Appointment Scheduling 101 - Tips For Health Businesses

Appointment scheduling is the ability to assess the number of average daily patients and accommodate them into your day within a set number of appointments. Efficient appointment scheduling will allow you to see as many patients that need care while also being able to meet the resource demands of your clinic, and all in a timely fashion. Appointment scheduling software for healthcare services can also make this process accessible to ensure smooth appointment processing. 

Your appointments should be able to be just the right length, to be able to assess patients properly but to also allow for the right amount of time to see other patients as soon as possible. You don’t want to risk overscheduling with too much time when it’s not needed, and you also need to factor in other aspects that could influence. Most of all, appointment scheduling in healthcare businesses should run efficiently to reduce wait times for patients, which are 20 minutes on average, to treat your clients with the highest standard of care.

Digital appointment scheduling is super important, as it is the best way to address common scheduling issues. Because of its versatility and accessibility, it’s commonly used by many healthcare businesses. They’re flexible to the needs of your business, and companies, such as Carepatron, provide multiple different plans so you can get the most out of their service. 

With online scheduling, clients can make appointments without needing to use administrative services, and they can do so at any time. Even when your clinic is closed, patients can schedule an appointment based on the available time slots. Online scheduling is also very user-friendly, which doesn’t require any prior or additional expertise to run, meaning that all clients, including those not particularly inept with technology, can use it. Patients can choose slots, book same-day appointments, and also see what is available shortly. 

Patients can also receive reminders with digital appointments, which prevents them from forgetting. No-shows can be frustrating, and honestly, quite a pain to deal with. If commonly occurring, they can also be costly for your practice! Having reminders, which can be given far in advance, and leading up to the appointment, increases the likelihood of patients remembering. If they need to cancel, online appointment systems also provide a means for them to reschedule quickly.

There are multiple things to consider when designing your online appointment system to ensure that you’re creating one that is efficient for both you and your patients to use. 

Provide quick access - Patients, regardless of their backgrounds, should be able to use the service efficiently and should be able to access it with ease.

Reduced wait times - No one likes long waits! Reducing the time spent sitting around can build rapport amongst patients and provide a more reliable service that runs on time.

Good appointment times - Having appointments offered at various times of the day that accommodate urgent needs, such as one before work, will allow you to fit in more patients. It provides greater flexibility for patients to work with, and having options is super beneficial. 

Access to preferred clinicians - Some patients may like seeing a specific clinician or healthcare practitioner due to their knowledge or familiarity. Having the option for some patients to prioritize certain professionals can increase the quality of your service.

Predictability - Healthcare professionals, need to have confidence that their time is used well, and so having appointment scheduling based on historical data and patterns of activity can allow for some predictability and regularity to work with‍

Flexibility - If there were to be an emergency, appointments should be easily able to be shuffled around to accommodate such crises.

One of the most important things to look for in reasonable appointment scheduling solutions is customizable ones to meet the demands of your healthcare practice. While it would be ideal for a platform to provide a scheduling template that addresses and solves every existing problem, this doesn’t exist. Each healthcare practice has different needs that need resolving, and there’s no ‘one size fits all.’ Medical scheduling appointment solutions have to be customizable in adapting to the specific behavior of you and your staff, regardless of what internet or organizational resources tell you. It can take a bit to figure this out, but a solution flexible to your needs will provide the best care for you and your patients. 

8 Tips to improve patient scheduling

To ensure you are getting the most out of appointment scheduling, we have compiled 8 of the best tips to guarantee improvements in your practice. 

• Send reminders! - Sending reminders to patients ahead of time increases the likelihood of them showing up and thus, minimizes the risk of no-shows. Having patients forget can be both frustrating and costly for your business if it occurs often, and so to avoid this inconvenience, opt for reminders. This could be multiple reminders sent at different points of time, and using an automated system can make this process even more accessible. 
• Create a waiting list - Things happen, so it’s not unexpected for a patient to cancel appointments. When this occurs, a waiting list can mean that patients can fill any slots that open up, which is highly efficient and allows you still treat patient needs and increase revenue. 
• Keep track of cancellations - Patients can very easily miss appointments (hey, we’ve all been there!), and keeping track of canceled ones specifically, can allow you to predict the likelihood of turning up in the future. For example, if some clients aren’t good with morning appointments, based on this behavior that would show in their history, you can adjust their schedule by offering afternoon appointments with them. Cancellation policies can help with this process, but keeping track provides you with valuable data and insight for future decisions. 
• Use buffers - Giving a few minutes in between each appointment provides you with enough time to do any extra finishing up details, such as finishing client documents, filing papers, servicing or cleaning up equipment, as well as replying to urgent messages. The small things matter, as attending to these will allow you to stay on top of information. 
• Customize appointments - Every patient is different, and so some clients may prefer seeing a particular clinician or may prefer a specific appointment time length to cover health matters. You must recognize the value of each patient and make them also feel appreciated in your practice. Providing customizable elements may prove beneficial to offer some flexibility in inpatient care and strengthen your professional relationship with them. 
• Collect data - Using data analysis to track trends and patterns can help you identify areas where improvement is needed and where you can also reduce bottlenecks. The data gathered can be fed into various areas of your healthcare practice and can have immeasurable value. 
• Set up appointments in blocks - Centering your appointments in consecutive blocks around midday can reduce empty appointment slots across the day. This ensures most of the day is filled and leaves the morning and later slots free for you and your staff to perform other operational necessities.
• Use appointment scheduling software - appointment scheduling software is the easiest way to address most clinical healthcare issues, by creating a streamlined process that maximizes efficiency. Automation and data analysis can provide the utmost care for you and your patients, and all from an easy and user-friendly interface. 
  

Final thoughts

Appointment scheduling is a vital component of successful healthcare practices, and while it has a lot of parts to it, it doesn’t need to be complicated. Mastering the art of appointment scheduling will prove immensely beneficial to your practice, with increased efficiency in reducing patient wait times and optimal scheduling. You can see many patients in one day, with little to no no-shows, and all in a period that is appropriate to the healthcare issues at hand. 

Many healthcare businesses, such as Carepatron, specialize in providing advanced software for private practices to get started with online scheduling services. With a user-friendly interface that anyone can use, you can build your customizable system that provides client scheduling, free reminders, as well as data for you to optimize the activity patterns of your clinic. You can prioritize both the needs of you and your patients, all whilst ensuring a seamless appointment booking process - it’s never been easier!

Further reading:

• Choosing the right medical software
• Web-Based Medical Appointment Systems: A Systematic Review