ISSUE NINE ● AUGUST 2021
AUGUST CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
What’s one of the best feelings for a busy practice owner? Having something taken off your plate, right? Dr. Sunni McBride is the Audiologist and Founder at South Bay Hearing in “...website performance is the strongest it has ever been”Torrance, CA. They’ve been in practice for over 8 years, and struggled with juggling all the responsibilities that come with running a practice. With 15 staff members in the office, it can be confusing to know who is doing what, or which person is overseeing a specific task at all times.
For Dr. Sunni and her team, they were constantly scrambling
to figure out who should be asking patients for reviews. Should it be the doctors, the front desk staff? Does anyone actually feel comfortable doing this difficult interaction? How many times is it appropriate to ask for a review before it makes the patient feel attacked? So many questions go through our heads for something that seems so simple.
For 8 years, the team had a goal of reaching 50 reviews, but everyday was a battle to make progress. So, naturally, this task just got tossed aside.
Since finding Review Wave, South Bay Hearing went from 50 Google reviews to 342 (and counting!) Their website performance is the strongest it has ever been and the automation allows them to focus on what really matters: developing genuine relationships with their patients in the present moment!
Let me ask you a question, how many of you have been hanging out on a Sunday night, with friends or family; life is good, you just got home from a perfect Sunday Funday; you’re relaxed, the kids are asleep, you’re favorite movie is on and you sit down on the couch to relax maybe have a glass of wine and then the thought strikes about everything you have to do on Monday and suddenly you’re stressed?! BEEN THERE!
Follow up question...what are you actually stressed about? Is it the fact that you get to help someone? That you get to make someone’s day and make them feel better? No. It’s all the time-consuming tasks that take you away from your patients. Those are the things you’re stressed about. And those are the things that your team is stressed about.
Technology solves a lot of our daily problems. A lot of the stress we put on ourselves comes from not taking advantage of what’s right in front of us.
This is why technology is the key to pushing this industry forward because millennials, Gen Z, and beyond are not only the most tech-savvy generations, but they’re the most tech-dependent generations. Most of Gen Z doesn’t even know a way of life without a cell phone, ipad or laptop, etc.
Technology has become such an integral part of our daily lives because it offers a whole new level of convenience.
Everything we do is centered around convenience, even before technology. You go to the grocery store, the gas station, etc. that’s closest to you. You visit a certain store because it’s on your way home from work.
Same goes for your patients! Outside of your specialties, or referrals, or glowing reviews; many of your patients have chosen you because you were in their area.
We truly believe more people would take charge of their health if we made it as easy as possible for them. Right now, many people look at it as a chore rather than something to look forward to. Because patients have to remember to break away from a busy day at work to call and reschedule their appointment. And what if they get put on hold! 😱
Many practice owners are nervous that patients won’t adapt to technology, think again! 72% of people prefer self-service appointment scheduling over phone calls. Amy Southwick, the Office Manager at Southwick Chiropractic said the patients in their 80’s and 90’s love the scheduling app and text reminders because they’d lose the card reminders. Dr. Carolyn Griffin at Back to Health Chiropractic received 19 reactivations after sending 1 text message! Her patients love the two-way texting.
The future of chiropractic care lies in working hand-in-hand with technology. The key is future-proofing your practices to cater to the needs of emerging generations for years to come.
Shout out to Cam!
He’s one of our awesome Account Executives and his role is basically giving you the keys to success by showing you how our software changes lives! But if you’re not impressed with that, he can also lick his elbow. 😂
There comes a time when it’s very clear that, no matter how comfortable and familiar something might be, a change is needed.
For the healthcare industry, technology has not kept up with the growing demands of consumer expectations. As a result, the majority of patients still have to schedule appointments by phone. Leaving practice managers scrambling to play catch up.
Providing online scheduling is a simple way healthcare practices can reinvent themselves, revolutionize the way they run, and provide an exceptional patient experience.
Keeping up with consumer demand
Online scheduling is a huge differentiating factor when searching for a healthcare practice. It’s not enough to be the nearest practice to that person’s area anymore.
Online scheduling is a huge differentiating factor when searching for a healthcare practice. It’s not enough to be the nearest practice to that person’s area anymore.
When given the choice between doctors with a similar experience, proximity, availability and patient satisfaction ratings, 80% of patients reported they’d switch providers for convenience factors alone.
Patients will choose whoever can make booking and attending the appointment the fastest, simplest process for them.
And they will choose whoever can make it the fastest, simplest process for them.
People want to reserve their appointments when it’s most convenient for them. In today’s busy and fast-paced environment, that can often mean booking appointments after hours. Self-service is the way of today. Not offering online scheduling directly results in lost leads and a backlog of work to come back to in the morning.
By making it easier than ever to take charge of their health, more patients will come and keep coming back.
Creating a captivating patient experience
There’s a reason the hospitality business has boomed in the last couple of decades. People crave experiences.
The patient experience goes beyond what happens at the physical appointment. What happens before they get through the door is just as important.
Turning the process of finding and booking a regular old patient visit into a patient experience that caters to the needs of the patient will create an unforgettable memory. Leaving people wanting more.
No one wants to sit on the phone for 20 minutes trying to schedule an appointment, much less leave a message and wait 24 hours for a returned call.
No one likes to wait. Online scheduling gets the practice staff off the phones and present in the moment. When they don’t have to deal with scheduling changes, appointment reminders, paperwork, etc. they can get patients in and out as quickly and smoothly as possible.
80% of patients reported they’d switch providers for convenience factors alone.Adapting to the changing landscape requires a shift from “business as usual.” Deploying the right type of tool that facilitates the experiences modern consumers crave, like convenience, is the critical piece of the puzzle that must be solved to create the ultimate patient experience.
Increasing your bottom line
Every business owner has a bottom line. Far too many practices focus on reducing costs to increase their bottom line when it really comes down to two simple priorities. For a practice owner, it has to be the perfect blend of investing in patient satisfaction to grow their practice which increases the bottom line.
Eliminating back and forth communications and reducing wait times will create happy patients, and happy patients will refer their friends, family, etc.
Online scheduling is the fastest and simplest way to reduce no-shows and cancellations and save your practice thousands, if not millions, of dollars per year, while simultaneously attracting new patients.
People are busier than ever these days, they don’t have time for phone calls, and neither do healthcare practices. It’s a research-backed fact that automated reminders like these are far more effective for getting people to show up, and show up on time.
A digital transformation will help practices reach more patients and improve the quality of life for their community by giving them the opportunity to take charge of their health.
There’s no doubt that online scheduling and the patient experience will shake things up in 2021. Those willing to prioritize these two areas will give their practices a competitive advantage.
