In addition to this added efficiency, patients also generally report feeling more comfortable and less burdened by online self-scheduling than by making appointments over the phone. There is a wide variety online appointment scheduling software you can purchase to use in your office. Some of the most popular software includes AppointmentPlus, Booker, and Thryv. Of course, you can also build your own scheduling software if you have coding and development skills!
For example, instead of asking a patient if Tuesday at 1:00 works for them, give them the opportunity to select any available time slot that works for them, such as Tuesday from 1:00-2:00, 2:00-3:00, or 4:00-5:00.
If the person makes the appointment in person or over the phone, simply ask them for this information. If they make their appointment online, be sure to include an area in your online portal for patient contact information.
Calling or texting patients is the best type of reminder, since they’re more likely to notice an incoming call or text than they are to see a new email in a short amount of time. Using a reminder system may also increase the cancellation and rescheduling of unwanted appointments, which can lead to patients feeling more in control of and thus more satisfied by their appointment times.
For example, if 1 person is in charge of scheduling appointments, they can focus on things like matching particular patients or conditions with particular doctors instead of dividing their attention among several tasks.
For example, if there are multiple patients scheduling appointments for skin conditions during a particular week, try to set it up so that their appointments all fall on the same day of that week.
For example, if a person calls to make an appointment and is reporting symptoms like intense pain and shortness of breath, fit them into the schedule as soon as possible since their condition could be very serious. If there’s no room in the schedule to see someone with an urgent condition right away and you need to reschedule another patient’s appointment, you can also use the chart to determine which appointments can be postponed.
Although double-booking in this way can help you to see more patients in a day, it may lead you to run into issues when unexpected circumstances arise. Keep double-booking to a minimum to avoid problems down the line. Scheduling “work-in” patients is also a good means of triaging patients based on their needs and leaving more appointment space for those with more serious issues.
For example, you may see a large number of people scheduling check-ups for their children at the start of a new school year, which will require you to try to leave space for these appointments before and after school each day. In general, the busiest times of year for doctor’s offices include the start of a new school year (i. e. , August), allergy season (i. e. , April-June), and flu season (i. e. , October-February).
For example, if you know you’ve already scheduled enough patients to meet your office’s needs for one week, you can then prioritize scheduling patients who don’t have urgent conditions during the next week.
The modified wave scheduling model will drastically cut down patient wait times, thereby leading to greater overall patient satisfaction. If you have empty time at the end of the hour, you can use that time to catch up on other tasks in the office, such as filing paperwork, making phone calls, or even holding staff meetings.
Create your waiting list in a digital format and set it up so that you can instantly send out a text or email to patients on the list when a schedule slot opens up. This is much more efficient than having to contact patients on the list by phone.
For example, if a patient has an 8:00 am appointment and they arrive at 7:55 to check in and fill out required paperwork, they might not be ready to see the doctor until 8:15. This pushes back appointments for the rest of the day, leading to frustrated patients and reduced productivity.
