Using Engagement To Solve The Patient No-Show Problem
By Kathleen Schroeder, Senior Marketing Manager — Healthcare, Interactions LLC
It’s not uncommon for a patient to schedule an appointment, receive an automated — and often ignored — reminder, and ultimately, not show up. Whether accidental or purposeful in nature, patient no-shows have become all too familiar in physicians’ offices across the nation, leading to ruined relationships, loss of revenue, and frustrated staff.
In fact, according to The Annals of Family Medicine, during the period between when a doctor’s visit is scheduled to the actual date of the appointment, nearly half (42 percent) of patients on average will decide to skip their appointments. In most cases, patients feel better and no longer need the appointment, but they don’t always remember to cancel it as a common courtesy.
Double-Booking Is Not The Solution
The most significant challenge patients face today is their ability to access providers. Research shows approximately 23 percent of patients do not show up for their appointment unless they are proactively engaged. As a result, these no-shows have a negative impact on HCAPHS scores and bottom line profitability.
A popular solution is for a physician’s office to double-book appointments. However, even though patient access increases, clinicians work overtime and patients experience longer wait times resulting in frustrations across the board. Even with this plan in place, research found one multi-physician clinic had over 14,000 no-shows in a single year resulting in an estimated loss of over $1 million. With group practices accounting for 47 percent of the physician practices in the United States, clinics risk losing more than $100 billion annually due to patient no-shows. To address this growing problem, conversational virtual assistant solutions provide an accurate, efficient way to bridge the gap between patients and providers.
A New Era Of Healthcare Technology: Conversational Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants are not a new concept, but one of growing relevance, especially in the healthcare sector. Since 76 percent of patients choose to call their providers to schedule appointments, the technology being used to handle these calls is becoming increasingly important. Instead of holding callers up in an endless series of menus and prompts, conversational virtual assistants use simple, natural language to gather more accurate and timely information. Patients are able to have a natural dialogue with their providers to describe exactly what they need, and how fast they need it. Because the patient can speak in his or her own words, as if speaking with another person, more is accomplished in a shorter period of time, leading to increased end user satisfaction and decreased no-shows.
Providers and clinicians benefit by being able to efficiently gather more accurate and timely information from patients, while patients are able to easily access information in real-time. Patients are more engaged and have the ability to inquire about their condition or latest test results, directions to the nearest facility, hours of operation, ask questions relevant to their care, or have their call routed to the clinician they need to schedule their appointments with.
Virtual assistants are solving the patient no-show problem with highly conversational technology that helps foster an engaged patient-provider relationship. Patients are able to use natural conversation to engage a provider to find the information they need quickly and on their own terms. Healthcare systems benefit by reducing costs from patients not being prepared for their appointments or simply not showing up. Health systems that have implemented conversational virtual assistants have an unprecedented opportunity to change patient and provider engagement and, ultimately, our collective health.
While patient no-shows will always occur within a healthcare facility, there are concrete best practices — and in particular, technology — that can greatly decrease the number of instances when doctors, nurses and staff are left wondering if their patient will appear.
About The Author
Kathleen Schroeder, Senior Marketing Manager — Healthcare at Interactions, is a seasoned healthcare professional with an MBA in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin. Throughout her extensive career, Kathleen has worked tenaciously to represent the voice of the patient through numerous social outlets, speaking engagements and customer encounters. By educating healthcare systems on the value of putting patients first, she is committed to improving the patient-provider experience. Interactions, LLC is a leading provider of speech and natural language solutions, serving a variety of clients in the healthcare industry.