Patient No-Shows Can Significantly Decrease Revenue

Summary

Automated appointment reminder system reduces no-show rates by 50%; Harmony Healthcare IT discusses options.

What is your practice’s patient no-show rate?  For the average family practice, patient no-shows can escalate to 30%.  That can equate to a substantial  decrease in billing revenue.

What’s an effective strategy to protect that loss of revenue? Automated reminder calls.

To reduce the number of patient no-shows at your practice, employ the use of an automated patient appointment reminder system.  The software, which interfaces to your existing practice management system, dials out to patients with upcoming appointments and reminds them to be there!

Simple?  Yes.  Effective?  You bet.

If implemented correctly, an automated patient appointment reminder system can reduce no-show rates by up to 50%.  It’s a systematic and automatic approach to reminders that humans tend to lack.  If you’re counting on a front-desk clerk to call and remind patients of their appointments then it may benefit you to check back in on how the process is working.

  • Put checks and balances in place to ensure that the calls are being placed.
  • Routinely run appointment reports to monitor your patient no-show rates.
  • Employ a no-show follow-up procedure to determine why patient attendance rates are dropping.

Reminder call automation can often deliver appointment messaging at a lower cost and in a more flexible way.  Many systems will leave voice mails, handle live call connections, send emails, or even deliver SMS text messaging.  Systems are setup to work within the communications preferences set by your patients.

If you’re interested in a solution for automated patient reminder calls, contact Harmony Healthcare IT to discuss options to meet your needs.

Jan 05 2009

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