Healthcare organizations that use automated services like robotic process automation (RPA), electronic health records (EHRs), and data blockchain can provide their patients with a higher standard of care. More, when they automate their services, these organizations:
- Reduce administrative costs
- Streamline decision-making processes
- Reduce medical errors, including inaccurate diagnoses
- Provide better support to staff
- Empower staff to spend more time on higher-order functions
- Improve communication among staff and with patients
- Safely secure data
- Expedite billing
- Improve follow-up care
Before the pandemic, healthcare organizations were quickly embracing automation, along with AI and machine learning. If anything, the pandemic only expedited the transition, as it became absolutely necessary for healthcare organizations to embrace these technologies. If they didn’t, they’d fall behind.
The question that healthcare organizations are asking now is not, “Should we automate?” but rather, “How can we do better at automating?” And one service healthcare providers benefit from automating is appointment scheduling: web-based applications that let patients book appointments entirely online.
Here are 3 reasons healthcare organizations automate their booking services:
1. Efficiency
Gone are the days when healthcare organizations relied on in-person and over-the-phone communication to schedule, reschedule, and cancel appointments.
With the option of automating these booking services via a white label calendar app, manual strategies are a waste of money and time. More, they frustrate patients. In a world where you can do nearly everything on your mobile phone, patients expect the same from their healthcare providers.
Automated appointment scheduling is far more efficient than its archaic, manual predecessor, not only for patients but also for healthcare administrators.
When patients can book an appointment through their phone in less than five minutes, rather than calling a healthcare organization and being put on hold, they’re free to go about their day as they choose. When administrators don’t have to worry about scheduling appointments for their patients, they’re free to focus on higher-order tasks.
2. Patient Satisfaction
Patients who don’t have to jump through hoops to book appointments with their doctors are more likely to be satisfied with the quality of service that their healthcare provider provides. It’s more convenient and it gives them more control over their appointments.
When they have this sort of control, they’re more likely to remain loyal patients.
3. No More No Shows
It’s common for healthcare organizations to charge their patients for no-shows, but not always the full cost of the appointment, meaning no-shows cost healthcare organizations money.
When patients book their appointments through a booking app, the app syncs up with their online calendar, making patients less likely to not show up at their appointments.
Not only that, but when patients cancel their appointment through an automated appointment scheduling service, the spot automatically opens up for other patients looking to book.
Meanwhile, the patient who canceled their appointment doesn’t have to worry about giving advance notice over the phone. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
The Bottom Line
Automated healthcare services are the way of the future. Healthcare organizations that embrace automated services like online booking increase efficiency, provide higher patient satisfaction, and reduce no-shows, among other positives.
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