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A lot of medical practices are adding online scheduling tools to their website these days. While there is a lot to be said about having the “personal” touch of a live receptionist to schedule appointments, we believe that in the end, the good definitely outweighs the bad. If you are considering adding an online scheduling tool to your practice’s website, check out these five benefits you could experience from this helpful tool.
1. Save Your Receptionist Time
The first reason is the most obvious. With your office receptionist not constantly being interrupted from her work to answer phone calls or schedule appointments, he or she is free to actually handle patient intake and greetings when they are working in-person. With the free time, receptionists are able to give better, less frazzled customer service. We’ve all been in situations when we’ve shown up to an appointment and have been greeted by a very scattered, busy receptionist who seems more frustrated by your presence than welcoming. This can lead to a bad first impression for new patients and further discourage them from returning for any future appointments or checkups. With an online scheduling tool, your receptionist can manage the schedule rather than fully make it. This saves everyone a lot of time and a lot of headaches.
2. Save Money on a Second Employee
Another answer to overworking an office receptionist is to hire an extra employee whose entire job description is to handle scheduling and phone calls. While this solves the overloading problem, it is a very costly solution. Even a minimum wage part-time employee is still a significant expense to a practice. By digitally scheduling appointments, this completely eliminates the need for such a monetary investment.
3. Convenience for Your Patients
Many younger people hate talking on the phone and would much rather handle something online if they have the option. Plus, with an online scheduling tool, patients or their loved ones can schedule appointments anytime, anywhere. This way, your schedule books are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. A receptionist is only available to answer calls to schedule appointments during regular business hours, or at best, he or she could check the office phone’s voicemail for any appointment requests that came in the night. With online scheduling, patients are free to book the medical services they need on their own schedule, offering a whole lot of convenience for everyone.
4. No More Schedule Mix Up
Humans tend to make mistakes, even if they do not mean to. Having a person in charge of the scheduling is bound to cause a few hiccups and human errors at some point or another. However, computers are programmed to not do this. While there is always the possibility of a glitch in the system, for the most part, computer programs can be trusted to operate as they were made to without fail. This can be a great way to lower your practice’s no-show rate because of date mix-ups or forgotten appointments. The best pediatrician in the business will also have automatic scheduling reminders, to avoid forgetful no-shower patients and keep your office running efficiently and smoothly. All your patient needs to do is google something like “Pediatrician Pittsford, NY” to find your practice and schedule an appointment.
5. Digital Calendars
Another great thing about online scheduling tools is that it is completely digital. No need for a physical appointment book or calendar. It is all easily accessible online for any one of your employees to access at any given time. This can save your employees time by having access to what their daily schedule will look like at any given moment. If there was an unexpected cancelation or reschedule, the calendar can update automatically instead of it needing to be manually changed. In the end, digital scheduling is a perfect option for busy, growing practices. It is rare to find an option for practices that will both save them time, money, and enhance their patient’s experience.
