Patient appointment reminders may not appear to be a vital component of a small to mid-size practice at first glance. However, with a closer look, the benefits of patient appointment reminders are evident. For some, organizing seems second nature, but for others, it is a tumultuous process. Your time as a physician is extremely valuable, and all of the minutes of potential treatments lost to “no-show” appointments can be costly for your practice. Momento Medical states that depending on specialty, a reduction of as little as 1% of no-show appointments can increase your practice’s revenue anywhere from $5,000-$50,000.
Along with possibly increasing your practice’s revenue, how else can patient reminders benefit your practice? SolutionReach discusses 3 other positive attributes:
1. Improves Office Efficiency
Automated appointment reminders eliminate the need for staff to call each individual patient personally. This saves your practice approximately $5,000 a year per employee who devotes their time to call patients. Additionally, your employees now have a surplus of time to spend on other productive tasks.
2. Improves Health Outcomes
When a patient misses an appointment, it not only has an impact on your practice’s revenue but also a patient’s health. Since automated patient reminders reduce no-shows, there is greater continuity for patient care. Patients no longer miss appointments due to forgetfulness and are able to receive the treatment and annual assessment they require.
3. Improves Patient Satisfaction
Phone calls may serve as a traditional method of patient appointment reminders, but too often patients do not answer their phone or their voicemail is full. Automated SMS (text) and emails are more convenient for a patient, as they can choose when they wish to view the message. A brief, friendly text message is easily accessible for the non-stop mother of four or a busy executive.
Studies about the financial burdens for practices and no-show appointments have repeatedly reported similar outcomes:
“[T]he financial loss attributed to no-shows can be very high based on reported no-show rates…” -Bjorn P. Berg, PhD
“The evidence is overwhelming that reminders have a positive effect on non-attendance rates…This (the cost of patient reminders) seems likely to be much less than the cost of missed appointments and we, therefore, recommend that reminders are used routinely,” – Per Erlend Hasvold
The benefits of automated patient reminders enhance multiple areas of your practice. With RXNT, your practice can use patient reminders with our fully integrated EHR & PM solutions or stand-alone with Scheduling. To learn more about the benefits of RXNT’s solutions for your practice or to see a free demonstration, contact us at 800-943-7968 or email us at [email protected].