Getting the Patient in the Chair with Appointment Reminders
At the modern dental office, the best way to stay connected to patients is through patient communication software. There are many uses for this software. You stay top of mind with your patients. You save staff time on many, many tasks. One of the most key elements of this software is an appointment reminder tool.
Having a patient in the chair is at the heart of your practice. This is the moment where you administer great dental care. Finding the right appointment reminder software facilitates that happening. At Intiveo, we see every day how dental practices are profiting from the reduction of no-shows. We see that patients come prepared for appointments more consistently.
This comes down to your appointment reminder software! In this blog post, we’ll explore:
- why appointment reminder software is a good investment for your dental practice
- what you can expect from an appointment reminder tool
- some of the recommended appointment reminder software on the market today
Let’s get started!
An Appointment Reminder Tool: the Right Investment
Choosing an appointment reminder tool is an important investment for your dental practice. All patient communication software offers the opportunity to streamline your workflow. Appointment reminders are no different. With a good appointment reminder tool, your staff saves countless hours of manual scheduling. Instead of making several phone calls, staff can remind several patients with a few clicks of a mouse. Tracking confirmed appointments is easy with a tool that automatically updates.
First and foremost, the most important part of dentistry is offering your patients great dental care. However, a dental practice also has a business side. Appointment reminder software helps you maximize profitability. Part of that is streamlining workflows, as we’ve noted. Staff time is simply used more efficiently.
Another part of this increase in profitability is the reduction of no-shows and poorly prepared patients. An automated reminder tool supports your patients in:
- Remembering to come to the appointment. The reduction of no-shows helps ensure income for your practice.
- Following pre-appointment instructions. This is key in reducing cancellations because patients are poorly prepared.
- Confirming their appointments. If you choose software that allows you to include a ‘click to confirm’ option, you allow your staff to track which patients might not show up.
- Keep your practice top of mind. Little touches like holiday greetings, or more important messages like recalls, keep your patients coming back to your practice.
Many appointment reminders now also include a wellness screening form, to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. This goes a long way to keeping staff and patients safe.
In short, investing in a good appointment reminder tool offers your dental practice a lot. You increase workflow streamlining. You increase profitability. You keep giving your patients the opportunity for good oral health outcomes.
What Should Your Appointment Reminder Tool Include
Regardless of which appointment reminder tool you choose, it’s important to know what it should include! As you are browsing, make sure to check for key timesaving features. Appointment reminder software should include at least the following:
- The appointment reminder itself: an automated message, sent usually by text or email, to remind patients to come to their upcoming appointment. If you choose software with lots of customization options, you can also add details about the appointment. Keep your patients prepared!
- Tracking of the appointment confirmation: this provides your patients with an option like ‘click to confirm’. This allows you to keep track of those confirmations and see if you might have a no-show for an appointment.
- A wellness screening form: at the moment, it’s important to screen patients for Covid-19. Having the option of an automatic form that you can send to patients is important. You can then review the results before a patient arrives. It’s possible that after the pandemic ends that this may become a permanent feature of pre-appointment protocol!
- Options to reschedule: Many appointment reminder tools will include an option for rescheduling. If the patient has a conflict, it can save staff time to allow them to reschedule on their own!
- Reminders about payment: Appointment reminder tools can also include reminders about payment, through a payment portal.
As you explore appointment reminder tools, you will find the one that is a good fit for your practice. Remember, the key feature of appointment reminder software is streamlining. Choose a tool that will save your staff time. For example, say your staff is spending a lot of time explaining to patients how to prepare for an appointment. If you add pre-appointment instructions to your reminders, you’ll save time.
Start saving time today!
A Brief Note About the Patient Experience
As a leading marketplace vendor Capterra notes, it’s estimated that medical scheduling software will boom. What this means for dental practices is that this will be a common feature. It will become routine to have appointment reminder software. This is important to not let your practice fall behind!
Capterra also notes that appointment reminders significantly improve the patient experience. At Intiveo, we know this to be true. Patients are more engaged when they have appointment reminders. They come better prepared for appointments. The overall patient experience improves!
It’s important to take into consideration these features of appointment reminders when choosing your tools!
Choosing an Appointment Reminder Tool
Hunting for the right appointment software can appear daunting. It can be hard to know what to choose. That’s why we thought we’d get you started with a few suggestions!
A quick note: it’s important to ensure that your appointment reminder software is HIPAA compliant. This protects your patient’s information. It’s always good to give HIPAA a re-read to make sure you’re complying with all your software.
Let’s get started!
Intiveo: Customization for Every Patient
Naturally, this is the appointment reminder software we know best! Intiveo offers the ability to send personalized appointment reminders according to appointment type. This means including different types of messaging or special instructions. You and your patient can agree on the best way to get in touch, via SMS, email, or voice. Our tool communicates with your scheduler, updating it in close to real-time. Intiveo’s tool includes wellness screening forms, requests for online reviews, and post-appointment satisfaction surveys. Our cloud-based system means this information is accessible to you on the go.
The journey does not stop for your patients with the appointment reminder. We stay with your patients at every step of the patient journey. For example, once they arrive for their appointment, they can communicate with staff via a 2-way chat. This gives patients an accurate picture of when they will be seen by the dentist.
We stay accountable to you: we offer a satisfaction guarantee for the first 30 days of your Intiveo contract or your money back! Get started today by booking a meeting.
DoctorConnect: Integrating with EMR & PMS
The appointment reminder software from DoctorConnect links with your current electronic medical record (EMR) and patient management system (PMS), integrating fully with the tools you currently use. DoctorConnect offers three different intervals for appointment reminders. You can send appointment reminders by voice, email, and text.
Plus, for practices in areas of North America where Spanish is widely spoken, this tool offers the ability to send messages in both English and Spanish!
Pomelo Health: Decrease Your No-Shows!
Pomelo Health’s tool is designed to decrease your no-shows! The ability to send patient reminders in three different ways, by voice, text, or email, lets your patients know when and where to show up. Pomelo Health highlights the ability to include forms, links, attachments, alerts, links, and more to their appointment reminders.
Customize not just your reminder type, but your reminder frequency as well!
Software That Does the Legwork For You
This tool is designed to allow your dental practice to communicate with patients by SMS, auto-call, email, and by mail. Legwork keeps all this information in one interface, simplifying your appointment reminders. Like many cloud-based solutions, information is accessible from anywhere. Legwork aims to give your patients a nudge, so they come to appointments – and come prepared. Plus, it integrates with your current PMS!
Reminders to Get Your Patients Going
GoReminders aims to be your all-in-one solution when it comes to appointment reminders. This tool keeps things simple with straightforward appointment reminders. Schedule the appointment – remind the patient – the patient shows up! Serving not just dentistry, but many industries besides, GoReminders offers a simple strategy to impress your patients.
Providing Great Oral Health Outcomes to Your Patients
In choosing appointment reminder software, it’s important to prioritize streamlining and customization. Prioritize saving staff time. Appointment reminder software should make tasks easier. Or, it should eliminate them! Customizing by appointment type is also key. Choose appointment reminder software that sends your patient the right message, at the right time. Pre-appointment instructions give your patient the chance to come prepared! This customization reduces cancellations. Appointment reminder software also reduces the chance of a no-show. These reductions maximize your profitability. This allows you to focus on what matters: providing great oral health outcomes to your patients!
As you browse the market, bear in mind the essentials. Give your staff software that allows them to track appointment confirmations. Give your patient options to reschedule. And, while we are still moving through the pandemic, ensure safety with a wellness screening form!
At Intiveo, we know that patients respond well to engagement. Keep them engaged with appointment reminder software!
Happy browsing!
