Summary: A missed appointment is not just a financial
loss to a physician, but it costs the most valuable asset, i.e., time. You can
reduce the patient no-show rate by adopting SMS text messaging as it allows to
send text reminders to the patients ahead of their appointments.
Due to their busy life schedule, family
priorities, and career commitments, people usually fail to recall their medical
appointments. Though patients can re-book their appointments for some other
day, the missed slot will cost physicians considerable revenue and time.
In this post, let’s elaborate on the All You Need to Know About SMS Text · · · Best · |
Patient no-show is a common concern for a majority
of healthcare providers and medical administrators. It can cause significant
challenges and distress for practitioners and they might end up losing large
revenue per year.
It’s not feasible to call each and every
patient before the appointment and remind them of their booked slot. Not all
doctors have the time and manpower to make reminder calls. Even if they do so,
the patients rarely answer the phone call.
As a physician, don’t you feel that there
should be an easy way to contact and remind patients of their appointment
schedule?
Well, there’s an excellent way that comes to the
physician’s rescue. A lot of healthcare providers across the world have adopted
SMS marketing or SMS text messaging to reduce the patient missed appointment
rates.
All You Need to Know About SMS Text Reminders
Text reminders can decrease patient
no-shows by 38%. Yes,
that’s true, SMS reminders are a great way to reduce appointment no-shows and
ensure patient’s presence in the given slot. The only feasible way to make sure
that your patients show up during the given time slot is by sharing reminder
text messages in advance of the appointments.
Sending two reminders ahead of the appointment
via two different text messages are enough to decrease the no-show rate to a
great extent.
Healthcare providers partner with bulk SMS
service provider for leveraging text messaging into their existing communication
technology stack. It helps the physicians and administrative staff to
communicate with patients in a timely manner.
Why Text Reminders in Healthcare Services?
When
healthcare providers send bulk SMS reminders to their patients, they not only remind
them of their appointments, but also gives them option to cancel it ahead of
time. You can also remind them of a no-show fee if the patient skips the
appointment schedule without cancelling or informing the healthcare staff.
Since
the majority of people on the planet owns a mobile phone, SMS is a great medium
of communication. Receiving time-critical information via Bulk SMS is more efficient
in comparison to the emails as people usually checks their mobile phones once
in every 30 minutes, if not frequently.
The
text reminders will not sit for longer in the recipient’s inbox unlike email
messages that takes more than hours and sometimes days to get read. The average
open rate for text messages is 98% and recipients usually open it within 3
minutes of receipt. So, it’s apparent that texting works because it’s an asynchronous
and a quick communication medium.
Well-Known Fact & Figures of SMS Text Messaging
With
the growth in mobile-assisted technology, global network coverage, and increased
use of mobile phones, SMS text messaging seems the best way to reach patients. Bulk SMSmarketing is:
ü Responsive:
SMS text messaging can elevate response rate to upto 50%
ü Reachability:
98% open rate compared to email marketing’s 20% open rates
ü Proven:
Reduce patient no-shows by 38% in healthcare, 50% across domains
ü Ubiquitous: SMS
is a universal communication channel, familiar to most people
ü Accessible:
Majority of people (5.25 billion approximately) owns a mobile phone
What You Need to Include in Appointment Reminder Message?
You
can easily personalize your reminder message using reliable bulk SMS service.
It’s easy to add in essential parameters such as #FIRSTNAME#, #APPOINTMENT
TIME/DATE#, #DOCTOR NAME#, etc. in the reminder text message. As simple as
that, your reminder text message must include the following information.
- Name
of contact person - Date
& time of appointment - Physician’s
name and designation - CTA
for confirmation, reschedule, cancellation
Best Tips to Reduce Patient No-Show Rates
The
top six ways that ensure that your patients stay committed to the appointments
are enlisted herein:
- Keep
track of your no-show data - Schedule
multiple time slots to patients - Send
1 to 3 automated appointment reminders via SMS - Encourage
your patients to attend the appointments and not risk their health - Add
a call-to-action link to enable customers to confirm, reschedule, or cancel
appointments easily - Apply
a nominal no-show fee (only possible in the advance-payment model) and remind
customers of the appointment cancellation charges.
Final Thoughts
Managing
patient appointment doesn’t have to be a headache. Medical practitioners must
easily manage their patient bookings and no-show by sending them reminder text
messages in advance. Leveraging SMS text messaging in your medical facility’s
communication ecosystem will not only reduce the patient no-shows, but also
helps you streamline administrative tasks and improve the overall ROI.
