How your practice can benefit from SMS
Here are 3 ways how 2-way SMS can improve your practice management and productivity
Healthcare providers are working in a fast-paced industry where there are only 24 hours in a day to manage patients, process billing and undertake other administrative duties. 76% of people worldwide want to be reminded of their medical appointments. Practice managers really see the benefits of using SMS for reminders to efficiently manage appointments and recalls.
Don’t waste your time or your patient’s time. Studies show that over 60% of phone calls are either ignored or sent to voicemail. However, 90% of SMS messages are read within the first three minutes of delivery.
Reduce No-shows
A study performed by Medical Journal Australia found that using SMS reminders have lowered the “failure to attend rate” from 23.4% to 14.2%. Missed appointments disrupt patient care and practice operations. Patients are busy and sometimes don’t remember when their appointments are or have time to stop and call in. The easier you can make it for them to confirm or cancel appointments, the more smoothly your practice will run.
Save Time and Money
With our 2-way SMS feature your patient’s status will update based upon the reply received. It will move from booked to the waiting room or cancelled in your PrimaryClinc Practice software in correspondence to their SMS reply.
Using SMS reduces the number of resources wasted due to missed appointments and no-shows, freeing up your team’s time by automating communications such as appointment reminders. You can then use the budget and time you would have originally spent on following up appointments in areas that really need attention.
Better Communication
Patient expectations are changing and practices are expected to adapt to their needs. 80% of people want the option to use their smartphones to interact with their healthcare providers.
In the competitive healthcare industry patient loyalty is no longer guaranteed. Following up and communicating with patients builds stronger relationships. SMS not only improves the communication between practices and patients, but it also frees up appointments for other people who can attend.
SMS has become one of the best-used forms of communication in all aspects of life, and it makes sense to use it as a way to communicate with your patients. Implementing 2-way SMS in your practice can help improve patient satisfaction, reduce the time spent on in-efficient tasks and reduce overall business costs.
If you are interested in starting 2-way SMS please contact our team and link to the contact page.