Utilize Technology
Leveraging technology will be the difference between a mediocre patient acquisition process and an exceptional one. Technology allows you to do more, faster, with fewer resources and less cost. Best practice is to use open access systems with regard to practice management, phone, etc. This is key to making your office as efficient as possible so that all of the necessary information is centralized.
Automated Phones
Do you have proper call routing set up? Can you track your phone calls per marketing source? These are features that come with most open access phone systems, which will allow you to route calls more productively in your office and take stress off of your front desk.
Automated Email
An automated email is more than just letting a patient know that their email has been received, it can extend to automating your consult scheduling and a reminder on when a consult will take place. Perhaps most importantly, your emails can and should be automated based on mapping to the customer experience. This means that your marketing to teach customer is based on your specific relationship with them.
Consultation
One of the most inefficient aspects of any medical practice is asking patients to fill out paperwork when they arrive, only to have the front desk staff manually enter that information into your office system. Instead, a link to your necessary paperwork can be sent via email when a patient schedules a consultation. This paperwork can then be automatically sent into your system, to make the process streamlined and more efficient.
The consultation itself also provides an opportunity for greater efficiency. Systems such as TouchMD that can show before and after pictures of work that you have done and that make sure the consultation process is run the exact same way every time are excellent tools that your office can and should consider using to maximize efficiency and better measure your performance.
