Proactive Outreach Is A Must

The current financial state of healthcare is bleak. Operating expenses and labor costs have increased beyond pre-pandemic levels, and?more than half ?of hospitals are expected to close out the year with negative margins. In the coming year, health systems will need to make a concerted effort to improve revenue and prevent leakage if they want to stay afloat. Considering the incredible?monetary impact ?of no-shows and cancellations, bolstering patient communications will be a must.

A recent data?report ?from MGMA shows that no-show rates, which decreased slightly during the pandemic, are holding somewhat steady across practice types. However, appointment cancellations increased across the board while the number of appointments rescheduled within 30 days decreased significantly, dropping more than 78% in some cases for primary care. The reasons for no-shows vary greatly but the majority of patients (over 54% ) claim they simply forgot. Following this logic, it’s probably safe to assume that the same is true of patients who failed to reschedule.

We already know that good communication is the key to patient engagement. In fact,?94% ?of providers think that text reminders and follow-up calls play a role in a patient’s ability to properly follow their care plan and they’d be right— current?patient surveys ?support the sentiment that the burden falls largely on providers to manage patients’ health. Patients not only want better engagement from their providers, they demand it.?Over 75% ?of patients want reminders for prescription refills, annual checkups, routine testing, and preventative care—

83% ?expect them for appointments.

Improving patient communication has a myriad of benefits beyond the impact on appointment attendance rates. Good communication can improve the efficiency and productivity of your practice, as well as have a positive effect on patient satisfaction and outcomes. However, in the coming year the most critical consideration for improving engagement and employing a robust reminder strategy is that when they have the power to reduce missed appointments by as much as?41% ?on average, they translate directly to revenue.

In addition to customized patient engagement solutions, Envera offers a complimentary reminders program.?Find Your Solution with Envera .