Tips to Save a Full-Time Employee and Boost Efficiency. Download your guide today!
Enter your name and email below to discover how you can meet a growing demand and improve pet owner satisfaction.
Periodic technology upgrades are a fact of life in modern workplaces. Effective tech systems improve speed and efficiency while reducing the ever-looming potential for human error.
Unfortunately, it’s much easier to see the value of a new system after it’s already been implemented. Getting there requires a bit of courage from an organization’s leaders.
If you’ve done your research, then you know that incorporating waitlist software at your veterinary practice is the right decision. However, it’s normal to feel nervous about learning a new tech system and asking your staff to adapt to a new set of procedures.
If you’re ready to roll out new waitlist software at your vet practice, but you’re not sure where to start, then this guide is for you. We’ll cover the simple steps that help you and your team transition smoothly through your upgrade process.
Introducing your team to a new technology requires confidence and effective communication. Follow these guidelines for a painless upgrade to your new waitlist software system.
Waitlist software is a major purchase. Your new system will become an integral part of your daily operations, so it’s worth taking the time to make an informed decision.
Choose a software system that:
Look for a virtual waiting room that provides all of the easy-to-use features that modernize your intake process, including digital intake, digital patient queuing, and mobile notifications.
Schedule demos with as many providers as possible to gain a full understanding of their products’ capabilities and pricing.
As you plan your purchase and implementation of a new waitlist software system, keep your staff informed. To the best of your ability, provide these helpful details:
Keep in mind that it’s natural for employees to feel some resistance to operational changes, especially regarding new tech. To relieve concerns, assure your team that there will be plenty of time for everyone to learn the system in a low-pressure training setting.
You may also find it productive to allow some staff to participate in the purchase decision and sit in on product demo sessions.
Along with keeping your staff informed, you should also notify your clients.
Use your website, email list, and signage to communicate the changes that are occurring in your waiting room procedure. Use the event as a marketing opportunity, since adopting a virtual waitlist system will improve the appointment experience for your clients and patients.
Even if you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy, as the leader of your practice you should be the first one to learn the ins and outs of your new waitlist software. Fortunately, the best programs are easy to use and can be learned quickly.
Once you’ve mastered the program, train your team. Allow plenty of time for everyone to get acclimated. Remember that even the most user-friendly technologies can be intimidating at first.
For the best training experience, use the training materials and recommendations offered by the software developer.
As your software implementation transitions from the training period to full adoption, continue to lead by example. The tools and systems used at your clinic are part of your company culture, and culture is developed through leadership.
Even if patient intake tasks aren’t part of your normal routine, become an expert at using your new software. Participate in its daily use for as long as it takes to complete a team-wide adoption. As your staff sees the clinic’s leaders using the system, they’ll gain confidence in using it themselves.
ER Express is an industry leader in veterinary practice waitlist software. Our innovative digital intake tools enhance the client experience, provide better engagement, and establish an easy, contactless check-in process.
To learn more, schedule a product demonstration today.
In urgent care settings, every minute counts—especially in the waiting room.
In order to help patients quickly access the care they need, efficient check-in and waiting room procedures are essential.
One of the most productive ways to optimize your waiting room workflow is to adopt a virtual wait list system.
A virtual waiting room is a health care service that allows a patient to check in to a facility’s waiting list via their mobile device. The patient then receives a text message when it’s their turn to be seen.
A virtual waitlist system helps patients move through check-in and waiting more quickly and efficiently while freeing up space in the physical waiting room. For staff, less time is spent on check-ins, phone calls, and paperwork.
Here are the key benefits enjoyed by urgent care teams that implement virtual waitlist systems.
Virtual waiting rooms simplify and automate the process of checking in and waiting for an appointment. Patients stay informed on their waiting status via these tools:
For urgent care staff, it’s easy to keep virtual waiting room patients informed.
The process is mostly automated, with direct texting or phone calls employed as needed. When patients are automatically notified of their waiting list status, reception staff spends less time answering phone calls, walking through the parking lot to find patients, or responding to status update requests at the front desk.
