Blog

Do you know what one of the biggest unnecessary expenses is for any dental practice? Missed appointments and no-shows cost your business thousands of dollars every year. If you can improve those numbers even a little bit, you’ll be able to make a big difference to your business. Patient appointment reminders software have been shown to reduce no-show numbers dramatically. And there’s software to make this an automatic process.

How Software Reminds Patients of their Appointments

The latest software can remind patients of their appointments in any way you please. Patients typically refer to receive SMS messages, but you also have other options on the table.

Let’s look at how it works:

SMS Reminders – The name and date are automated. And you can even include customized messages, if you so wish.

Phone Reminders – Your staff members can record a message and the date/name/time is automated.

Email Reminders – In an email reminder, the name, date, and time are fully automated, but you can also include a customized message.

The best option is to ask your patients which method they prefer. It’s relatively easy to do this with new patients who’re filling in their information for the first time. With the number one reason for missed appointments being forgetfulness, automated reminders can be a big boom for your business.

Prioritize Incoming Communications

Sometimes a patient might send you a message that demands your urgent attention. For example, they may be cancelling an appointment. If you get to it early enough that slot could be given to another patient. But you need to know which communications to read first.

Patient appointment reminder software has the capacity to analyze incoming messages and to categorize them. And on the patient side there’s no need for them to register for a service or download an app. All they must do is send you a text and you’ll know what you need to respond to personally in good time.

Ongoing Care Reminders

 Once you get your patients to attend their scheduled appointments you must go further than that to make sure they continue to book follow up appointments. Your regulars are what keep you profitable.

The latest in appointment reminder software also has the capacity to indulge in proactive messaging. That means it will analyze patient records and send a reminder to book a maintenance care appointment after a certain amount of time has passed. This can be customized according to the needs of each patient category, as defined by you.

Getting Paid at the Right Time

Some of your patients may have the option to pay later or to pay in installments. Reminders for payment or that another installment date is coming up can be sent to each patient. The frequency of these installment reminders can also be controlled by you. There’s even the option to escalate cases where the patient hasn’t responded, or you’ve received no payment for a specific period.

Professional Branding and Marketing

Patient appointment reminder software goes further than sending out reminders. It also offers professional branding at the same time. That means you can include logos, color schemes, and relevant promotional slogans and messages simultaneously. You may think it’s a relatively minor issue, but ongoing branding can improve patient retention rates.

Improve Patient Satisfaction Rates

Overall, we know this is primarily about improving patient satisfaction rates. Another feature of patient appointment reminder software is the ability for your dental clinic to remind patients when they have products to pick up. Whether it’s a mouth guard or a pair of dentures, there can be serious delays in patients getting the care they need if they forget to pick their delivery up. Patients are always going to appreciate you reaching out to them, so they don’t need to remember when their product was expected to arrive.

That’s the level of service that improves patient satisfaction rates.

The Big Picture

Keep this sort of addition to your business in context. You’re using features like this to gain a competitive advantage in your local market. Software like this demonstrates attentiveness, and that’s the sort of thing you want to see in reviews. Over time you’ll gain a positive reputation and that will lead to more business for you.

Last Word – Why Patient Appointment Reminder Software is For You

Patient appointment reminder software has never been more important in this modern age. With most people using technology to manage their lives, conforming to that will only improve the reputation of your practice. It’s an easy feature to implement into your business and it will revolutionize the way you deal with patients. This is an investment that will repay itself repeatedly.

Do you believe that patient appointment reminder software or the dental practice management software has the potential to improve your dental practice?