Archive for the tag 'self-service patient appointment scheduling'

Effective Office Automation

Richard Lango January 26th, 2010

We live in a world of advanced technology where people use a wide variety of machines to simplify the things they want to do while they get a better output. You should not let yourself remain behind as technology passes you by if you have a medical clinic. If you would like to streamline your medical practice in order to be more productive, you should ensure that you set up a good medical practice management system. In order to achieve this, you need to set up an effective office automation system.

There are various areas that you need to take into consideration as you look for your office automation system. One of the crucial areas has to do with booking of appointments. You should use a system that gives your patients the opportunity to book their own appointments. The self-service patient appointment scheduling program that you use should enable the patients who would like to use the phone to do so. In order for this to be more effective, you should put up a very robust automated medical receptionist that will work round the clock, even during those times when your front desk receptionist is off duty.

In addition, the service should enable those patients who are Internet savvy to be able to carry out online medical appointment scheduling. You will thus take care of patients with different tastes.

The office automation system you use should also incorporate the ability to remind the patients of their approaching appointments. A good appointment reminder service will help you to deal with the problem of patient no-shows, which can affect your business significantly. Apart from this, you should use a system that will protect you in case a patient still fails to show up even after being reminded of the appointment. Are you wondering how you are going to achieve this? Simple. Just use a pre-paid medical appointment scheduling program, which will require the patients to make a small payment during the booking process.

You should ensure that the system you use gives you as much anywhere-anytime convenience and flexibility as possible. First, the program should be easy for you and your staff to use. Second, you should be able to access your records irrespective of where you are. You should be able to access your records either online or via instant text messaging, which means that the system needs to be compatible with a wide variety of devices, including ordinary cell phones, iphone and Blackberry devices. Remember that you are automating your office, not yourself!

Tags: , , ,

Virtual Receptionist Combines Online Scheduler For chiropractors, massage and spa services

Martin Wright June 9th, 2009


Many people who have come across virtual receptionists and online schedulers mistakenly believe that they can only be used within the doctor’s private practice. After all, the designers and distributors of the all-in-one virtual receptionist and scheduling software mostly target doctors and dentists in private practice. However, such scheduling software is also widely used by healthcare facilities such as chiropractors, massage and spa services.

In fact the all-in-one virtual receptionist and scheduling software were designed with features that serve this healthcare service sector. An example is that in a chiropractor’s office, spa and massage service center, patients or clients who seek treatment in these areas usually require recurrent or multiple follow up treatments. Recurrent appointment feature in the virtual receptionist and online scheduler saves user’s time and is therefore very much appreciated.

Chiropractors, masseuses or spa managers can set their own schedule. The scheduling software allows you to customize your appointments. You will therefore be able to easily define the appointments to your specific service, location, time and son on.

If your business have been plagued by appointment no-shows by clients, the solution is available. The appointment reminder software can be set to remind you of scheduled appointments either online or on your phone. With the inclusion of the Google calendar sync in the online appointment scheduler you are in no danger of forgetting or double booking your appointments. Google sync allows access to Google calendar. You will be able to synchronize your private and professional appointments and set online and mobile phone reminders for them.

Your virtual receptionist can also be your marketing tool. Patients and clients appreciate being called back for follow up appointments or being reminded about appointments for further treatment. The patient appointment reminder will automatically call back your patients and clients and alert them about upcoming appointments or the need to arrange for follow up appointments. Clients who may have forgotten to book appointments or not have made up their minds to book follow up appointments may do so as a result of the reminder.

The virtual receptionist will also be a relief to not only your staff but also your patients. The online appointment scheduler allows for self-service patient appointment scheduling. Your patients will not have to come all the way to your office just to book an appointment. With the self-service patient appointment scheduling service, your patients and clients can book appointments in the comfort of their own living rooms at any time of the day or night. The process is simple and involves no paperwork. Your clients and staff will enjoy a decongested reception and your staff will be able to assist the clients in the reception better. A reduction in paperwork will mean better organization in the practice and more time to deal with emergencies and other matters that may require attention from your staff.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Appointment Access At Your Fingertips 24/7 with Google Sync

Jon June 3rd, 2009

Old Fashioned! That’s what those old bound appointment books are. They served a purpose at one time, but now they are outdated. You are too busy to be wondering when you have appointments scheduled, or to always have to call into the office to see who’s coming in and when. Luckily, in this day and age – there is something new. And, it’s something that will make you say, “WOW” out loud so everyone can hear!