Extended waits are frustrating for urgent care patients, especially when initial wait time estimates are exceeded.
A virtual waiting list system reduces waiting room guesswork by providing patients with an automated estimate of the time at which their appointment will begin.
First, patients can “get in line” remotely via their mobile devices. After checking in to the digital queue patients, can continue to monitor their status and receive periodic updates.
The wait time information generated for patients is automated and completely objective. This helps urgent care staff to set realistic expectations and reduce the potential frustration and conflict that can occur during long waits.
When lengthy wait times are projected, patients are free to wait in their cars, take a walk, or visit a nearby coffee shop. Thanks to consistent updates, they can easily monitor their place in line in order to manage their wait comfortably and efficiently.
Meanwhile, urgent care staff can make real-time adjustments to the facility’s posted availability. In response to the ebb and flow of the daily workload, staff can flexibly block off or open up time slots.
Many urgent care teams would like to reduce patient wait care times. However, without automated wait time data collection, it’s difficult to know where to begin. To work on improving wait times, you first need a useful set of estimates regarding your current wait times.
Without the use of modern tools like online check-ins and virtual waiting rooms, generating average wait time estimates requires manual data entry. Manually-collected data is useful but lacks specificity.
With the help of a virtual waiting room, data collection occurs automatically.
Digitally produced data also delivers superior detail. For example, you may wish to sort wait time data by day of the week. This automated and nuanced data can be used to improve your understanding of wait times, helping your team to optimize staff scheduling and improve communications with patients.
You can also use your waiting room data to set the average turnaround time for reception desk tasks and to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements.
To implement a virtual waiting system for your urgent care, reach out to ER Express. We develop innovative and holistic management software systems for urgent care, emergency departments, and veterinary practices.
Modernizing your waiting room experiences results in happier patients and staff, reduced human error, and an optimized clinical workflow.
With ER Express Walk-In Express software, you can:
To learn more, schedule a demo with our team today.
Urgent care centers play an essential role in the American health care system. They offer fast-paced, affordable care, filling a critical niche between hospitals and primary care centers.
Wait times are typically much shorter at urgent care centers than in ER departments. However, like any medical establishment, they can quickly fill up with patients which can place extra strain on capacity and resources.
Nevertheless, wait time reduction is an important goal for urgent care teams that want to treat higher patient volumes and improve the patient experience.
Thanks to today’s diverse care options, patients are increasingly empowered to choose where they receive medical care. Maintaining short average wait times is one of the best ways to foster patient loyalty. Wait times are also influential in shaping online ratings and reviews.
If your staff already works hard to get patients seen by care providers as quickly as possible, how can wait times be reduced?
The solution involves easy-to-use tech that modernizes every aspect of your waiting room system—implementing virtual, digital, and automated elements that squeeze every last bit of inefficiency out of your clinical workflow.
The most impactful methods for reducing urgent care wait times involve the adoption of new tools and software that optimize clinical workflow.
Here are a few ways that you can work toward reducing average wait times at your urgent care facility.
Before you can work on wait time improvements, you need to establish a benchmark by determining your center’s current average wait time.
If you aren’t yet using any tools that automatically track patient wait time, you can spend some time manually recording wait time data until you’ve reached a sufficient sample size. You can then use your practice’s current average wait time to determine a new average wait time goal.
Digital patient check-in and onboarding forms allow new patients to provide their basic information electronically.
Compared to pen and paper, electronic forms are simpler and faster for patients to complete.
Digital intake forms also save time for your staff while reducing the chance of human error. After a form is submitted, the information automatically updates the patient’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) without the need for urgent care staff to perform tedious manual data entry.
Virtual waiting rooms are essential for telehealth, but they’re also incredibly helpful for in-person appointments. Along with digital intake tools, virtual waiting rooms improve the waiting room experience for urgent care patients and staff.
