Archive for the tag 'REMINDER SOFTWARE'

Which Medical Appointment Reminder Suits your Practice; the Email Reminder or Telephone Reminder?

Martin Wright July 14th, 2009


When you decided to become a private practitioner you probably started out with a handful of patients. Appointments were easy to keep track of and you probably thought that your medical receptionist was the most efficient front desk receptionist available. You knew each patient down to their dog’s name and so did everyone in the practice.

Your practice has probably grown since then and keeping track of your patients and their appointments is becoming more of a challenge for both your patients and especially for your medical receptionist. You can help ease the burden on your front desk receptionist and the rest of your medical staff by investing in an email reminder or telephone reminder. A telephone or email reminder will remind patients of their appointment either online or via a telephone call according to your preference.

The success of your reminder service will directly affect the success of your practice. Deciding on which type of appointment reminder service will suit you best will be influenced by your practice and your patients. Check your patients’ personal records for their contact information. If most of them have email addresses then an email reminder would be suitable. If most of your patients do not have email addresses then a telephone reminder would be more logical.

You ought to consider the type of practice you are running and the type of people you receive as patients. If majority of your patients are elderly or from poor neighborhoods, an email reminder may not reach as many of your patients as you would like. Even if these patients had email addresses they would not spend much time surfing as they either cannot afford to or do not know how to. An email reminder would be suitable in a practice where the patients have access to the Internet and check their emails regularly.

Doctors should also consider the preference of their patients. Some patients will be irritated by receiving telephone calls reminding them of appointments at regular intervals. Such patients would much rather have an email reminder sent to their email addresses. Others would prefer to be alerted via telephone as they are probably prone to forgetting about their appointments easily. This is especially true for elderly patients.

Both a telephone and email reminder are only 90% effective. No doctor can be assured 100% of the successful delivery of all reminders on either service. A telephone reminder may not be delivered as the patient may not answer the telephone. An email reminder may not be read as the patient may fail to check his or her email in good time.

It is therefore advisable for a doctor to invest in both a telephone and email reminder. It may seem expensive in the beginning but the returns will be well worth it. Both services are inexpensive to maintain and working together will guarantee you a more successful delivery. Your patients can even choose the reminder service they prefer.

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Don’t Let “I forgot” ruin your practice. Get Appointment Reminder Service!

Jon June 22nd, 2009


“I forgot”. How many times do you hear from that from your patients (if you’re a doctor) – or other clients if you own or run a small business? It happens all the time. Just think of how many hours your staff puts in simply reminding patients and clients about their appointments. It is dozens of hours a week. That’s hundreds of hours a year. These are hours that the staff could be using to make the practice better, or improve the customer service. Well, fear not, because with your virtual assistant and appointment reminder service – all of these problems are a thing of the past.

Above and beyond patients and clients forgetting about appointments, keep in mind those who call your office and become quickly annoyed. Many times, patients and clients have to be put on hold. Occasionally, whomever answers the phone in your office will be having a bad day, and that translates in tone to patients and clients. Between being put on hold, and dealing with a potentially angry staff member, there’s a risk in annoying your patients and clients! That’s why an appointment reminder service is vital to every medical practice and any small business who deals with appointments.

It is simple, easy, and much cheaper than paying someone to call patients and remind them to come in. With the appointment reminder system, everything is done electronically. Patients and clients will hear a friendly, calm voice telling them about their upcoming appointment. The friendly voice will also direct them to other services and even direct them to an interactive website where they can enter in all of their information. Not only are you getting an self-service online appointment scheduler, but it links in with a round the clock online system. This way patients and clients can go online and enter in insurance information, appointment preferences, and even send a note to the practice! This is personalized, convenient service at its best. And, the patients can do it all in the comfort of their own homes – anytime day or night! Patients like it because the automated patient reminder is fast, efficient, and doesn’t waste anyone’s time. Office staff like it because they don’t have to spend valuable time confirming appointments and you will like it because it will cut down on “no-shows” and help the bottom line!

Keep in mind all of the options you will have as well. The appointment reminder service can be programmed to say whatever you want it to say, in any language you want to say it in! And, clients and patients can log in and set up future appointments 24/7 as well. All of this for a fraction of what you pay office staff to perform these duties. And don’t forget, all of this syncs up through google sync with your handheld device so you will know exactly when you can fit in an extra appointment and exactly what your day looks like at a glance!

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A Simple Way of Running a Successful Medical Practice during This Recession

Martin Wright January 10th, 2009


‘Money is the root cause of all evil.’ Being flat broke should then be better, right? Well, don’t answer because I already have the answer to that. As the world painstakingly goes through the paces with a pulse whose strings gets tighter every day the outcry is almost everywhere. The number of people being laid off has reached some of its highest levels in recent times. Talk about foreclosures and that sends a shiver down the spines of many. It is not only here in the US but even on the sandy beaches of Seychelles, Mauritius and the Kenyan coast; people know there is something wrong with the economy.

Unfortunately almost all the sectors are affected; from the ones offering basic commodities to the luxurious services sectors. The medical profession also has had a fair share of its woes. People making appointments are on the decline as more people try to postpone or put off completely that appointment with the doctor that does not seem so necessary. For others the appointment is very necessary but the worries that characterize many lives today make them forget this important meeting with their doctor.

Sounds strange? Well, it should not as it has been shown through research that when you are worrying about something a lot you may forget some other important matters. People need a reminder service especially when many pressing matters are going through their minds.

As a doctor you may have noted that you are losing a lot of revenue from patient no-shows. Don’t watch as you business goes under especially when you know that your patient could be missing appointments out of forgetfulness. Invest in a reminder software or telephone reminder service. With this you can help both your practice and your patients.

You can even get a multilingual appointment reminder to cater for all your patients. Less will miss their appointments out of forgetfulness as they worry about other pressing matters.

Online appointment reminder software does not requires installation on your computer and it sends reminders automatically to all the patients that have an appointment with you at a certain date. The reminder software works in such away that the patient is well informed in good time that there is an upcoming appointment with the doctor. It helps the patient schedule things well in advance to avoid last minute rush. As the day nears the patient will still be reminded of the nearing appointment.

Your live receptionist can (although it is not necessary) physically call the patient to remind him of an appointment when it is due in a few hours, say under 24 hours. By doing this your staff will be freed from repetitive and sometimes boring duties. The phone reminder will do that as your staff engages in other more important matters that the soft ware can not carry out. Thus ensuring a more efficient practice and more satisfied patients!

Take advantage of this excellent reminder software today. See your practice maneuver through these difficult times but ensuring you reduce on the number of patients who don’t show up. Let the patient appointment reminder remind your clients to do business with you! Who would not want such kind of staff?

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