It is no secret now that technology has had a huge impact on everyone’s lives. With information at the public’s fingertips, it is easy to find anything they are looking for—even medical professionals. Not only that, but it is easy to compare and contrast one provider with another and see how much it costs for medical care.
Customers are always looking for any kind of good deal. Even with insurance, the rising cost of healthcare has many people on the lookout for new and less expensive providers. However, people get what they pay for, but finding a way to retain patients is essential, and it could be achieved using EHR software.
Stay Connected
One of the best ways to retain patients is to stay connected. If your patient feels valued and like their concerns are being heard, they will stay with you. A great way to stay connected to your patients is to use a patient portal that can be found in EHR software. It gives you and them access to medical records and billing information any time of the day or night. More importantly, it allows you to communicate with them through messaging outside of regular business hours.
For many, knowing that their questions about a medical issue will be answered can reduce a lot of stress and worry. If they need medical treatment, talking to you online could get them the help they need so that they can get better and enjoy life.
Remind Them of Appointments
It doesn’t take long for people’s lives to get busy. When that happens, they may forget about their doctor appointments, and that has a massive impact on your schedule. To reduce the chances of missed appointments and patients having to reschedule, sending them reminders is beneficial.
If they find that they can’t make their appointment, giving them time to reschedule gives your practice the ability to get other patients into their now-vacated spot. This is beneficial to you and those under your care.
Offer a Variety of Ways to Pay
Trying to get patients to pay their medical bills can be quite challenging. However, to make it easier on everyone, you should consider offering online pay. It’s incredibly easy for paper bills to get lost in the mail or the shuffle of papers in a person’s home. When your patient gets busy, they may forget that they need to head down to the post office to mail their payment.
However, if you offer them the ability to pay online, it provides convenience and an easy way for customers to take care of their bills. With this service, which is available with EHR software, you may be able to reduce the number of collections you have, which saves you and your patients time and money.
Not only should you be offering your patients a way to pay their bills online, but you should also offer payment plans. Since healthcare can be costly, not everyone can pay their bills in full. With a payment plan in place, they’ll be able to get the care they need and pay when they can.
Technology has made it feasible for people to access a lot of information, including data about healthcare and your practice. When it comes to retaining patients, there are some things you’ll need to incorporate into your practice, but the time and effort will pay off in the long run.