The virtual waiting room process begins with a mobile online check-in procedure. Before physically entering an urgent care facility, patients can:
Waiting can take place from the comfort of a patient’s car, or even from their home or workplace. This frees up space in the physical waiting room, making it easier for staff and patients to maintain hygienic social distancing.
Urgent cares that implement online check-ins enjoy faster throughput times and higher patient satisfaction scores.
Online check-ins also provide urgent care staff with valuable real-time data about patient demand. In the short term, this helps teams manage their daily workflow. In the long term, staff planning and scheduling can be adjusted using a data-based approach.
Digital patient queueing allows patients to “get in line” by texting a code that enables access to a mobile-friendly sign-in form. After signing in, patients automatically receive a projected treatment time.
While improving the patient experience, digital queuing simultaneously streamlines waitlist management for urgent care staff.
Thanks to automated text alerts and two-way texting, intake staff can spend less time on the phone, shouting names out loud through the waiting room, or walking to the parking lot to find patients in their cars.
Meanwhile, providers can see how many patients are currently being seen and how many are still waiting. This improves time management by helping providers to prioritize caseloads more flexibly.
Do you need to improve the average urgent care wait times at your facility? ER Express can help.
We provide healthcare software solutions for emergency departments, urgent care centers, and veterinary practices. Our innovative urgent care management software enables a better waiting room experience for patients and staff.
To learn more, schedule a demo with ER Express today.
Veterinary practices are tasked with managing a large influx of patients on a daily basis. As pets and their owners are cycling in and out of the office, it can be easy to stick to current operational practices because they are known quantities. As the timeless adage states, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
However, embracing modern veterinary practice management solutions can enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and elevate overall patient care.
Amidst the continuous flow of patients, consider embracing a holistic approach to animal well-being. While sticking to reliable practices in veterinary practice management is essential, incorporating modern veterinary medicine advances ensures a comprehensive and evolving care strategy for the diverse needs of our furry companions.
Today, we are not going to outline ways that you could be mismanaging your practice. Instead, with modern digital tools, there are many opportunities to continue enhancing, innovating, and improving upon the processes you currently have in place to further streamline your clinical workflow. In this era of innovation, let’s shift our focus from potential mismanagement to embracing the possibilities presented by modern digital tools.
Veterinary practices and urgent cares serving human patients share similar management best practices for optimal operational efficiency. While you are providing care for pets, you are also serving the people who brought them to your office.
Recognizing the shared principles with human healthcare, it’s crucial to integrate modern software solutions into veterinary practice management. This not only enhances the care for pets but also caters to the expectations of pet owners, aligning with the standards set by other organizations in the broader medical field.
Keeping this in mind, there are some ways that you can integrate modern software solutions into how your veterinary practice is managed. This will enable you to provide a more complete experience to patients in new, engaging, and convenient ways that they expect from other organizations in the broader medical field.
Modern medical trends have created new patient preferences for contactless experiences. By spending less time in an enclosed space, you can limit your exposure to potential infections. It also allows patients to wait conveniently from their cars, which can prove especially relieving for owners of fussy pets that do not like to be around unfamiliar people or other animals. Extend contactless practices beyond check-ins, introducing digital intake and digital prescriptions, creating a safer and more convenient environment.
Rather than spending a significant percentage of business hours on administrative tasks, your staff can benefit more from spending time with your patients. This helps provide a more calming atmosphere and a more pleasant experience for everyone involved.
Instead of filing paperwork and spending long periods of time on the phone, you can give each pet and their owner more individualized attention during their visit. Establish dedicated play areas within the clinic, fostering positive interactions between pets, owners, and staff to enhance the overall experience.
With nearly everyone now conducting most of their daily communications with others through digital devices, many medical organizations are seeking new ways to engage with their patients through these channels.
Using a practice management software solution, you can automate many of these communications to continue engaging with patients as well as provide two-way points of interaction. Implement a client portal within your practice’s app, allowing pet owners to access their pet’s medical records, vaccination schedules, and personalized care plans.
