Real-time Online Scheduling Advantages

Background

Dental practices learned over the year of the COVID-19 pandemic to be flexible and introduced a number of new approaches. Some changes will stick and others won’t. As practices take on new technologies that make them more patient centric, one stands out as an approach that could create effortless interactions and better patient experiences. People have become accustomed to making reservations, ordering groceries, checking on plane schedules, and making bank deposits using their phones. As a result, dental patients now expect that they can get immediate access to information when they are looking for a dental care provider using their mobile device. They expect the convenience of real-time self-scheduling. Reasons for adopting this new approach were identified.

Implementing Oneline Scheduling

Among the advantages to considering online scheduling for dental practices are the following:

• 1.It attracts new patients.
• 2.The appointment book will be full.
• 3.Team time will be saved by reducing call volume and interruptions.
• 4.It can fill last-minute openings quickly.
• 5.There will be fewer broken appointments.
• 6.Lasting patient-dentist relationships will be formed.

Attract New Patients

Despite the widespread use of online scheduling for other things, 85% of all dental appointments are still made with a phone call. Scheduling appointments online is considered a major selling point for patients in search of a dentist. Having the ability to schedule using a mobile phone can differentiate a practice from its competitors and attract new patients.

Currently 43% of patients look for doctors and dentists after hours. Potential patients often work the same hours as the dental staff, making it hard to schedule appointments during working hours. The convenience of real-time online scheduling on the practice website can make that practice the most desirable choice for busy professionals and overly scheduled parents.

The concept can be taken a step further by adding links for real-time online scheduling to Yelp, Google, Facebook, and other social media sites. This can dramatically increase the flow of new patients. Consumers tend to trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and patients often check these sites for dentist and doctor information. Being able to schedule an appointment with a few clicks instead of having to wait until office hours may make the difference in which practice is selected.

Keep Appointment Books Full

Doctors who offer both online scheduling and a call center schedule a significantly higher number of appointments than those that only book by phone. Online scheduling can be supplemented by the ability to click a “schedule now” link, have continuous care e-mails, and receive text reminders. These can all contribute to filling an appointment book. It can be a challenge to contact dentists in the middle of the day, but going online can be done anytime.

Today’s well-designed self-scheduling software keeps the schedule under control. Practices can customize and control what types of appointments patients can schedule and where they fit on the schedule. Having a fully integrated online scheduling system will allow access to patients’ demographic and insurance information and allow an appointment to be set up on the correct date with few clicks.

Reduce Call Volume and Interruptions

In a typical dental practice, about a third of all inbound calls go to voicemail, and the vast majority of potential new patients who reach voicemail won’t leave a message or schedule an appointment. This is a waste of marketing dollars. Playing phone tag and having to reschedule appointments creates an unneeded burden on the dental team and inconveniences patients.

Fill Last-minute Openings

The dental team is often busy trying to fill last-minute openings due to cancellations. Research indicates that 40% of all appointments made online are for the same or the following day, which significantly reduces the need to try to fill cancellations.

Reduce Broken Appointments

Dentists may fear that making it easy to schedule appointments online also makes it easy to break appointments, especially at the last minute. The research indicates that the no-show rate significantly declines when patients schedule their appointments online, which seems counterintuitive. Reasons for cancelled appointments, such as fear, cost, loss of trust, lack of urgency, or forgetfulness, have nothing to do with how easy or hard it is to schedule or cancel. Real-time online scheduling reduces cancellations because it’s easier for patients who want to come in to find an appointment that fits their lives. Rather than feeling pressured to choose a time offered by the office, patients can take time to check their calendars, talk with a spouse, and refer to their child’s activities schedule. Research also finds that when patients make the appointment themselves they are nearly 9% more likely to keep the commitment. The principle of consistency is at work, which means that people feel good about being consistent with their decisions and will make efforts to keep their commitments.

Build Lasting Relationships

When patients can go online to schedule their appointments, pay their bills, and access their health records, they have a better experience and take greater ownership of their own health. Increased engagement in these ways leads to fewer missed appointments, better clinical outcomes, and increased revenues.

Clinical Significance.

Real-time scheduling online can differentiate a practice from its competition and create favorable impressions on both new and established patients. The relationships that develop can be long-lasting and create a positive experience for all concerned.