As a busy orthodontist, you manage a multitude of responsibilities in your practice. The administrative tasks alone require a robust office staff who are juggling bookkeeping, greeting patients, and scheduling appointments. You can increase your staff efficiency by implementing an online patient scheduling tool. An online patient scheduling tool can not only help with administrative costs, but also improve patient satisfaction and reduce scheduling errors. Here are some ways that implementing an online scheduling tool can benefit your practice:

Improves Staff Efficiency

Using an online patient scheduling tool can free up time for your staff to focus on more critical tasks. Scheduling can be time-consuming, with staff spending hours calling patients and following up on voicemails and missed calls. Leveraging a company, such as Greyfinch, to offer online scheduling provides tremendous benefits because they can automate countless time-consuming tasks to make your staff more efficient.

Reduces No-Shows

Research from DentaVox shows 79 percent of the patients surveyed prefer to book appointments online compared to over the phone. Less than one percent rate booking over the phone higher than online scheduling. One of the reasons patients prefer to book online is because they can book at a time that is convenient for them. 

When a patient receives a call from your office, they could be in a location where they are unable to write down the appointment or don’t have their calendar in front of them. Oftentimes, patients must also cross-reference their appointment times with other family members to ensure there are no conflicts. If a patient is unable to consult with family members, there is a possibility the appointment could overlap with other responsibilities. Allowing patients to schedule their own appointments online reduces the quantity of no-shows because the appointment time is much more likely to work for their schedule

Saves Patients Time

Over half of the respondents from the DentaVox survey stated they prefer booking online because it saves them time. It can be less time-consuming because they can book an appointment when they have everything in front of them that they need to pick the best date and time. Patients can also book at a time that works for them, which can be a time-saver. It can also save them time by not having to wait on hold to talk to a staff member when scheduling.

Decreases Patients’ Anxiety

Many patients experience anxiety when scheduling their dental appointments. One reason for this anxiety is because it can be intimidating for patients to speak with a staff member about their procedure. Talking about the orthodontic procedure may produce anxiety about the work being done itself or the patient could be afraid of using the wrong terminology. It can be less intimidating for potential patients to use an online scheduling tool than calling the office.

Increases New Patients

Greyfinch clients have seen on average a 60% increase in new patient exams scheduled after implementing their online scheduling tool. One reason for this may be that 37 percent of patients have never used an online scheduling tool because their provider did not offer it as an option. You can set your orthodontic practice apart from the competition by offering online scheduling. 

If you want to improve your staff’s efficiency, boost patient volume, and enhance your patient experience, reach out to Greyfinch to learn more about the solutions they offer to help orthodontists manage their practices.