Many safety precautions have been put in place during COVID-19. Dental offices must follow time-consuming new safety protocols to help keep patients and staff healthy. However, online booking will save valuable time for your staff, plus patients will appreciate the flexibility that it gives them.
Even before the pandemic, online booking was growing in popularity. A GetApp study* from 2018 found that nearly 70 percent of people surveyed would book appointments online if it were an option. Providing online booking for your patients can help your practice thrive, even during COVID-19, in four important ways:
1. Improved Office Efficiency
Your top priority is to keep your patients and employees safe, but the safety protocols to help keep everyone healthy use up a lot of time. Your team now has even less time to spend on the phone scheduling appointments and focusing on patients. Online booking provides a convenient service that also improves your office’s efficiency and productivity, which is good for your bottom line.
2. Quicker, Contactless Checkout
With online booking, patients are sent automatic reminders for re-care scheduling with links to available openings in your practice’s schedule. Plus, when scheduling follow-up appointments for patients at the end of their visits, your front desk team won’t waste time waiting for them to check their calendars. Online booking provides a quicker and more efficient checkout experience for patients and staff.
3. Fewer No-Shows
When patients can schedule their own appointments at their convenience, they have the time to coordinate family schedules so there is less chance of a cancellation or no-show. Plus, patients are more committed to keeping their appointments when they schedule their own. When patients make online appointments, your chairs are more likely to be full, which means your revenue stream will be consistent.
4. Increased Patient Satisfaction
Patients are growing more and more frustrated with booking appointments over the phone because they are restricted to making appointments during your office hours, which isn’t always convenient for them. With online booking, patients can book appointments whenever they want — and from their own homes — which helps keep them safe.
Online booking allows patients to see the available time slots and schedule themselves. Scheduled appointments appear in real time, so your schedule is always current. Online booking helps fill your appointment book and increases patient satisfaction, which can create return patients and referrals.
Online booking is an effective contactless tool that can help your practice thrive. Download the eBook, “Creating a Touchless Check-in and Check-out” to learn more about how online booking and other technology can ultimately improve your bottom line.
To learn more about Dentrix Online Booking and other powerful patient communications features in Dentrix Patient Engage, call 833.288.9414 or register
*https://lab.getapp.com/research-online-booking-importance-of-appointment-scheduling/