An online appointment scheduler is the way to go for you and your patients. This way, your patients can log on at any time of the day or night and schedule their appointments. What’s more – you and your entire practice can be notified immediately when someone schedules an appointment. The online appointment scheduler makes it easy for you to see your day, week and month at a glance – and allows you to avoid overbooking. It also enables you to squeeze in patients at the last minute if need be. Not to mention, this makes it so easy and convenient for your patients as well. But, the online appointment scheduler is much more than that!

You’re busy. Many times you are out of the office – with no access to the Internet or email. But, that doesn’t mean you don’t need access to your appointments and other items on your calendar. Well, say hello to a feature that allows you to sync all of your appointments with your BlackBerry, G-phone, and nearly every smartPhone. By syncing appointments to google calendar – you can have access to all of your appointments twenty-four hours a day! What’s more – it’s easy!

All you need to do is follow a couple of easy steps and your online appointment book will sync with google calendar. Then, regardless of Internet access – you will have access to your appointments anytime you need them. It’s perfect for when you are traveling. It’s also perfect for when you need to see all of your appointments at a glance! And, don’t worry if it will work with your device! Google sync is. Google Sync is tailored to suit the mobile phone that you have. The service is available for those with phones such as iPhone, Nokia S60, Sony Ericsson, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Nokia Standard.

And, as an added bonus, google sync will also synchronize all of your contacts. You will be able to access this information anytime and from anywhere in case of an emergency or the need for a change. And, the features don’t stop there – you can sync appointments 365 days in advance, use multiple calendars – and even multiple devices! All of this, with your online appointment scheduler – how perfect!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Online appointment scheduling and Modern appointment software

Jon May 27th, 2009


It has happened to each and every one of us. We call our doctor’s office at the last minute to schedule an appointment – and the first thing we are told is, “please hold!” While we sit on the phone waiting for someone to talk to us, we become more and more frustrated. When the receptionist finally picks up the phone to speak with us, the other line begins ringing again and our frustration starts anew! The only thing worse than sitting on hold with your doctor’s office to schedule an appointment is calling and getting the dreaded “busy signal”. When that happens, we are about to go through the roof. And, when that happens – patients consider going to a different medical practice.

But, alas – relief could be in sight. Online appointment scheduling is the wave of the future for appointment software . With millions of people on the Internet across the world in any given moment, everything from virtual office assistants to online appointment scheduling is becoming more and more popular.

There are many reasons for the popularity of online appointment scheduling but the first is the obvious reason – convenience. Online appointment scheduling allows the patient to log onto the Internet at anytime of the day or night to make an appointment. With one click of the mouse, a patient can make an appointment for the next day, or the next month, or the next year! What’s more – a patient can automatically see what appointment times are available and can even schedule follow up visits at the same time. Convenience is the key to appointment software . But the benefits of modern appointment software don’t stop there.

Automation of service is another major benifit for all. Patients and doctors can get reminders sent to their email reminding them of appointments. This cuts way down on missed appointments.

As well, modern visual design replace the old fashion “search-and-typing” with “point-and-click”; with one click of a mouse, or tap on their mobile device doctor’s can see all of their appointments for the day, week, month, and year.

In terms of office operations – online appointment scheduling makes the doctor’s office run like a “well-oiled” machine and patients are noticing! It used to be receptionists and support staff spent most of their time worrying about appointments and scheduling. And, that’s to mention the phone ringing off the hook with appointment questions. Now, because of automated appointment scheduling, receptionists and support staff can focus on the important things – making sure patients are getting the care and the information they need!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Online Appointment Scheduling Just Got Easier with Google Sync

Martin Wright May 22nd, 2009


Working in the medical field means that you will barely have enough time to yourself. Working in private practice is even more demanding. It is difficult to keep up with your patients, appointments, paper work and private life. Even if you have the most effective personal assistant, they may not be able to handle all the pressure that comes with effectively running a private practice reception. There are patients to be addressed in the waiting room, telephones to be answered, appointments to be scheduled and paperwork to organize.

You can reduce this burden by investing in good practice management tool such as an online appointment scheduler.

An online appointment scheduler will allow patient self-service scheduling. Your receptionist will no longer have to spent much of her time scheduling appointments while she could be assisting patients with other important issues.