A fantastic patient experience is not built on a checklist. Once you have accomplished goals X, Y, and Z, that is just the foundation. Instead, an excellent patient experience is created by a daily commitment throughout your organization to continuously improve the in-office environment for pet owners.
Create a feedback loop by regularly seeking input from both clients and staff. Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement and celebrate successes, fostering a dynamic and responsive veterinary practice.
With tools like virtual waiting, you can shorten wait times and save time spent in the waiting room, which are major starting points for creating a better visit at your practice. In turn, this can increase your reputation and help boost positive reviews online.
By incorporating modern practice management tools into your veterinary workflow, you can not only enhance the patient experience, but you can also offload many tedious administrative tasks from your staff. This also generates more value from their hours spent at your veterinary clinic, which can generate a better return on labor investments.
As a leader of a veterinary practice, ask one simple question: Am I getting more out of my payroll budget by having my staff spend more time with patients or by managing administrative tasks? Beyond leveraging payroll efficiency, consider investing in ongoing training programs for your staff. Well-trained teams are not just efficient in their tasks but also contribute significantly to a positive patient experience.
Thankfully, many basic and advanced administrative operations required to operate a veterinary practice can now be either completely or partially fulfilled with modern software tools. This creates a more seamless, objective workflow that can be more effectively managed.
Explore the potential of AI-driven diagnostic tools that can aid veterinarians in early disease detection. By incorporating cutting-edge technology, your practice can stay ahead in providing accurate and timely diagnoses for improved animal health outcomes.
In regards to the four pillars listed above, here are some ways that you can leverage modern veterinary practice management software to ensure that you are incorporating them into your organization’s operations.
First, look for a solution that allows your clients to complete the initial parts of their visit remotely. This can include virtual check-in, digitized intake paperwork, and online payment options. Your patients can now wait where their pets are most comfortable which can create a less stressful situation for everyone. Introduce personalized health dashboards for pet owners within the app, providing real-time updates on their pet’s health status, upcoming appointments, and recommended activities for optimal well-being.
Second and third, look for a software system that allows your staff to automate many of the common administrative tasks that are part of their daily workflows. From digitizing appointment confirmations and scheduling to customer feedback surveys, and automated messaging, this can quickly convert hours once spent on these tasks into time that can be spent with more patients on a daily basis.
Implement a comprehensive staff training program for the new software system. Ensuring that your team is adept at utilizing these tools not only streamlines administrative tasks but also contributes to a more efficient and collaborative work environment.
Lastly, a digital tool that provides real-time reports and analytics allows you to identify key performance metrics within your practice that can be used for more informed decision-making to continuously improve your patient experience. You can review metrics generated by both patients and staff activity to isolate opportunities to better serve your clients and develop a strategy to put them into practice.
Incorporate regular data review sessions into your practice routine. Analyzing key performance metrics collaboratively with your team helps identify trends, enabling proactive adjustments to enhance both patient care and operational efficiency.
As the leading innovator of veterinary practice management software solutions, our team at ER Express remains committed to helping veterinarians streamline their operations to improve workflows and patient experiences.
Collaborate with software providers to create a knowledge-sharing platform. This fosters a community where veterinary professionals can exchange insights, tips, and success stories on optimizing clinic workflows using innovative software solutions. To see our software in action, contact us today to request a demo.
Over the past few years, social distancing and personal hygiene have evolved into major medical priorities for patients. From avoiding potentially contaminated surfaces to limiting the time spent in an enclosed space with others, patients are opting more for solutions that allow them to spend fewer minutes in the physical urgent care building.
Contactless check-in is becoming more and more popular in the world of urgent care. There are many reasons why this technology is so essential for these practices, and we will review the most beneficial ones for both providers and patients today.
Gaining remarkable traction within this transformative landscape is the concept of contactless check-in. This technology is emerging as a cornerstone of the contemporary urgent care domain, and its indispensability for both care providers and patients warrants exploration.
First, let’s begin with one of the most popular reasons: A better patient experience.
