FormDr is about more than just forms – we are also here to offer some ideas to tackle common pain points like incomplete form submissions and appointment no-shows. After all, every minute you save on administrative tasks means more time available for patients. Let’s take a look at an all time favorite feature, Patient Appointment Reminders.
Reduce No-Shows
Appointment no-shows cost the U.S. healthcare system more $150 billion a year, and an average of $200 for each unused time slot. Whether or not patients show up, it is the practice that is incurring the administrative and personnel costs of running the practice during that time. In addition to the revenue issues, no-shows affect patient’s continuity of care – causing things like missed preventative care screenings and services, leading to complications down the road.
By automating appointment reminders, practices can use strategies that offer the best results to reduce no-shows. For example, one experiment at an organization found that the optimum time was four days before the appointment. After several months of testing this hypothesis, they saw their no-shows decrease substantially.
Reduce Incomplete Form Submissions
Incomplete forms submissions happen for a multitude of reasons. People forget, they get interrupted, and sometimes they need a little nudge to go ahead and finish up. When incomplete forms are “hanging around” before the appointment time, it is simple to send a reminder – again, either automatically or manually.
Your FormDr account’s Received Forms list will show which submissions are incomplete, with one of four statuses:
- Not opened – these forms or packets have been successfully sent, but the patient hasn’t opened the link yet.
- Opened – the link was opened and viewed, and possibly some data entered.
- Not received – the email or phone number was invalid and the forms were unable to be delivered. Updated contact information is needed.
- Saved progress – this means that the patient began their forms, saved them, and needs to finish them. You can click on a “saved progress” submission to see how much the patient filled out.
By ensuring that your HIPAA-compliant forms are completed prior to the appointment, practices can better stay on schedule, maintain complete patient records, and reduce administrative time trying to fill in the blanks.
How to Implement Patient Appointment Reminders
Appointment reminders can be automated, done manually – or both! Patient appointment reminders are scheduled when sending forms to a patient to complete. Simply select the date and time of the patient’s appointment – and hit send. The patient will receive the packet of HIPAA-compliant forms and a reminder to complete prior the appointment time.
Want to automatically send another reminder to each patient 24 hours prior to their appointment date and time? No problem! Automate in ways that make the most sense for your practice’s workflow and your patient population. Reminders can be sent by text and email simultaneously, allowing patients to easily complete their forms via mobile phone, tablet, or computer.
Ready to set up automated appointment reminders for your patients? We can’t wait to get going! Contact us and start realizing the benefits right away.
