As an orthodontic practice focused on providing the best possible outcomes for your patients, it can be easy to overlook ways to save time and money for your office. But when you make your workflow more efficient, you can free up more time and energy to invest in your patients.
One of the best ways to make your office function more smoothly is to start doing virtual consults for your new patients. By adding this feature to your orthodontic practice’s website, you’ll find your office is a better place for both your staff and your patients.
Make Your Practice’s Website Stand Out
Virtual orthodontic consults are still a relatively new feature. Having the option on your website is a quick way to make your practice stand out when prospective patients are shopping for an orthodontic practice online. It’s an impressive feature that will keep patients on your website longer, which is both great for making a lasting impression and for boosting your search result rankings.
Not to mention, having a virtual consult tool makes it easy for you to give potential patients a quote before they visit any other office, which gives your practice another edge.
Generate More Leads with Virtual Consults
The current practice of inviting prospective patients into the office for a free consultation to discuss treatment options and costs is certainly an attractive offer, but that still means potential patients have to set aside time out of the day and leave their homes.
Being able to take this step with a virtual consultation makes the process more convenient and lowers the pressure on potential patients. Your practice has likely lost out on some prospects who felt a bit intimidated by the idea of visiting an office. With a virtual option, many of those same people can turn into warm leads by answering a couple questions and submitting a few photos.
Increase Efficiency in Your Office
Another advantage of conducting initial consultations virtually is you’ll be able to free up time for your staff while bringing in more serious patients. Conducting only in-person initial consults can bring in many people who may not be serious about starting treatment or may not be able to afford treatment. Even worse, they may schedule an appointment and not show up. All of these scenarios waste your team’s valuable time.
When you take this part of the sales process online, the patients who walk through your doors will be more likely to start and complete treatment. Though you can expect an increase in consults when they’re virtual, your prospects will be taking care of part of the process themselves, leaving you or your staff to assess their photos and information. So while you may deal with a higher volume of leads, you’ll be using far fewer resources and in-office time, and you don’t run the risk of no-shows.
Choosing the right virtual consultation app or software can be difficult. They all work differently and provide varied results. Having one that is integrated with your patient management software, HIPAA-compliant, and user-friendly for your team and your prospects will ensure you receive the most benefit from it.
Greyfinch’s comprehensive patient management system includes a fully-integrated virtual consultation function that is safe and easy to use. Contact Greyfinch today to learn more or to schedule a free demo.