We’ve all been there before. We walk into an urgent care office, only to be greeted by a long line of people waiting to check in. After what feels like forever, we finally make it to the desk only to be given a clipboard with paperwork that needs to be filled out.
This process is not only time-consuming, but it is also frustrating. With contactless check-in, patients can avoid this line and the physical paperwork altogether. Instead, they can complete these initial tasks in advance from the comfort of home or their car. This means that they can spend less time in the waiting room and more time with their family or getting back to their day.
Additionally, this technology can help reduce the spread of germs. By allowing patients to fill out paperwork digitally, there is no need for them to share a physical pen or clipboard with others; reducing the risk of cross-contamination and increasing safety for everyone. This translates to reduced wait times in the reception area, enabling them to better allocate their time to family, work, or leisure pursuits. Importantly, this digital transformation curtails the risk of germ transmission, as patients no longer need to share a pen or clipboard with others. The result: heightened safety for all and a tangible reduction in the propagation of infections.
Finally, a better patient experience also proves to be the best marketing that any urgent care can receive. From more positive online reviews to word-of-mouth referrals, you may start to experience more booked time slots than you did previously.
In any medical setting, the provider-patient relationship is essential. Contactless check-in allows providers more time to foster these relationships as they are not spending as much time on administrative tasks.
With this technology, providers can see more patients in a day and spend less time on documentation. This is especially beneficial for urgent care centers who may have a higher volume of patients coming through their doors.
Additionally, this extra time gives providers the opportunity to get to know their patients on a more personal level. They can learn about their medical history, any current medications they are taking, and what the patient’s chief complaint is before they even step foot in an exam room.
This information not only helps providers provide better care for their patients but also builds trust and rapport; two foundational elements essential for any medical relationship.
For office staff, contactless check-in can also be a dream come true. With less physical paperwork to manage, there is less of a chance for things to get lost or misplaced. This technology can help reduce the amount of time spent on data entry and give staff more time to focus on providing an excellent quality of care to patients.
Additionally, contactless check-in can provide urgent care practices with valuable insights into their patients. By tracking the data collected during check-in, providers can identify patterns and get a better understanding of who their patients are and what they need. This information can be used to improve the patient experience and make necessary changes to ensure that everyone who comes through the door feels valued and cared for.
Notably, the technology offers a goldmine of insights about the patient demographic. Data gleaned during the check-in process unfurls patterns that illuminate patient profiles and preferences, providing a compass for refining the patient experience.
In the 2020s, it has become more important than ever to limit the number of patients in an enclosed space. By offering contactless check-in, urgent care practices can help reduce the number of people in their waiting rooms at any given time. This not only makes everyone feel safer, but it also helps to create a more relaxed environment where people can feel comfortable while they wait to be seen.
Gone are the days when bustling waiting rooms were seen as a symbol of efficiency. Today, the very notion of a crowded waiting area can evoke a sense of unease. Urgent care facilities have risen to the occasion, recognizing that limiting the number of patients in these confined spaces is paramount for the well-being of patients and staff alike.
By embracing the concept of contactless check-in, these establishments seamlessly align with the aspirations of a cautious era. The technology allows urgent care practices to orchestrate a delicate ballet of patient flow, reducing the occupancy within their waiting rooms at any given juncture. This strategic orchestration creates an environment of reassurance – a sanctuary where the specter of overcrowding is dispelled.
However, the significance of this transformation goes beyond mere physical safety. An environment characterized by spaciousness and tranquility fosters a sense of comfort. Patients, shielded from the pressures of cramped quarters, find themselves in a realm where their emotional well-being is nurtured. The prolonged moments spent awaiting medical attention become an experience to be embraced rather than endured.
As the world evolves, so does the notion of healthcare. The waiting room, once a crucible of anxiety, is recast as a bastion of security and comfort. The era of contactless check-in paves the way for a harmonious amalgamation of physical safety and emotional well-being. Urgent care practices that embrace this transformation extend a lifeline of reassurance to their patients, a testament to their unwavering commitment to the art of care.
