It’s not surprising that the recent pandemic has created an immediate need for new ways of conducting business. We’ve supported our greater therapy community with useful therapy industry updates throughout the past year. But that’s not all we’ve been doing. The TheraPlan team has been busy developing new solutions to help clinic owners like you keep up with the industry changes and thrive in the midst of challenges. Optimizing our software’s automated text message appointment reminders has been one of the most impactful areas of focus for TheraPlan’s users.
SMS appointment reminders may seem like a luxury, but these days they are a necessity. Just like having all patient data accessible from anywhere, automations that replace time-consuming daily tasks directly affect your therapy clinic’s efficiency and profitability and improve patient care.
Sending Appointment Reminders Directly Affects Revenue
The most significant benefit of sending appointment reminders to your therapy patients is the protection of your revenue. When a patient who would have forgotten about their appointment receives a reminder, they are more likely to show up or send a quick response to indicate they won’t make it. That means your clinic has a chance to fill that empty slot with another patient who has previously had to cancel or would like to move their appointment.
Because appointment reminders have a positive impact on attendance, your clinic will see a direct effect once you begin sending texts. Replacing cancellations and getting more people in the door keeps your revenue rolling and helps your patients stay on track with their Plan of Care.
Save Your Staff Time with Automated Scheduling Solutions
Furthermore, making appointment reminders automated can save your admin staff valuable time, which they can dedicate to tasks that are important for growing your business. With a system like TheraPlan’s TheraReminder, the software takes care of everything – whether a patient confirms or declines. Your admin staff are notified and can take action to fill appointment slots, but they won’t be wasting time taking or making unnecessary phone calls and trying to reach patients.
See just how easy this process can be with TheraReminder:
Useful Technology and Your Clinic’s Reputation
Well-functioning and visible business systems such as these convenient reminders are public indicators of the way you will care for your patients behind the scenes. Operations decisions inevitably trickle down to your overall presence and reputation. Patients’ impressions are crucial and can directly affect word-of-mouth business, online reviews, and the overall quality of relationships your clinic has with the community.
Last year gave us even more data on what patients want. The positive response to telehealth for therapy during the Covid-19 pandemic means it’s likely to stick around as an option, even if many patients choose to return to in-person appointments. This could mean that with some patients, you’ll have fewer touch points than before – fewer opportunities to create that solid and trusting relationship. When you have more patients using digital solutions, offering a streamlined remote experience makes sense for them and for you.
Patients Expect Easy Digital Communication
Even for the patients you still see in your clinic, the incorporation of digital solutions such as appointment reminders is key to providing what they expect in and out of the therapy world. Think about it: we get text message updates for store pickup orders, grocery delivery services, doctor’s appointments, and many other types of services these days. If therapy clinics don’t keep up with the mode of communication consumers expect, the business’s reputation could be at stake. Especially if you are a smaller clinic competing with larger local practices, you need to show patients that you offer conveniences to enhance their experience and incentivize them to continue choosing your practice.
TheraReminder, the text reminder feature built into TheraPlan’s scheduler, gives you the ultimate all-in-one solution. Use our automated appointment reminders to minimize misunderstanding and conflict about scheduling and give your administrative staff additional time and energy to devote to maximizing efficiency.
TheraReminder is available as an affordable add-on for existing TheraPlan users. So, you’re getting all the benefits of our web-based EMR on top of the convenient text reminder feature.
Schedule a demo to see how TheraPlan’s scheduling solutions, including TheraReminder and our built-in dashboard scheduler, could transform your therapy clinic!
