In the News: Patient Engagement HIT – Patient Appointment Scheduling

Patient appointment scheduling software has been widely adopted by a variety of healthcare organizations, from independent physician practices to national health systems. This type of technology takes the work out of manually slating patient appointments on a calendar and can even automatically nudge patients in advance of their visit to avoid no-shows. Some platforms allow patients to self-schedule online, via a mobile app, or even through a text message. Without this type of automated solution, patients and staff members alike rely on manual, one-on-one phone calls to book doctors’ visits and reschedule or cancel appointments, which can be tedious and time-consuming.

That’s why patient appointment scheduling software has proven especially helpful in recent years while healthcare staff burnout is stretching clinicians and administrative team members incredibly thin. With the right technology in place, these individuals can focus their valuable time on the direct patient care and support that matters most, rather than getting bogged down by easily automated tasks like appointment management. As a result, the patient experience improves. That’s because these individuals aren’t burdened by the inconvenience of dialing into their doctor’s office, navigating a complicated phone tree, or waiting on hold to speak to a scheduler—they can simply access a website, app, or send a text message to manage their healthcare.

Your practice or health system might be asking whether your existing patient appointment scheduling software is meeting the needs of your organization. While there are many factors to consider (such as EHR integration, message customization capabilities, channel flexibility, and more), a user-centered design is a critical consideration. As healthcare-related outreach has become more complex, technology should support all different types of dynamic patient communications. For example, clinic staff don’t have the luxury of waiting for help tickets to be resolved when patient appointments are on the line.

Robert Inman, product manager at TeleVox, expands upon this important topic and why user-friendly interfaces can make all the difference in selecting (or evaluating) a patient appointment scheduling software solution.

To learn more, read the full article here.