Consumers want to have choice about when and how they can contact you—and they want to have fast results. The best way to do this is to implement online calendar scheduling in your practice.
Why Offer Online Scheduling?
Greater Access to Consumers—With 24/7 online scheduling, consumers can reach you at any time of the day or night to make an appointment. This allows them to fit this into their schedule, instead of having to conform to your set office hours.
Increase Choice—The consumer can see all availability and fully understand their options for scheduling without the assistance of your staff. By providing the patient with more knowledge, they are empowered to schedule a time that works for their life.
Reduce Front Desk Workload—Since patients can make an appointment without contacting your staff, you’ll reduce front desk workload while increasing patient choice and improving speed. Additionally, without fielding appointment inquiries, your front desk staff can prioritize patient engagement, which will ultimately have the most dramatic impact on boosting your revenue.
With these three benefits, it is easy to see how online scheduling is a win-win for your practice and for your patients. So how is this process done?
How to Implement Online Scheduling
Fortunately, online scheduling is highly adaptable and should be catered to fit your practice. This is not a one-size-fits-all solution, so adjust your use of online calendaring services for the following:
- When you want the calendar to be available
- Which procedures and appointments you want to show
- Which pages the calendar should appear on
As the practice owner, all of this can be controlled by you to fit your needs. Ultimately, this technology will more than pay for itself, due to its ability to streamline and improve the appointment scheduling process for patients and office staff while positively impacting the in-office patient experience.