Since the appointment program is web-based, patients don’t have to crowd into your reception or congest your phone lines to schedule appointments; they can instead access online appointment scheduling services from Internet. Your receptionist or personal assistant will be able to work more efficiently as a result of the reduced work load.

The self-service patient appointment scheduling service is 24/7. A huge convenience to those patients who can not call during your office hours.

A modern appointment program service is not only a great convenience to patients and private practice receptionists; it also provides a lot of ease for doctors in private practice.

One very attractive feature for doctors is Google Sync.

Google Sync allows doctors to have access to their business appointment when they are away from office or without computer or Intenet connection. Google Sync is tailored to suit the mobile phone that you have. The service is available for those with phones such as iPhone, Nokia S60, Sony Ericsson, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Nokia Standard.

It also allows the synchronizing of medical appointment program with Google calendar. You will therefore be alerted about appointments and events that are on your online scheduler by vibration or with a sound. You will therefore always be up to date with your appointments no matter where you are.

In addition to that it will help you organize your schedules. Google Sync ensures that you do not make appointments that coincide via Google calendar and the online doctor appointment scheduling service. You will be able to access your online scheduler via phone and make any necessary changes to the schedule at any time. You no longer have to drive to the clinic, carry around a heavy appointment dairy or call your receptionist over the weekend to find out what appointments you have scheduled for the upcoming week. All you need to do is consult your online scheduler and Google calendar for this.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Online Appointment Scheduler for Your Blackberry, iPhone, or SmartPhone

Richard E PANTALONY February 12th, 2009


Busy medical practitioners and business people who are using the modern online appointment software already appreciate the benefits of the service automation. They should be pleased that the online appointment scheduler just became much more efficient.

A new feature will allow the client to access their online appointment software via their handheld devices such as blackberries, iPhones, SmartPhone’s etc. from anywhere. When you are out of your office, you can now be sure you will never miss an appointment. Your online appointment software will display appointments to your mobile devices when you need it.

Your appointments will be synced to your handheld device utilizing tools available through Google Calendar and Goo Sync to provide either one-way appointment access or two ways. You can literally push or pull your appointments to or from your online appointment scheduler from anywhere once you register for this new and exciting service.
The following services can now be synced to your portable phone or handheld device:

• Business Contacts with addresses
• Scheduled agenda events
• Event particulars and your notations
• Regularly scheduled events
• Various calendars
• Shared and public Google calendars
• Audible alerts reminders from your mobile device
• Tasks from your Outlook mail program

Your online appointment scheduler working in conjunction with Goo Sync and Google Calendar will offer you many new services and capabilities. As mentioned, you can choose a one or two-way synchronization between your online calendar or desktop calendar or just a basic upload from your online appointment scheduler. You can set a timer so your calendar will sync automatically with your iPhone, Blackberry, SmartPhone or one of many different handheld or mobile devices.

As with all Google applications, your personal data is well protected but you may want to take further precautions by excluding your personal data from your new mobile appointment calendar. In particular, if there is confidential patient information in your online appointment scheduler these details could be excluded from the syncing process. Common sense should prevail when storing personal information online and when doing so via wireless mobile devices.

Support is available for handhelds including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Apple iPhone & iPod Touch through your Outlook and iTunes, Google Android and so many more. A complete list of compatible devices is available upon sign up and the list is impressive. Software applications are available to expand the number of personal information management software and desktop applications with which you can sync. These include Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Palm Desktop, ACT!, GoldMine, Microsoft Outlook with Business Contact Manager and Novell GroupWise.

There is no charge to access Google Calendar or any of the Google products from your phone or handheld device but your mobile device operator may charge you extra for certain added services.

As mentioned above there are various plug ins available on the market to improve your compatibility between mobile devices and software calendars/ personal data programs.
For the busy physician or businessperson who is required to be out of the office and away from their online appointment scheduler software, the advantages of syncing your online appointment scheduler with your SmartPhone, iPhone or Blackberry device are many. Your busy schedule just became a little more tolerable and a lot more organized.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The staff member you have been looking for

Martin Wright January 2nd, 2009

The loud ringing of the phone at the reception seems to be continuous. Every time your receptionist puts it down, it goes off again. The constant buzz is interfering with your current appointment. It is also getting to the people waiting in the lobby. Some of them are irritated by the sound and others are getting impatient because they are not getting the attention they deserve from the staff who have to answer the phone every so often.

