Dealing with late patients is often an exercise in frustration. On one hand, these late patients cause your clinic to lose money because they reduce the number of patients you can see each day. On the other, you need business from these individuals. The best way to help both yourself and your patients is to find ways to help those who are habitually late.
Online Scheduling
Some patients are late simply because they didn’t make their appointments at times that actually worked for them. A great way to encourage these patients to be on time is to let them do the scheduling themselves. Online scheduling allows a patient to pick a time that actually works for his or her schedule rather than just taking the first time offered by your staff. This, in turn, allows individuals to actually schedule appointments at times they are available, often solving their issues with showing up on time.
Rides for Seniors
Some older patients tend to be late because they rely on others to get them to their appointments. Rather than putting this burden on them, why not provide transportation for your senior patients? Whether you have your staff pick up your patients or you make a deal with a local transportation company, what you spend on transportation will be recouped when you are able to see more patients each day.
Better Wayfinding Signage
New patients are often late patients. They may try their best to get to the clinic on time, but they simply cannot figure out where they are supposed to go. If you would like to provide a little help for your new patients will cutting down on first-time tardiness, you might want to invest in better hospital wayfinding signage. Doing so makes it clear to patients where they need to go and can save them valuable minutes as they hunt for your office.
Text Reminders
Finally, there are those patients who simply forget about their appointments. A simple text reminder service can let patients know both the day before the appointment and the day of the appointment that they’re expected at your clinic. Providing simple reminders can go a long way towards helping your patients remember where and when they are supposed to show up.
Don’t be afraid to get in contact with your patients. Whether you’re helping them physically get to the office or just calling to remind them of appointments, you can play a role in helping them get to their appointments on time. With a little luck, you’ll be able to make your clinic more efficient and help your patients get where they need to go on time.