How to decrease patient no-show appointments

How to decrease patient no-show appointments

Reduce no-shows with patient engagement solutions

When a patient doesn’t show up to a doctor’s appointment, it costs everyone time, energy, and money. Patients don’t receive the medical care they need, and doctors lose time they could have spent tending to other patients on their lists. Furthermore, no-show appointments cost the medical industry up to $150 billion a year in the United States alone.

Ultimately, every medical practice should prioritize decreasing no-show appointment rates. Modern patient engagement tools can help you decrease no-show appointments and create a better patient experience.

Why do patients “no-show” to medical appointments?

Patients don’t show up to medical appointments for numerous reasons, including:

  • Forgetfulness
  • Family or job obligations
  • Financial difficulties
  • Transportation issues

Lack of patient engagement is another common reason patients don’t show up to their doctor appointments. Without regular patient-provider communication before and after appointments, it can be difficult for patients to keep their appointments top of mind. Positive, consistent patient communication reduces no-show appointments by making patients feel respected and valued.

TigerConnect Patient Engagement

Simple and secure virtual communication for providers and patients  
TigerConnect Patient Engagement
 

4 ways patient engagement reduces no-show appointments

Patient engagement can positively impact patient-physician relationships leading to better care adherence and better patient experience. Here are a few ways to reduce no-show appointments at your organization using regular patient engagement tools and practices.

  • Send automated appointment reminders. Are you still manually sending out appointment reminders? Improve your organization’s efficiency by automating appointment reminders instead. Automated reminders sent via text message ensure patients receive consistent outreach regarding appointments in a popular and convenient method. 
  • Offer virtual visits. Your patients lead busy, complicated lives. Make prioritizing their health less complex by offering virtual visits right from their smartphone or laptop. Virtual appointment options make it easier, safer, and more convenient for patients to keep to their appointments.
  • Pre-appointment intake. Give patients the ability to check-in for their appointment while they wait in the comfort of their vehicle. Keeping patients out of the waiting room prevents congestion and reduces the spread of illnesses.
  • No patient apps or portals required. Foster simple patient communication by making it easy for patients to receive messages and communicate without requiring a portal or app. Instead, opt for an SMS-delivered link to a browser to keep conversations secure and easy to access.

How a TigerConnect client reduced no-show rates by 45%

A North Carolina integrated health plan and care delivery system used TigerConnect Patient Engagement to establish better patient relationships and reduce no-show appointment rates. Ultimately, the client decreased no-show rates from 60% to 33% – a 45% reduction in just four months! Here’s how your healthcare organization can replicate these results:

  • Use broadcast messages to welcome new patients to your practice
  • Automate patient appointment reminders for scheduled care visits
  • Embrace text, video, and voice call options for easy patient-follow up care

Patient engagement solutions support patient-to-provider communication by removing the complexity of healthcare portals, which require several steps to log in. With TigerConnect Patient Engagement, patients can simply click an SMS link and enter a secure and encrypted conversation immediately. Additionally, healthcare providers can reach out to their patients before, during, and after appointments.

Wrapping up

TigerConnect Patient Engagement can help providers decrease no-show appointment rates for family practices, clinics, medical practices, and healthcare organizations. Schedule a demo today to see how TigerConnect can help healthcare organizations improve care outcomes, increase patient retention and reduce revenue loss.

Ricardo Estrada is a senior product marketing manager at TigerConnect. He is responsible for marketing and communicating the value TigerConnect products deliver.

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