How Online Scheduling Can Improve the Patient Experience

It's no secret that healthcare systems are overburdened and facing increasing strain. One solution to help relieve this pressure is by investing in online scheduling solutions for both patients and medical service providers.

Online scheduling simplifies the entire process of appointment booking, from the accessibility of being able to access a system from anywhere with an internet connection, to how quick and easy it is to book a specific time slot.

The result is improved efficiency for healthcare services and improved convenience for patients, who can be sure that their appointment requests will be taken care of quickly and efficiently.

The benefits don't end there either: online scheduling also helps reduce missed appointments; this not only saves valuable time and resources but also helps increase efficiency in terms of providing clinical care.

When patients miss appointments, they aren't just compromising their own health – they experience delays in treatment or tests which can adversely affect other patients — who rely on timely access to care — as well as risk delaying diagnosis or treatments.

Online scheduling helps limit these types of scenarios as patients have greater control over managing their own appointments and are encouraged to stick with them since they are booked on their own terms in advance.

Efficiency

Online scheduling solutions in most EMR (electronic medical records) platforms offer great potential when it comes to modernizing healthcare services. By streamlining processes and cutting down on waiting times, more attention can be given over to providing quality patient care than ever before.

Cost savings

Investing in the technology needed for online scheduling has been proven to provide savings in both time and expense, meaning healthcare systems benefit from enhanced profitability whilst also providing better service for their customers.

Privacy & Security

Importantly, security measures can also be taken into account to help keep data secure; password protections or two-factor authentication systems (for example) are just some of the ways security protocols* can help protect personal information while still allowing convenient access via mobile devices or laptops.

*These are the core privacy features required to be HIPAA-compliant.

In addition to convenience and security, online scheduling solutions offer several other features which help make the patient experience even more positive such as:

• Patients can receive appointment reminder notifications in advance of their appointments,
• Helping reduce the number of missed appointments
• Ensuring any necessary treatments or tests can be administered efficiently
• Handling confirmations and cancellations quickly and easily, meaning if a patient does need to reschedule an appointment for any reason it’s a simple process to do so.

Automated intake forms

Other functionality such as automated forms completion can also help speed up processes; this is particularly useful when it comes to medical check-ups or operations, as important records can be stored digitally within a secure system ready for instant retrieval should they ever be needed.

Ultimately this helps save time for both patients and staff members alike by eliminating unnecessary paperwork and associated administrative tasks.

Messaging

Furthermore, online scheduling offers great potential beyond just booking medical appointments - many services also feature integrated messaging options that allow healthcare providers to maintain contact with their patients in between visits.

This could include anything from providing post-operative instructions or follow-up advice all the way through to sending out surveys or questionnaires relating to their treatment experiences.

These types of post-discharge care not only provide valuable feedback on how best providers are managing services but also create an additional layer of support that helps look after patients both before and after their visits.

Conclusion

Overall, there's no question that investing in an online scheduling solution brings significant benefits when it comes to improving patient experience -

• Increased convenience through enhanced safety protocols
• Providers get reliable appointments
• Staff is able to focus on delivering quality healthcare services instead of spending hours dealing with administrative tasks
• Patients receive the quality care they need in a timely fashion.

To see how you can enable convenient online scheduling in your private practice, whether in a telehealth setting or in-person care, check out this introductory video, Ben Fetter from Hint Health (previously AeroDPC ) and Dr. Ismail Sayeed, the Director of The VIOS Clinic Clinic, will be showing you how easy it is to set up your own EMR Doctor account.

We will cover the basic onboarding steps involving:

- Opening an account

- Understanding your dashboard

- Setting up your user profile

- Creating your own intake forms and patient care templates

- Creating your own schedule for bookings

- Making notes

- Sending out lab requests

- Billing and invoicing

- and a lot more amazing features