practice as well.
Streamline the communication
If you are wondering what the virtual queue management system has to do with communication then you must understand that with the help of virtual queues the customers would first be addressed in their own languages, which will be easier for them to follow. Next, the system will guide them with all that they have to do to carry out a particular step easily. Then, the virtual queues would also help the patients know of their current status clearly and without any confusion. This will keep the transparency of a provider intact.
Easy Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Scores
GrowPractice cares for your patients and providers, which is why it brings a wide array of benefits including:
GrowPractice brings in numerous other advantages too along with these aforementioned benefits. The medical office, patient management, and practice management software provider brings in the latest technology to extend the best, all-in-one systems for your practice. So, hurry up and dont miss the chance to revamp your medical/dental office with GrowPractice!