As if the benefits we’ve discussed so far weren’t enough, it’s also worth noting that many of your local competing urgent care facilities may already be using contactless check-in. This means that if you’re not using this technology, you could be at a competitive disadvantage. Local rival urgent care centers might already have embraced contactless check-in, affording them an edge. The pendulum of patient preference is swinging in favor of convenience and efficiency, and facilities endowed with this technology are the natural beneficiaries.
Patients are becoming more and more accustomed to the convenience and efficiency of contactless check-in, and they will likely choose an urgent care that can offer this service over one that cannot.
ER Express is the leading software innovator for urgent cares, emergency departments, and veterinary practices. Beyond contactless check-in, we also equip your facility with the ability to offer other convenient features like digital intake, virtual waiting, patient queuing and more.
To learn how we can assist your urgent care, request a demo with our team today.
As new digital technologies continue to innovate healthcare, engaging with patients beyond the physical office is an essential part of operating a successful medical practice. Whether this includes pre-appointment interaction, a remote appointment via telehealth, or follow-up communications once an appointment has finished, there are multiple practical options that providers can take.
Beyond offering more touchpoints to provide care, patient engagement can also improve satisfaction with your practice. This can lead to more new and returning business for your organization.
If you are seeking new ways that you can engage with patients outside of the office, this guide is for you. We are going to cover some essential tips that you can use to increase your interaction with patients and enhance their experience.
Your website serves as the central foundation for all of your practice’s online business activity. When a potential patient is looking for a new provider, they often start with a search online.
A patient-centric website can help to move them toward requesting an appointment or booking a time with your practice more easily. You should also provide plenty of information that helps patients learn more about your staff, expertise, credentials, and the treatment services you offer.
Emails remain one of the most trusted digital communication methods when sent by a reliable brand that people trust. Create an email list that patients can sign up for online and in your office so that you can share with them interesting information, updates about your practice, and any timely advice such as signs of hypothermia when cold winter weather is approaching.
When creating an email list, keep in mind that obtaining patients’ consent is essential. Allow them to easily opt in by filling out a form online or signing up on a physical list in your office. You can also create a QR code that will allow them to instantly subscribe with their mobile devices.
There are two primary types of content marketing mediums that medical providers can capitalize on: text and video. Some channels like social media profiles allow you to share both, while platforms like YouTube are heavily invested in video content exclusively.
You can also use your website’s blog to provide long-form insight into certain topics that patients often ask you about. Share your expertise with them to help put their minds at ease while also building trust and credibility for your brand.
You do not have to manually engage with patients at every level. Automation can help to offload some of these tasks from your staff so that you can spend more time providing care.
For example, you can set up an email and SMS-based appointment reminder system. Alert patients to upcoming appointments and provide them a link to manage their visit by allowing them to confirm, cancel, or reschedule.
With automated points of engagement, patients will encounter your brand more frequently. This can also reduce the number of no-shows at your practice by reminding recipients to plan to visit your office that day or to call in for their telehealth appointment.
When a patient needs an answer to a medical question, they often start by calling their doctor or emailing them. As these messages arrive in your inbox, be sure to answer them in a timely manner. This will show that you are concerned about their wellbeing and want to provide the best quality of care possible.
Use a software solution that enables your patients to manage their own care with your organization. Look for one that has features such as online scheduling, digital check-in and telehealth connectivity, and a virtual intake portal that allows them to complete the necessary paperwork in advance of their scheduled time.
At ER Express, we equip your medical organization with a suite of innovative software solutions to help you provide a better experience for your patients. From virtual waiting to online check-ins, digital intake, and more, you can create multiple touchpoints where patients can engage with your veterinarian practice, emergency department, or urgent care.
To learn more about how you can start increasing patient engagement, request a demo with us today.
A virtual waiting room adds immense value to any urgent care center’s operations. By streamlining many of the traditional in-person activities normally completed in a physical waiting room, patients can be seen more quickly and enjoy a better overall experience.
