Last Updated | March 13, 2024
Overview: How to Increase Patient Volume in Medical Practice?
No matter the quality of services you offer, at the end of the day, patient volume is what makes or breaks your practice. Patient traffic directly impacts your bottom line, word of mouth marketing, and community respect for your business. If you cannot get enough patients coming into your office, you will be kissing goodbye to your revenue and eventually, go out of business! After a challenging 2020, thousands of medical practices are facing the Herculean task of regaining lost revenue in a post-pandemic world and ensuring patients get back on track with their regular care routines. On top of crushing administrative burden and rising operating costs, practices all over the US are looking for out-of-the-box ways to re-engage their patients, and eventually, revenue in their medical practice. In this article, we are going to look into 5 tech-savvy ways to increase patient volume.
What Are Two Important Aspects Of Growing A Medical Practice?
There are several ways to grow a medical practice. However, the most important aspect of running a medical practice is to improve your performance firstly. If you want an influx of patients walking through your doors, you need to make sure that your patients are satisfied with your services and feel confident getting treated at your facility. A positive online reputation is extremely important when selecting a healthcare provide, which is why word-of-mouth matters more than ever. Secondly, you should be always available to your clients. This not only means that you shouldn’t make patients wait for appointments, but also that you should incorporate technology within your medical practice to make sure that you offer several ways that patients can interact with you. Whether it means offering Telehealth services or giving your patients the option of appointment self-scheduling or pre-registration and intake forms to be completed online.
What Are 5 Digital Health Initiatives That Bring In More Patients?
Digitalization of healthcare represents an enormous opportunity for healthcare providers to extend their reach beyond the four walls of the medical facility and connect to their patient populations. Day by day, healthcare providers are beginning to invest in the necessary infrastructure and programs to help launch healthcare initiatives that increase patient volume. Consumers’ expectations about healthcare services are increasingly, and in return, healthcare companies are seeking to integrate the latest technologies into existing business models and IT architectures to improve services. With technology at their disposal, healthcare providers are now able to monitor existing conditions, diagnose earlier and with more accuracy, and provide better preventative care than before. Here are the best digital health initiatives that help healthcare organizations efficiently and effectively drive better outcomes, reduce costs and provide better care.
How to increase patient volume in medical practice using EMR/EHR?
In case you are oblivious to an electronic health record, an EHR is a real-time, patient-centered record that incorporates comprehensive, up-to-date information about a patient’s health. It includes: patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and lab and test results. EHR software also contains a repository of evidence-based tools that providers can use in making decisions about a patient’s care. The goal is to have patient information available to anyone who needs it, when they need it and where they need it. Multiple healthcare providers in a patient’s line of chain can access, view and update patient records in real-time on an EHR. What’s more, EHR can alert a healthcare provider if a patient has already received a particular type of medication, if there are any potentially dangerous interactions with different drugs or if the patient has allergies. Medical practices that have implemented EHR/ EMR are better able to improve care coordinated and quality of services, as well as see fewer medical errors.
Not to mention, EHRs come with patient portals that go a long way towards increasing patient engagement since they facilitate communication between the patient and healthcare provider and keep patients involved in their care process. EHRs are also used for sending patient education materials, answering patient concerns and requests, scheduling/changing appointments, and more. Patients can view and modify their own health records and even view lab results. An automated patient messaging system reminds patients of appointment times, and reduce missed, no-shows, or forgotten appointments. The Patient Portal also empowers patients to enter much of their own demographics, even before they arrive to the Physician’s office, including health insurance information, medical, family, and social history, and other pertinent data, which instantly reduces waiting time. Home monitoring (telehomecare) can transmit patient data from home to an office’s EHR to help in the coordination of care. If patients feel like you are offering services that are responsive to their needs, they will continually want to come back to your practice.
How to increase patient visits with the help of Telehealth?
Since the onset of the pandemic, many states have implemented rigid lock-downs and restrictions, leading to a marked reduction in hospital inpatient and outpatient volumes. This combined with the general public fear and concerns regarding the high transmission rates, have had a markedly negative impact on revenue reduction. On the other hand, Telehealth usage surged early on during the pandemic as consumers and providers sought ways to safely access and deliver healthcare. A lot of patients are preferring Telehealth over in-patient visits, since it offers better access to care, improved accessibility, more infrequent hospital readmissions, fewer sick leaves, and many more benefits. Implementing telemedicine technology may seem like a huge financial undertaking at the beginning, but over time it can increase revenue and significantly improve patient volume over time.
Another area where Telehealth can health is when physicians need to provide services beyond consultation hours. In the past, physicians found themselves discussing problems with patients over the phone that amounted to unbilled time. However, since telemedicine allows the benefit of working with flexible hours, check-ups and consultation can be converted into revenue-boosters regardless of the hours.
Not to mention, busy medical practices have to turn away a major chunk of patients who need immediate medical care or request same-day appointments. Catering to last-minute appointments can seem impossible on busy days in real-time consultation. However, with the help of Telemedicine, hospitals can simply schedule patients for consultation as the available free slots automatically add patients to the queue. By streamlining consultations automatically, Telemedicine helps healthcare providers make the most of every working minute without wasting time waiting for people who are running late or have missed an appointment. Telehealth solutions create a constant flow of online consultations that you can provide alongside your real-time appointments.
