With technology how it is today, online booking is less of an option and more of a necessity. Healthcare booking platforms allow patients to make medical appointments that they may not be able to make otherwise and help you to reach and book more potential patients than via phone only. This helps your patients, your staff, you, and your healthcare practice as a whole.
This article explains why healthcare booking platforms are so essential and outlines why it’s the best decision you can make for your patients and your staff. For personalised advice, contact our team at practiceedge today.
Why Your Healthcare Practice Needs An Online Booking System
The inclusion of a healthcare booking platform for your healthcare practice or clinic can be make or break for potential patients. While calling to make a doctor’s appointment used to be the only way patients could get in to see their doctor, today it’s seemingly the least preferred way to do so.
Many people struggle with speaking on the phone, and speaking with professionals such as those in a healthcare practice can be even more daunting. As a result, healthcare booking platforms are becoming more and more ubiquitous.
Also read: 10 Reasons Why Every Health Practitioner Should Have An Online Booking System
The Benefits Of Healthcare Booking Platforms
Healthcare booking platforms offer a wide range of benefits for your patients, your staff, and yourself. These may include:
1. Convenience
We’re all busy. Whatever it is we do for work, it can easily take up much of our day— even when it’s not supposed to. Add in taking care of the house, and kids, or even studying in your spare time, and it’s hard enough to find time to breathe, let alone make a phone call. As a result, many of us are stretched for time and are looking for ways to save time wherever possible. Online services provide just that. Healthcare booking platforms in particular allow patients to make appointments when it suits them, rather than being limited to specific hours that your practice is open.
2. Saves Time
Not only do healthcare booking platforms make life easier for your patients, but they can make work and life easier for you and your staff as well. Online booking means efficiency for your patients in that they can make an appointment when it suits them, and efficiency for your practice as a whole. With your patients booking their appointments online, you and your staff have more time to dedicate to crucial admin and healthcare work that is at the crux of what you do.
3. Helps You To Reach More Patients
Some people simply aren’t fond of phone calls, and will do whatever they can to avoid them. In fact, this anxiety is so common that ‘Phone script for scheduling medical appointments’ has over 1,520,000 results on Google! When it comes to making healthcare appointments, putting this off may be the worst thing they can do. Having online booking as an option allows people with anxiety regarding phone calls to have the same healthcare opportunities as those who don’t struggle with this issue.
4. Improves Customer Relationships And Communication
Healthcare booking platforms typically allow you to send out automated communication via email or SMS when necessary, such as to remind patients of upcoming appointments. This aims to reduce the number of no-shows and people who arrive late to their appointments, which in turn helps your practice to run more smoothly day-to-day.
5. Increases Digital Marketing Outreach
Having your patients book their appointments online means that they’ll need to provide their email and/or phone number at a minimum. If a patient has changed their details since the last time they booked in with you, this will help your system stay up-to-date and aid in your digital marketing campaigns. Additionally, you may choose to link your online booking system to paid advertising campaigns and generate more customers for your practice overall.
6. Reduces Empty Time Slots
Empty time slots equal a loss of revenue for most doctors. An online booking system allows patients to see when their preferred doctor is available and schedule their appointment accordingly, rather than spend time conversing with front desk staff to find out when they’re available. Being able to see up-front instead of having to visualise it in their minds can be of great benefit to many patients and help you to fill up those time slots that may have otherwise sat empty.
7. Reduces Costs
All in all, healthcare booking platforms save time and increase efficiency. With front desk staff spending less time on the phone and more time attending to important administrative duties, your practice will become more efficient while you also save costs on resources. This means that your overall costs will ultimately go down, allowing your profits to rise.
Contact practiceedge For All Your Healthcare Digital Marketing Needs
Online booking is becoming more and more crucial for healthcare practices, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. When it comes to digital marketing for healthcare practices and clinics, our team at practiceedge focuses solely on healthcare practices so you know you’re getting the specialised service your practice deserves. To find out more, book a call with our knowledgeable team today.