Your front office is your patients’ primary touch-point for communication with your medical practice. By automating 40% of front office tasks, you can provide them with instant communication inside and outside the office.
What most medical practices don’t realize is that this kind of ease for patients also maximizes front office productivity and satisfaction, allowing staff to focus on the tasks that bring value to your practice.
In recent years, offices have turned to automation to keep their front office running seamlessly. It’s become a #1 tool for saving time & money, keeping patients coming back, increasing staff satisfaction and eliminating human-error. The benefits are endless, but if you ask us, there are 5 that top the list:
1. Instantly Communicate with Patients
Your front office is your patients’ first point of communication. When you automate patient touch-points (from self-scheduling to mobile check-ins), you’re able to inform during and after hours, schedule appointments around the clock and provide timely updates & reminders.
Automation enables you to instantly service patients with the processes they prefer most:
- 70% of patients want to schedule themselves
- 80% of patients prefer two-way messaging with doctors
- 50% of patients rather receive text appointment reminders
This kind of clear communication allows patients to skip long wait-times that would otherwise drive them to a competitor with a quicker, easier process. And, it ensures that “busy” never becomes a reason you miss out on a prospect.
2. Build Loyalty & Online Reputation For Your Practice
When patients get the information they need when they need it, it sets a bar that other offices can’t compete with. Instant notifications, messaging and two-way communication are just a few ways patients feel seen throughout automation. Not only do they enjoy its countless benefits, but it makes them feel more connected to your office, which instantly builds loyalty.
After a quick intake process and satisfying in-person experience, they’ll receive an automated review request at the conclusion of their visit – something that creates a baseline for your office’s online success. About 70%[1] of those asked will leave a review, which can be a key contributor to landing your next patient, especially when 95%[2] of people check reviews before making a purchasing decision.
Not only will reviews add to your online visibility and presence, but it will also increase your credibility tenfold, establishing your office as a top local choice.
3. Increase Front-Office Productivity
Monotony is a killer in any profession. When more time is spent on mundane manual tasks, less time is spent on work that brings value to the office, which can lead to an unmotivating work culture.
Automating repetitive tasks like scanning intake forms or sending reminders ensures that those tasks are done faster, more efficiently and completely error-free. In turn, this helps employees improve their time-management and increase morale – no one wants their day-to-days filled with to-dos that could be otherwise done by a machine. Their time could (and should) be spent on meaningful work that connects them with patients and other team members, so office productivity can be improved further.
4. Use Email To Attract & Engage Patients
Automation tools can transform your marketing strategies. Offices experience a boost in email activity, skyrocketing recall and retention when they take advantage of bulk sending and customizable templates. The process is simplified through advanced segmentation to target specific groups based on age, gender, reviews, appointment statuses.
Automated educational newsletters, Memorial Day promotions and other email marketing ideas may seem small, but their impact goes far beyond a healthy ROI – they attract and engage patients new and old with the click of a button. Plus, compared to traditional emails, automated emails have a 70.5% higher open rate and 152%[3] click-through rate. Which means you’ll be landing more eyes on your offers than ever before.
5. Utilize Calls, Reminders & Check-Ins
Calls
Bringing your office online has never been more important, especially when it comes to mobile options. Did you know your office could lose up to $37k a year if you miss two calls a week? And that a single bad phone experience makes 74% of people move on?
Outdated phones are more than just a frustration point — they can stand in the way of your relationships with your patients. An automated phone system optimizes the call process and even sends automated texts to patients if a call is missed.
Reminders
Automating your appointment reminders can significantly reduce your no-shows and provide opportunity for quick cancellations and rescheduling, so your calendar is never empty.
Check-Ins
When patients do arrive for an appointment, they’ll be able to check-in and fill out digital intake forms from their car. This makes maintaining social distancing protocols easier, while adding brevity and accuracy to the intake process.
Streamlining your calls, reminders and check-ins not only makes life easier for your patients, but it creates smoother processes for your staff – through every stage of the patient journey.
How to Add Automation to Your Front Office
Combining human-to-human interaction with automated efficiency fine-tunes front & back office cohesion and offers a way to scale with your patients’ ever-growing needs.
Automation may sound complicated, but when you have the right support, it doesn’t take long to start streamlining front office operations. Practice growth solutions like Demandforce build systems with your specific industry in mind, so you can start boosting engagement and growing your office. All you have to do is keep focusing on your patients.
[1] (Searchengineland,2016)
[2] (FindStack, 2022)
[3] (Epsilon, 2018)
