Why We Need Online Scheduling
Across the UMMS system, our efforts are always geared toward better accommodating patients and families and optimizing system processes for improved care delivery and management.
With online scheduling, we can support these initiatives not only by increasing patient convenience, satisfaction and engagement but also by improving workflow efficiency for providers and staff.
How Online Scheduling Helps Patients
We cannot overstate the importance of seamless, readily available care to improve the patient experience – and potentially patient outcomes. While patients ultimately want to get the best care possible, they very much want convenience and ease of access when seeking care.
Read more about why digital health strategy is a top priority.
Online scheduling isn't simply a consumer preference. It is becoming a basic expectation and is a determining factor for many when choosing a provider.
Studies have shown that patients who have online self-scheduling options – the ability to schedule or reschedule appointments themselves on smart devices rather than having to call practices and experience wait times – are:
- More motivated to manage their care
- Less likely to skip or miss appointments
Both of which can help to improve patient outcomes.
How It Helps Providers and Staff
- With an automated scheduling system in place, office staff can spend less time scheduling appointments over the phone as a result of a reduced call volume.
- They can spend more time focusing on other complex tasks for improving care coordination (including information management) and the overall in-person patient care experience.
- The use of decision trees, both in the online self-scheduling process and by schedulers, will reduce inaccuracies in scheduling and ongoing education.
- Providers will see an increase in new patients along with a reduction in scheduling errors and unused schedule time (thanks to a reduction in no-shows and empty time slots). They will be able to make the most of their scheduled time and focus more attentively on patient needs.
Why Online Access?
Sources:
- Accenture, Patient Engagement: Digital self-scheduling set to explode in healthcare over the next five years, 2017
- Comparison of Epic metrics among benchmarking organizations
- Sutter Health, Increasing Patient Engagement and Saving Money with Online Scheduling