The healthcare experience doesn’t start when a patient signs on for their first telehealth visit—it begins when they book their initial appointment. Almost 70% of consumers prefer health systems offering online scheduling, and nearly 95% would switch to a practice with the feature.
Online scheduling can be just as beneficial if you offer telehealth appointments. The average phone call takes nearly nine minutes, leaving workers with little time to help in-person visitors after completing administrative tasks. Let’s dive into how online scheduling helps patients and medical staff.
Why Online Scheduling is So Popular
While young adults often prefer to book appointments digitally, baby boomers and Generation X are closing the gap. Patients have quickly grown accustomed to booking services online because it’s more convenient than making phone calls. With online booking of telehealth appointments, patients can schedule appointments anywhere, anytime, with their phones.
After-Hours Booking
Most doctor’s offices are open during normal business hours, but most patients are at work—which makes it harder for them to book appointments by phone. Patients often get frustrated with long hold times and limited in-office hours, which can keep them from getting the care they need. With online scheduling, patients can choose appointment times that suit them.
Elevating the Telehealth Experience
Appointment scheduling makes up much of an office team’s workload, but online booking simplifies the process. When team members spend more time with patients and less time on the phone, they elevate care standards and offer a better, more personalized experience to telehealth patients.
Last-Minute Bookings
The average patient in a metropolitan area waits about 24 days for an appointment after booking, but online scheduling and telehealth reduce wait times significantly. When health systems have online scheduling services, patients know when last-minute openings come up—and they get better care.
Sending Appointment Reminders
Busy schedules sometimes mean skipped appointments, but online scheduling reduces no-shows by nearly 30%. Automated text messages and reminder emails tell patients about upcoming telehealth visits and allow them to reschedule, confirm, or cancel immediately. Appointment reminders let patients know their time is valuable and the practice is ready to accommodate them.
Optimizing Provider Workloads
Empty telehealth appointment slots and no-shows cost practices billions of dollars every year. When patients book appointments online, they get real-time availability and can easily claim an open slot. With online scheduling services, providers can optimize their workloads and have an idea of what to expect each day.
Protecting Patients’ Information
Online appointment scheduling is a crucial part of patient management. With secure scheduling, providers can easily categorize, retrieve, and organize patient data without worrying about data breaches and losses.
Easier Information Acquisition
Similarly, medical practices may use online scheduling tools to send paperwork to patients and gather information that would be hard to collect during a phone call or video chat. When patient information is sent and received online, it’s easier to catalog and utilize.
Online Appointments and Telehealth: The Wave of the Future
By using online scheduling, doctors will set their teams up for great success and create seamless experiences that keep patients satisfied. With online appointment booking, healthcare providers can give their patients the personalized self-service experiences they seek. Online booking and telehealth are an accessible, simple, and easy-to-use combination that simplifies provider workflows without sacrificing quality patient care.
