Introduction
Finding a balance between efficiency and quality is key in private healthcare. Private clinics face serious challenges every day: the increase in operating costs, the ever-changing regulatory environment, increasing market competition and the increasingly high expectations of patients. One of the less obvious but fundamental problems that arises in this context is: the question of appointments booked but not used by patients.
No-shows are a major challenge for clinics. Such cases not only result in lost revenue, but can also lead to wasted clinical resources and poor patient relationships. The problem of unused appointment times for patient care can lead to the underutilization of the working time of doctors, specialists and administrative specialists, to an increase in the waiting time of patients, and to a deterioration in the quality of clinical services.
In our case study, we dig deeper into the problem and present the innovative solutions we have developed. These solutions not only make it possible to reduce empty hours and related costs, but also to strengthen the relationship between patients and private clinics. By creating beneficial opportunities for the entire health care system, we try to improve the efficiency of clinical operations and the quality of patient care.
But what is behind the phenomenon? Do patients forget their appointments? Or maybe they don't appreciate the importance of appointments enough? How can we get them to respect their appointment? What strategies can be used to minimize these types of revenue losses while maintaining a good relationship with patients?
Problems of our partners:
- A lot of no-shows. The underutilization of appointments is a huge problem for clinics, which fundamentally affects the business model.
- Unused appointments cause a triple loss to the clinic:
- Loss of income: Empty hours represent a direct loss of income.
- The cost of the doctor remains unchanged or the dropout is also a loss for the doctor: The cost of doctors and other resources remains the same regardless of how many patients show up. And if the agreement with the doctor is proportionate to the income, then not showing up means a loss for the doctor as well.
- Marketing costs: Marketing costs spent on patients who do not show up are wasted.
- No-shows distort marketing statistics, thus deceiving the clinic. Non-appearances also affect marketing statistics and paint a distorted picture of clinical performance.
Solutions
We responded to these challenges with the latest solutions of the Medio Digital Clinic. The prepayment and the reservation fee by introducing it, we encourage patients to respect their appointments, thus reducing the number of unused hours. In addition, our system supports two different payment methods - bank card and bank transfer - which are convenient and flexible for patients. The parameterizability of the system allows clinics to customize their service and properly address different challenges.
Features
Bank card payment option:
- Simplicity: A convenient, familiar and simple payment option for most patients. Our system accepts cards from the most popular card issuers, guaranteeing the maximum security of the transaction.
- Speed: With bank card payment, the amount is immediately blocked on the patient's card, so the payment takes place even before the service is used, reducing the administrative work.
Payment option by bank transfer:
- Flexibility: This option is recommended for those who prefer traditional banking processes.
- Safety: Patients' bank details remain secure and the clinic can track all transactions within the system.
Use of booking fee:
- Fuse: The booking fee guarantees that patients are more committed to their appointments. If they do not show up, the fee compensates the clinic for the missed appointment.
- Commitment: The booking fee reminds patients to value doctors and clinic time, reducing no-shows.
Customization to meet the needs of private clinics:
- Refund rate: The clinic can decide how much refund it offers to patients if they cancel the appointment in time. This feature encourages patients to act responsibly in their bookings.
- Length of cancellation period: Clinics can customize the length of the cancellation window, ensuring that they receive adequate advance notice if a patient is unable to attend.
Advantages
- A significant reduction in the number of no-shows: By tracking appointments more accurately and communicating more effectively with patients, no-shows are reduced, which means less wasted time and resources.
- Increase in revenue through more optimally used times: By reducing empty appointments, doctors can see more patients, which leads directly to increased revenue. More efficient scheduling also allows for a better allocation of resources.
- More stable cost planning for doctors and other resources: Better time management makes resource needs more predictable, which enables more stable cost planning. This helps with financial planning and more efficient operation.
- Convenient and flexible payment options provided to patients: The solution enables patients to conveniently and flexibly pay for the services they use. This increases patient satisfaction and loyalty and promotes the spread of positive opinions about the clinic.
- More realistic marketing statistics that reflect reality and provide more effective decision-making bases: Accurately tracking appointments and reducing no-shows provides the marketing team with more accurate and realistic data. This makes it possible to set goals more precisely, develop marketing strategies more effectively, and make decision-making more grounded.
Summary
Keeping appointments is vital to clinical efficiency and increasing revenue. Developing the right strategy and applying our innovative appointment booking system not only solves the problem of unused appointments, but also contributes to better patient care, optimal functioning and long-term success. Reducing empty appointments not only promotes the business stability of clinics, but also improves the quality of patient service, thus increasing the efficiency of clinical services.
