Why Choose Reminder Text Messages or Emails for Your Medical Practice?

You already understand that sending out appointment reminders is an important part of bringing your patients into the office when the time for their appointment rolls around. Historically, these reminders have been accomplished through phone calls: first by a nurse or receptionist, then through an automated system. The next generation of appointment reminders takes patient convenience to the next level: reminder text messages and emails.

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Allow patients to access appointment information at their convenience

A ringing phone can be an interruption in an already-hectic day. Instead of interrupting your patients to share a reminder of critical appointment information, consider sending reminder texts or emails. Both of these sources of information can be accessed at the patient’s convenience instead of simply coming through at a pre-scheduled time.

Put appointment details where patients can double-check them later

In today’s busy, hectic culture, it’s easy to forget important information–especially for patients who might not be able to write down the information when a phone call comes through. Instead of forcing your patients to rely on memory or hoping that they’ve written their appointment info down correctly, consider text or email appointment reminders. These reminders are saved in their respective systems, making it easy for patients to go back and look over their appointment info again whenever they need to. This also has the added benefit of making it very clear that your office sent through the correct information if a patient does show up at the wrong time for a scheduled appointment.

Make sure you’re talking to your patient

When you make a phone call, you can’t guarantee who will answer. And when it's made with an automated system, you can't even ask who's on the other side of the line. Many patients prefer to give their doctor’s office a home phone number if they have one, so you could be talking to a roommate, a spouse, or a child instead of your patient–and that means that you’re left hoping that they passed the reminder on to your patient. Email and text messages, however, are much more likely to reach their intended recipient. In fact, more than 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of their receipt, making it highly likely that your patients will get their hands on your appointment reminder quickly.

Use a method that appeals to your patients

Your patients are likely tech-savvy individuals who, frankly, aren’t in a hurry to spend time talking on the phone for a mere appointment reminder. More than 85% of adults want appointment reminders, but they want them to arrive in a way that’s convenient. When you send through text messages or emails, you’re speaking their language. Today’s tech-savvy generation will likely appreciate your efforts.

Decrease the rate of no-shows

Any time someone fails to show up for a scheduled appointment, it’s a headache for your office staff–not to mention lost income for you. You already know that appointment reminders can decrease the rate of no-shows by as much as 35%. Text and email reminders decrease those numbers even further simply because of their convenience and accessibility for your patients.

Choose exactly when you want the reminders to appear

This includes easily scheduling multiple reminders, asking your patients to confirm that they’ve seen their appointment reminders and will show up as scheduled, and choosing to deliver reminders through more than one system (email, text, and automated phone calls) with the press of a button. Having multiple options available for your appointment reminders makes it easy for you to choose an appointment reminder that will work for your clients.

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Reminder text messages and emails can change the way you do business. You want to be sure that you’re bringing patients back through your doors at their scheduled times, saving you money and lost patients, and text and email reminders are the preferred method of a tech-savvy generation. Are you looking for more information about how text and email appointment reminders can change your business or practice? Contact us today for more information on our system and how you can make it work for you.

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