How to Increase Healthcare Customer Convenience
There is an increasing demand for convenience in virtually every industry. Healthcare is no exception to this. Healthcare customers are demanding an unprecedented increase in the convenience of healthcare services. So how is a healthcare business to improve how convenient their services are for their customers?
Expand Telemedicine
Telemedicine is a great way to improve how convenient your services are. With how widespread the internet is and the increase in video conferencing, virtual appointments are easier than ever to set up. This is especially useful during the current pandemic. While healthcare professionals are no stranger to wearing masks, many people feel more comfortable meeting virtually instead of in person, as this avoids potential exposure to COVID-19. This allows customers to have appointments in the comfort of their own homes, rather than having to drive there and wait in a waiting room for their name to be called. It benefits practices too. Telemedicine can increase patient retention, reduce overhead costs, and promote more effective use of time.
Improve the Billing Process
Billing is something of a four letter word for most healthcare customers. It’s often the antithesis of quick and convenient. Most medical bills take 60 to 120 days to be paid. There are ways of speeding up the billing process though. Sending text messages and utilizing electronic bill pay options can reduce the time it takes for bills to be paid. Sometimes healthcare bills end up coming from multiple sources for one procedure. Customers may receive separate bills from an anesthesiologist, a surgeon, the hospital, and any other specialists they see. This can be hard for customers to keep track of, so it may be helpful to provide them with an outline of what bills they should be expecting to get.
Improve Appointment Availability
Appointment availability is a big deal to customers. In fact, it can be the deciding factor that determines whether or not a customer visits your healthcare practice or goes somewhere else. It might be worth considering having some appointments available outside of the normal 9-5, Monday through Friday schedule. Many working professionals aren’t able to make appointments during that time without taking an entire day off of work. That can be hard to justify for a 30 minute doctor’s appointment. Take a look at how you do your appointment scheduling. There are some best practices for scheduling appointments that you might benefit from incorporating that might help you improve your appointment availability.
Healthcare has long been an industry behind the times in terms of customer convenience. However, with the push for convenience becoming stronger and stronger, it’s worth looking at your business operations and figuring out ways you can improve in this area.
Optimizing your customer billing process is a great way to make your healthcare business more convenient for customers. Contact us to get started!