As medicine becomes an increasingly digital industry, patient expectations have also changed. For example, telemedicine allows patients to see a medical provider via video when it is most convenient for them. Usually, no more than an internet connection is required.
The immediate nature of digital healthcare has also impacted expectations for an in-person patient experience. Fewer patients are willing to spend long amounts of time waiting to be seen unless absolutely necessary.
By outfitting your urgent care with the right virtual waiting room technology, you can expand your capabilities to improve the patient experience with each visit.
A virtual waiting room is a software application that allows patients to complete many of the tasks traditionally completed in a physical waiting room, such as check-in and paperwork, from their own device. They can also do this well in advance of the visit or from the comfort of home or their vehicle.
Are you considering adding a virtual waiting room to your urgent care practice? If so, here are some of the top benefits of doing so:
Recent health trends, such as social distancing, have affected patients’ willingness to potentially expose themselves to people who are ill within a confined space. Some individuals may prefer to wait to be seen from a location where they feel more comfortable, such as their home or their car.
With a virtual waiting room, your patient can track the queue from their device without having to wait in your facility. Instead, they can relax in a space that is familiar and distanced from others and be ready to step inside when it is their time to be seen.
Beyond the ability to view a queue, sending real-time notifications through a virtual waiting room via SMS can also further enhance the patient experience. These notifications can alert patients when they are next in line to be seen or if the estimated wait time has changed.
With this feature, patients can more easily plan their day or evening around their anticipated visit to your urgent care. This transparent view can help them avoid any unnecessary surprises that could potentially impact their satisfaction.
Real-time notifications can also be used to send time slot reminders and confirmations. By keeping patients updated at each step of their virtual waiting room experience, you can further reduce any potential for frustration. This can also benefit your urgent care by reducing the number of no-shows.
With digital registration and consent forms, you can provide patients the means to provide more details about why they are visiting your urgent care. In turn, this equips your team with more insight into the reasons behind their visit.
This can help to improve the overall efficiency of your urgent care by allowing you to better triage patients as they come in. For example, if a patient is coming in for a cold, but it is clear from their registration form that they are also experiencing chest pain, your team can be more prepared to ask questions or perform an assessment.
Integrate with Your Telemedicine Services
Virtual waiting rooms are not strictly confined to in-person urgent care visits. They can also be used to support your telemedicine services.
With virtual waiting rooms, patients have the ability to check in for their virtual visit and fill out the necessary paperwork in advance. This allows them to be seen more quickly since your team will already have essential documentation like your registration and consent forms, insurance information, and payment method if they choose to pay with a credit or debit card.
Every major smart device offers a mobile wallet that allows users to store their credit and debit card information and pay directly from their phone or tablet. This creates a central place for them to access their payment methods without having to carry a physical wallet or spend time searching through it for the right card or to make sure they have enough cash on-hand.
Mobile wallets are growing in popularity due to the convenience they offer by enabling consumers to pay directly from their smart devices. A virtual waiting room can accept digital payments in place of a physical card or cash so that you can align your payment methods more closely with how your patients prefer to spend.
At ER Express, our team strives to continually innovate a better virtual waiting room solution for urgent care practices. We combine user interface best practices and high-performing technology to meet the real-world needs for both patients and providers.
To learn more about how you can enhance your urgent care’s virtual waiting room, contact us today to schedule a demo.
Patient wait times are a common concern for many decision-makers in urgent care and emergency departments. This can both cause frustration for patients as well as delays in treatment.
You hold your organization to a high standard for providing excellent care and striving to continuously improve the patient experience. One of the simplest ways to achieve these goals is to leverage proven strategies and tools to cut down time in the waiting room.
Here are some ways you can reduce patient wait times at your urgent care or emergency department:
Some people who are considering visiting your urgent care or emergency department may have some questions that they would want to be answered before deciding to travel to your location. For example, they may have a cut on their arm and want to know whether they should receive a tetanus shot.
