Patients Want Online Access to These 5 Services
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Highlights
- Patients want online access to five healthcare services, according to the PatientPop 2021 Patient Perspective Survey.
- Your practice can improve quality of care and increase engagement by giving patients access to these services.
- If you’re not providing online access to these five services, you may be losing patients to providers who do.
- The right optometry practice management software can help you give your patients access to the services they want seamlessly from within your EHR.
According to a 2021 PatientPop Patient Perspective Survey, patients want online access to these five healthcare services: scheduling, filling out forms, asking a provider a question, paying a bill, and accessing health records. These preferences represent an excellent opportunity for your practice to attract more patients.
Online Access Is Critical to Patient Retention
In the PatientPop survey, 36% of patients said they had left a healthcare provider in the previous two years. Of that number, 80% gave a poor in-person experience and/or lack of access or communication as the reasons.
Can your practice afford to ignore these results?
Here are the five tasks that patients want to be able to perform online.
Scheduling
With the many options consumers have when picking a care provider, offering online self-scheduling can help you stand out from the competition.
Additionally, self-scheduling improves patient experience, as it’s more convenient and takes less time compared to booking an appointment over the phone. Patients can easily become frustrated with being transferred or put on hold multiple times while trying to reach a staff member.
Additionally, most people have their own busy 9-to-5’s and don’t wish to discuss private matters concerning their healthcare when colleagues are around.
On the other hand, online scheduling that’s available 24/7 lets patients book appointments at a time that works best for them. They are also more likely to cancel or reschedule an appointment if they can do it themselves online and avoid electronic menus and wait times.
Filling Out Forms
In a 2020 survey, 50% of patients responding would select one healthcare provider over another if they were able to fill out intake forms online. Only 12% said they would prefer to arrive early and complete paperwork in the office.
Filling out forms takes a lot of time in the waiting room. In the PatientPop survey, over half of respondents said they considered a short wait one of the top things they’re looking for in a care provider. When a patient might already be feeling a bit nervous about seeing the doctor, a long wait can lead to a negative patient experience.
In contrast, enabling patients to fill out the forms before coming to your practice saves them time by eliminating the need to arrive early. It also gives patients one less thing to be anxious about when they arrive for their appointment.
Asking a Provider a Question
Patients want fast answers. Healthcare consumers appreciate being able to ask their provider a question and get an answer right away.
The last thing healthcare consumers want is to wait for hours or even days to get a return phone call. PatientPop reports that over 66% of patients prefer text messages for appointment reminders, and 60% want between-visit reminders to book their next appointment.
Two-way SMS texting enables your practice to proactively address these concerns. Patients receive responses without delay, meeting their immediate need for information and increasing patient satisfaction.
Paying a Bill
Online payments save patients time. They won’t need to spend time writing out a check and mailing the bill or calling your practice to settle what they owe. Since 97% of Americans own a smartphone, they can easily pay their balance at any time and from anywhere.
Providing this option will give your practice a competitive edge and make it more attractive to current and prospective patients. There are plenty of reasons why patients demand online payment options. Paying bills online is easy, saves time, and is more convenient than paying by mail.
What’s more, offering online payment options increases the chances of patients paying their bills on the day of service, which is vital for the financial health of your practice.
Accessing Health Records
Healthcare consumers expect transparency. In 2018, 87% of surveyed patients said they wanted control over their healthcare records. When patients have access to their medical data, they’re more likely to take a proactive role in participating in their care and keeping their appointments.
Giving patients access to their medical records further improves doctor-patient communication and enhances the quality of care.
RevolutionEHR Meets Your Patients’ Digital Access Needs
In addition to streamlining the operations in your optometry practice, RevolutionEHR practice management software can make your practice more patient-centric. With the help of RevIntake, RevConnect, RevPayments, and our patient portal RevolutionPHR, you can provide all the essential online services patients want to access.
RevIntake
RevIntake is a leading-edge mobile registration tool that allows patients to self-schedule and complete their registration paperwork online prior to a visit. Offering this convenience contributes to a positive patient experience, streamlines your workflow, and boosts revenue by giving you time to see more patients each day.
RevIntake also adds value by enabling providers to send out patient surveys after visits to assess patient satisfaction. The process can be automated so it provides a valuable opportunity to learn where your practice can improve with little time or effort by staff.
RevConnect
RevConnect is a patient communication tools package that allows you to communicate with your patients via their preferred method — texting or email. RevConnect is an automated template-based communication and reminder tool that works seamlessly from within RevolutionEHR. RevConnect lets you send automated appointment and recall reminders, practice updates, and even birthday greetings.
With RevConnect, you can also automate order status updates, a convenience that your patients will appreciate.RevConnect includes dedicated dashboards that track metrics so you can see which types of messaging work best for your patients.
RevPayments
RevPayments allows patients to pay online easily, conveniently, and securely. It’s a simple way to receive payments faster and give patients convenient options. They can pay with a card swipe or chip, Apple Pay™, Android Pay™, or voice.
RevPayments also allows you to store patient’s cards, and expired cards are automatically updated.
RevPayments also transforms RevolutionEHR into a manual credit card processor. Even without a credit card terminal, you can accept patient payments no matter where they are.
Patient Portal
RevolutionPHR is a secure online patient portal that enables patients to see and download their personal health record (PHR) securely. Patients can view a summary of previous and future appointments, status of contact lens and optical orders, past payments, and current account history.
RevolutionPHR also allows patients to securely communicate with their provider or support staff, quickly and conveniently.
Not only does RevolutionPHR meet patient convenience needs, it also saves time for your support staff and gives them more time to spend caring for your patients.
A Final Word
For patients, online access to essential services provides for a seamless healthcare journey and better patient experience. Healthcare consumers will trust that you genuinely care about them when you provide the tools they want and expect.
You'll attract new patients, increase patient retention, and ultimately grow your bottom line by offering patients the conveniences they want.
Enhance Patient Experience with RevolutionEHR
The shift to ensuring that optometry services are accessible online is a change worth making, and RevolutionEHR can assist with the transition. RevolutionEHR is a highly customizable and scalable optometry practice management solution that drives patient satisfaction and loyalty.
Your practice will reap the benefits, including improved efficiencies and increased revenue cycles. Want to discover how RevolutionEHR can elevate patient experience for your practice and give you freedom to focus on patient care? Request a demo today.
Backed by deep expertise in optometry and a commitment to the success of eye care practices, RevolutionEHR offers insights and perspectives designed to help providers streamline operations, enhance patient care, and thrive in a changing healthcare landscape.