You may be thinking “Well, there’s nothing I can do about that? I can’t afford to hire more staff to ensure that callers and waiting patients are satisfied.” It would certainly cost you more money to maintain a larger staff. So what can you do? It is time you invested in an online scheduler.

Online appointment schedulers are programs that are run from a web interface. They answer all incoming calls leaving your staff with more time to attend to the needs of patients awaiting consultation. Patients and their families and friends will appreciate the increased attention they receive from your staff. This personal touch will increase the flow of patients to your practice as well as increasing the number of repeat visits.

Sounds nice, but many people do not like talking to a machine when they call a doctor’s office or anywhere for that matter. Won’t the automated voice put callers off? The answer to that question is a big NO. Online schedulers can interact with patients in a natural language dialog. This means that to callers, they sound like any other receptionist. The self-service patient appointment scheduling ability to interact with patients in such a natural manner is attributed to the speech-recognition software that is installed in it. This cutting-edge software gives them voices that are appealing to callers.

An online doctor appointment scheduling can be used on a part time or full time basis depending on your needs. You no longer have to look for a replacement for your receptionist when she can’t make it to work for one reason or another. All you have to do is turn the scheduler on and let it work for you. All your staff can continue with their duties without being interrupted by the telephone.

What’s more, a web-based doctor appointment scheduling program does not need to sleep. It can work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week without the need for rest or a vacation. Late night callers will receive service from an ever pleasant scheduler that will not mind being disturbed at a late hour. Should your receptionist go on vacation or be forced to leave work for sometime, you can trust your new staff member to handle all your incoming calls. This efficient online scheduler can set appointments for patients as well as forward emergency calls to the rightful numbers. If requested by the caller, they can forward calls to voicemail for later retrieval.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, you don’t have to believe everything you read. So try it yourself. Get an automated appointment scheduling program installed easily in your practice and see what a great difference this cost-effective program will make to your practice.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Patients Will Find Your Automated Appointment Scheduling Therapeutic!

Richard E PANTALONY December 19th, 2008

If you can remember the last time you were placed on hold and left there to simmer when you had better things to be doing then you will appreciate the relief your patients will experience when they use your new online appointment scheduler. No longer will your medical receptionist be placing callers on hold while she tends to the multitude of other tasks that fall under her pay grade. Everyone involved will appreciate your foresight and progressive business sense when you commit to investing in an online doctor appointment scheduling service.

If you have patients whose first language is other than english you can customize the messaging for a selection of different language options all delivering the same message. When patients need the services of a medical doctor chances are there is a certain amount of anxiety associated with making an appointment. If the process is a simple permission system for online appointment scheduling then your patient will spend less time making the appointment call and get back into their routine.

I have spoken to a number of people about the intrusiveness of some live medical receptionists and the verdict is unanimous that they feel violated when asked about the nature of the appointment or “why do you need to see the doctor?” Frankly, this is none of their business and with an automated appointment scheduler; the patient is free to arrange an appointment without the inquisition from a live receptionist.

Self-service patient appointment scheduling will make the appointment process simpler for your patient and they will appreciate the fast service and confidence that their appointment is set. They have avoided embarrassing questions from the medical receptionist, the automated scheduling software questions were easy to understand, and they were given a chance to verify their answers.

The beauty of this online doctor appointment scheduling is the patient is given choices and if they are elderly, they will be able to take their time answering questions or checking their calendar for suitable dates without feeling rushed. If a patient is in an emergency, the online appointment scheduling service can direct the call to a medical attendant or the doctor (in case of emergency) directly if they are that available for patients.

Another advanced feature available with automated appointment scheduling services is if you have a dual practice you can set up the appointment scheduling software so patients are directed to the proper medical provider. Patient calls will never go to the wrong doctor. Medical staff can check the online scheduler anytime to confirm or verify appointments, reschedule appointments, and arrange for callbacks for various reasons.

A patient’s time must be respected these days. Folks are always complaining about how much time they spend sitting in doctors’ offices and it is even worse for someone with a chronic condition that needs regular monitoring. The least you as a medical professional can do is streamline the appointment scheduling process so it is convenient for your patients. It can also prove to be profitable for the overall medical practice as you will find out.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Next »