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An online appointment booking system can prove to be a boon to both providers and patients. This feature ensures that patients will get the timely care they deserve by significantly reducing administrative burdens and no-shows.
Does your practice lack online appointment scheduling? Digital marketing experts like HealthSoul support medical practices across the nation to stay ahead of the competition by offering an intuitive 24/7 online appointment scheduling platform.
Let’s have a look at why you should implement an online appointment scheduling platform at your care facility:
Phone appointment – Why is it not so effective?
- Missed medical appointments lead to a $150 billion loss per year
- 48% of patients prefer the phone for booking appointments
- However, statistics revealed that 33% of people still book appointments by phone. This is where the pain point arises. As people in the US spend more than 1.6 trillion hours on their mobile phones, it’s evident that they are frustrated with traditional booking methods that lack virtualization.
- 59% of people reported frustration due to waiting on hold and the inconvenient working hours while booking appointments by phone
- 94% of people are more likely to opt for a new care provider who offers online appointment scheduling options
- 42% of people reported that their worst scheduling pain point is being put on hold. They consider it as a huge waste of time, while 17% of people are frustrated with prolonged wait times until the provider opens its doors for appointment scheduling
The trend of online appointment booking
- 43% of patients prefer to schedule appointments online. It’s an ongoing trend that continues to increase every year
- 90% of millennials schedule appointments via mobile devices or web platforms
- 68% of patients opt for practices that offer the option to schedule, change, or cancel appointments online
- 52% of providers use online appointment platforms for patient reminders
- Currently, 42% of providers and 54% of patients use online appointment bookings
- About 72% of patients and 60% of care providers reported that online appointment booking platforms encourage patients to keep appointments
During COVID-19 Pandemic
- The average wait time for a physician appointment is 24.1 days
- Around 3% to 80% non-attendance rates were reported among patients who booked phone appointments
- Though 11.4 million appointments were canceled by the US Veterans Health Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic period, 1.1 million of them were converted to phone or video appointments.
- Nearly, 2.8 million online appointments were completed between March and April 2020
Benefits of online appointments
An observational study by the National Library of Medicine reported that patients who opted for online appointments:
- Had 38% lesser hospital readmission rate
- Showed more engagement with their care providers
- Were 63% more likely to spend lesser days in the hospital
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, this list of statistics has educated you about the role of online appointment scheduling platforms in the healthcare industry.
Should you need an expert to figure out how this platform fits your practice, consider partnering with HealthSoul. Email us at info@healthsoul.com and learn how we can automate your online appointments.
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