written by
Benjamin

Is online booking for dentists worth it?

Dentists 3 min read

It is no surprise that the digital revolution has quickly changed the way we take up the decisions to meet our needs. Cheers to the smartphones and software that are always available at our fingertips.

Dentists Scheduling Software
Photo by Robert Golebiewski from Pexels

Nowadays, people expect a lot of easier ways to book a service, and it has become mandatory for any kind of businesses to offer their customers with user-friendly and rich customer experience booking software. With this, customers find the contentment to book more of your services from anywhere, any day.

Nevertheless, even medical or dental practices must consider implementing online booking software to enable their patients to self-schedule their appointments within no time.

Sticking with an outdated method of appointment booking hurts the dental office’s bottom line. Patients wanting immediate response will get frustrated calling multiple offices in search of a same-day appointment and won’t want to wait to get a response from a contact form. Instead, they will turn to dental cares that show open availability online or via mobile and offer immediate booking. So why do many dental offices still delay in shifting to online and mobile bookings?

Benefits of online booking for dentists

While research and setup of a new booking feature are required, the outcome will yield significant benefits for dental practitioners. First, dentists will acquire more new patients by adopting this new method. While most of the dentists are concerned with obtaining new patients, it’s essential to optimize the booking process for consumers’ experience and ease.

Just think about it, when searching for a new dentist, customers will prioritize offices that offer convenient and instant bookings rather than wasting their time playing phone tags with nearby offices to see if they are accepting new patients or not. In addition to that, dentists will have an easier time retaining existing patients, maintaining patient satisfaction by offering them the convenience to book regular cleanings and emergency appointments right from their phones. At the end of the day, dental offices want to prioritize their consumer experience to ensure the best possible interactions with prospective, new, and existing customers. Dentists can not only maximize positive experiences with their offices but can also reach new patients by making it as easy as possible for them to instantly find and book an appointment.

Sets up proper dentists clinic practices

There are certain procedures you should have in place that allow you to organize your schedule more efficiently.

Keeps detailed notes on your patients

Some appointments require more time depending on the patient, and detailed notes can help you plan for that. For example, a dental cleaning will take longer on someone with gum disease than one that does not or certain patients may be chatty, while others just want to get in and out. Maintaining notes about patients’ preferences and history online can help you properly schedule sufficient time for each.

Automate patient recalls

Ensuring your patient’s return for regular check-ups helps keep your schedule populated. Using an automated patient recall system takes the onus off of you to keep track of when it’s time to reach you. You can set up reminders in the form of email or SMS notification that automatically goes out letting them know it’s time to reschedule.

Sends automated appointment reminders

Considering appointments are often made weeks, even months, in advance, relying on patients to remember their appointments is likely to lead to many unnecessary cancellations. Prevent this by sending automated reminders a couple of weeks before the appointment date, asking patients to confirm the appointment, and allowing them to reschedule if the time no longer works for them. Follow up with another reminder within 24 hours prior to the appointment if they haven’t confirmed. These days, many dental solutions have patient communication tools that not only send these appointment reminders automatically but allow you to communicate with your patients through their preferred method of contact, whether it’s by email or text message.

Have an on-call list

A patient waiting list can help you fill gaps that last-minute cancellations create in the schedule. There are a number of dental systems that help you maintain online waiting lists. These allow you to send out a mass notification of an opening to patients on that list, rather than having to go down the list and call each person. This instant communication significantly increases your chances of filling the slot.

Get yourself online scheduling software that not only brings in appointment scheduling but also streamlines your dental practice within no time. Whether you’re a solo practitioner or working with a group of dentists, implement Picktime, online scheduling software that helps you stay away from cut edges and potholes and follows you towards better efficiency and productivity. Sign up for free, now!

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