Running a medical office can be hectic. On slow days, patient numbers reduce and staff morale goes down. On a busy day, things get mixed up because you have a lot to do. To keep things running smoothly, you may need to upgrade your management system and communicate better with the staff. Here is how you can do that.
Automate Your Appointment System
Healthcare is a service that needs both the doctor and the patient to be present. There should be someone to take calls and book appointments on behalf of the physician. That way, the doctor will know how many people he or she will see during the day. Scheduling also helps to improve service delivery. When a patient books an appointment, they’re assured they’ll meet a doctor to solve their problems.
To streamline the process further, automate it. Use an automated healthcare booking platform; online booking systems can save your practice from bad online reviews.
Automated scheduling also improves the efficiency of your staff. Instead of being preoccupied with people that are not there, automated scheduling allows front-office staff to help patients that desperately need their help and are already in the facility.
Manage Your Patient Flow
Sometimes patients fail to show up for their appointments. They have their reasons for doing so. Unfortunately, patients that cancel without informing the medical office slow things down.
There should be a limit as to how long your office will hold the appointment. For example, if the person doesn’t show up within 10 minutes, the doctor can move on to the next patient. Also, prioritize those patients that arrive early.
Another solution is to allow online cancellations. Your patients should be able to cancel from anywhere.
Call Patients for Appointment Reminders
It’s not always the patient’s fault if they don’t show up for an appointment. Sometimes they forget. This is why it’s important to set reminders. Automate the system so that it sends out emails and SMS reminders a day before the actual appointment. To make sure the client sees the message, ask them for a quick reply to confirm the appointment.
The guidelines should be clear when a patient is signing up for an appointment. Be transparent with them. Tell them what will happen if they cancel the appointment last minute.
Collect Patient Balances
Although your medical office is there to help sick people, you still need funds to keep things running. If you want to know how to effectively collect patient balances, here are the secrets: Train your staff, make sure your patient information is kept up to date, and make sure you’re using the latest technology for both collections and patient financing.
There are some things the insurer won’t cover. Make sure your employees know those limitations to avoid problems when receiving patients. Formulate clear financial policies and make sure all members of staff follow them. The policies will explain what an employee should do if the patient doesn’t have insurance. Automate payment collection so that you can easily track payments.
Go Paperless
You don’t need the traditional filing system to properly run a medical office. You can store the files on your laptop or in the facility’s management system. Going paperless reduces clutter and improves accessibility. Your staff will take a shorter time to retrieve patient information.
Also, streamline the patient onboarding process. If they are new, send them an online form to fill in their details. That way, they won’t waste time in the waiting room when they come to the facility.
Provide Proper Training
A medical office is small when compared to a hospital. That means you have staff limitations. You cannot hire a lot of people because your finances are limited. However, that doesn’t mean you should compromise on services.
Cross-train your employees so that they can perform multiple duties. For example, if the front-office personnel is not around, a nurse can perform those duties on their behalf because they understand the job. Cross-training employees ensures seamless service delivery.