Last but not the least, Telehealth has revolutionized healthcare and made it extremely convenient and hassle-free to seek help. A lot of patients are recognizing the benefits of consulting with physicians from the comforts of their home, instead of having to travel long commutes, waste time in the waiting rooms, and mold their working days to the schedule of the doctor. Especially in a pandemic-driven world, Telehealth allows patients to receive care without the risk of exposure and while adhering to social distancing. Introducing telemedicine into your practice will help you reel in new customers and retain your old ones in comparison to competitors who haven’t set up their online clinic. Providing Immediate and effective care will boost your revenue and ensure a steady stream of patients to your door who are looking for out-of-the-box solutions.
Start by Sending messages and emails to your entire patient population to explain your Telehealth options and how to access them. Offer patients the option to schedule an appointment with a Telehealth provider using automated calls and text messages. Make sure to let patients know when their Telehealth appointment is scheduled, how to access it, and any information they may need in advance to maximize their appointment time. You can also hire a healthcare mobile app development company in USA to build a scheduling app for patients. Follow up with patients post-visit to ensure they understand and are adhering to their care plans, or if they have any issues adhering to the instructions.
How to increase patient flow in hospitals by Health Care CRM?
The growing need to access more information about patients to enable healthcare facilities to offer personalized solutions have necessitated the use of a dedicated customer relationship management solution. The main use of a CRM is to retain patients and to attract new ones. CRM gives access to medical records, patient history, myriad tests reports, etc. By giving a holistic view of patient information and insights on the current medical state, previous visit information and medical prescriptions, health clinics, emergency departments, and doctor can read the condition of the patient to provide accurate treatment on-time. Additionally, chat features allow physicians to collaborate, advise each other and share expertise. Healthcare compliance consulting firms make sure that your CRM solution is HIPAA compliant.
A healthcare CRM also boosts your marketing and lead generation efforts. For instance, a CRM can be used to research who your competitors are receiving referrals from so that you can assign your marketing team’s physician liaisons to scout new relationship opportunities with a targeted call list. If you want to stay top-of-mind, you need to harness the power of patient information to develop personalized campaigns that offer relevant information to your patients to build trust and to drive more visits/referrals. The more up-to-date and consolidated patient information you have, the better successful your marketing campaigns will be in communicating the right message to the right patients. For example, a robust CRM can identify at-risk patients for breast cancer, fill in engagement gaps along the care continuum, and encourage patients to stay current on healthy practices.
CRM also acts as an efficient tool for expanding and maintaining a consistent patient base. It allows you to organize and arrange your various contacts into groups, based on things like demographics, medical needs, position in the sales funnel and so, in order to target these patients more effectively with your marketing and sales materials. In return, you earn their loyalty through proactive, personalized communication. All in all, you can think of CRM as an approach to learn about patients in order to communicate appropriately, build good relationships in order to deliver timely information, and keep tabs on patient’s results to make necessary adjustments to treatment plans. A CRM also helps you track how patients engage with your campaigns, via emails, call centers, or targeted landing pages, and tweak accordingly. This focus on patient-centric care helps hospitals meet the needs and expectations of patients, improve loyalty and service quality, and build a long-term relationship. Healthcare software companies in USA built state-of-the-art CRM to help healthcare facilities communicate better with patients.
Best practices for using social media in healthcare to how to attract new patients?
Remember that your digitally savvy patients turn to Google, Facebook, and other platforms and search engines to find a local practice or information on a particular procedure. This means that you should try to come up in the search results when they are looking for a medical practice to visit. You can use social media channels to qualm patient fears regarding the pandemic, share patient testimonials on your social media pages, post new hospital awards, and photos of happy, satisfied patients to engage your community, build trust with patients, and illustrate that your staff and procedures are effective and up to date. Social media is also the best medium to raise public awareness about new, emerging, and annual health concerns. Social tools offer creative ways for healthcare professionals to address common questions that patients have. The driving force behind our Facebook page is to give patients and families insight into how our practice works — before they get here. The more active you stay on social media, the more you stay top-of-mind for customers and prove yourself as a voice of authority.
FAQ:
How to increase patient volume in a dental office?
The best way for dental practices to increase patient volume connecting and staying connected with their patients. An automated patient messaging system can remind patients of appointment times to reduce no-shows, while a mobile-based scheduling system makes it easier to book appointments. HL7 integration engine open source helps communication between practitioners.
How to improve the clinic business in the US?
If you are looking to attract more patients to your clinic in the US, you need to identify your patients’ needs and address them accordingly. Secondly, you need to be active on social networks (Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook), to flaunt your team, the range of surgeries practiced in the clinic, your method, state-of-the-art technology implemented in your clinic, and so on. Be sure to include patients’ testimonials and referrals and recommendations from your colleagues on your social media pages and website.
List the healthcare digital marketing strategies to increase patient volume?
- Build a stellar website
- Focus on your local SEO efforts
- Invest in pay-per-click advertising
- Keep up-to-date on Google algorithms
- Email marketing keeps your potential patients up to date on what’s going on with your business
- Use social media outlets to reach existing followers and get new followers
- Create separate landing pages with descriptions and any special offers or discounts you’re having about the product or procedure
- Post great informational blog posts on your website as well as other content that answers their questions
- Use Google Analytics to track traffic and user interaction on your website.
How to increase the outpatient volume?
Take advantage of technological advances, focus on emergency departments and outpatient pharmacies, and expand your operations by coming to an agreement with multiple sites of care, such as imaging service facilities, specialized outpatient clinics, urgent care centers, retail clinics, primary care clinics, Community Health Clinics, and so on. Implement Telehealth services, complete with videoconferencing, texting, files sharing and remotely monitoring vital signs of patients to increase patient volume.
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