‘Tis the season for chronic colds, unpredictable winter weather—and overwhelmed parents. Although the holidays are an exciting time for connection, practices and parents alike often find themselves bracing for an influx of sick days, time off work and holiday planning—all while attempting to manage their routine healthcare.
How can pediatric and family medicine groups help navigate cold weather care for patients? We break down four keys to leveraging your technology to make this season a bit smoother.
- Encourage patient self-scheduling using set standard sick hours. Daycare/school germs are the gift nobody wants that keeps on giving. Save your staff and families time by opening your schedule up for daily sick hours. Offer self-scheduling and make booking an appointment as easy as ordering takeout. This adds convenience and ease for patients and can help them avoid a visit to urgent care.
- Leverage automation to fill canceled appointments or provider schedule changes. With illness more frequent during the winter months, you may be dealing with more appointment cancellations and work schedule-shuffling as staff call in sick. A smart waitlist tool can help fill those last-minute openings so you don’t miss out on revenue and can reschedule those canceled visits without lifting a finger.
- Create a severe weather plan that automates rescheduling appointments. If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that Mother Nature is unpredictable. Make sure you have the tools and templates needed to communicate with patients quickly if your office needs to close. Make it easy for patients to reschedule visits once you can reopen—better yet, use a smart waitlist tool that will automatically offer patients new appointments.
- Ensure limited no-shows through set appointment reminders and rescheduling capabilities. Those school holiday parties always seem to get scheduled at the last minute. Automated reminders take the burden off your staff and give families several days’ notice of an upcoming appointment, offering them a chance to review their calendar and reschedule if they have a conflict. This can prevent a last-minute cancellation or no-show, giving you time to fill the appointment with another patient. Reach more patients by engaging them via the channel they prefer, whether it be email, text or automated voice call.
Curb the year-end chaos by simplifying scheduling and communication. In return you’ll get loyal, engaged families—and save your staff time and money so they can focus on providing the best care.