If your urgent care or emergency department allows for questions to be submitted online, through SMS or text, or through direct messaging, this can help patients stay in the loop after checking in to their appointment. This can prove especially helpful for patients that may have difficulties with mobility and may not want to move from their car or home until they need to come in to be seen.
Patients should have a good idea of how long they can expect to be waiting for care before they even arrive at your facility. You can do this by posting current wait times in a highly visible location on your website, a mobile app, or using an online check-in system that allows patients to see estimated wait times for specific services.
This transparency can help set accurate patient expectations and allow them to better plan their visit. In addition, it can help reduce the number of patients who arrive without an appointment only to find out that the wait time is too long for their liking.
A digital queuing system can help you keep track of patients who are waiting for care as well as alert them when it is their turn to be seen. This type of system can be used in conjunction with the one above to help provide an even more accurate estimate of wait times.
Patients can check in electronically and then receive a text or email notification when it is their turn to be seen. This way, they can continue with their day and only come back to your facility when they are close to the top of the list.
This type of system can also help you track no-shows so that you can make changes to your appointment scheduling as needed. If someone does not arrive at their expected time, you can move the next patient ahead in the queue so that they can receive service.
One of the biggest delays in care occurs when patients have to fill out physical paperwork upon arrival. This can be a time-consuming process, especially if the forms are long and complex.
You can reduce patient wait times by transitioning to an digital registration system that allows patients to fill out their information online before they even arrive at your office. This way, all of their information is already entered into the system and they can be seen as soon as possible.
As you continue to expand your digital capabilities, having an integrated system allows for more scalable operations with greater efficiency and a better patient experience. At ER Express, we offer innovative virtual queuing solutions to help streamline your workflow so that you can spend more time seeing more patients.
To learn more about our virtual waiting, digital patient registration, online check-in, and patient queueing solutions for your urgent care or emergency department, contact us today to request a demo.
For veterinary practices, providing excellent digital client engagement can help enhance the pet owner’s experience and encourage pet owners to return for future animal care needs.
Like humans, pets can feel apprehensive or nervous before and during a medical visit. This can place additional stress on people who want to keep their anxious pets as calm and relaxed as possible in an unfamiliar environment.
Digital patient engagement tools can take some of the stress out of a vet visit by providing pet owners with digital resources that they can access before, during, and after their visit. Rather than spending more time in the office, they can focus on receiving the best care for their pets as possible and spend less time in the waiting room.
If you are looking to improve the client experience at your own practice, here are some of our tips for leveraging digital solutions to accomplish this goal:
If your practice sees a high volume of patients on a daily basis, consider implementing a virtual queue system to help clients better manage their time. This type of system can notify pet owners when it is their turn to be seen by the vet, and allow them to check in online or via text message.
Instead of having to wait an indeterminate amount of time in the waiting room, the client can wait at home, in their car, or outside with their pet. This digital solution can help reduce stress for pets and allow them to wait in an environment where they feel more comfortable.
For clients who are new to your practice or those who haven’t been in for a while, it can be helpful to send them a text or SMS reminder before their scheduled time. This digital touchpoint can help improve communication with clients and ensure that they don’t forget their upcoming vet visit.
You can also use text messaging to ask clients any questions that will help provide the best possible care for their pets. For example, if you need to see which medications a pet is currently taking, you can text a reminder to their owner to bring the prescription bottles with them to the visit.
Lastly, digital messaging can also provide pet parents with the ability to communicate with your staff to more easily coordinate drop-offs and pickups. For instances where a pet may be away for an extended period of time, such as surgery or an overnight stay, you can keep your clients up to date with the latest news about their pets and schedule a time for them to return.
Though you can use SMS and texting to conveniently reach pet parents on their mobile devices, how responsive your team is to these messages also affects the patient experience. Make sure to have a digital strategy in place so that all messages are promptly answered and responded to in a timely manner, such as setting an expected response time window for all messages received.
Filling out registration and consent forms at the time of the visit can also affect how long clients wait to be seen. To help streamline this process, consider implementing digital registration forms that can be completed online or via an app beforehand.
Digital registration software will allow clients to fill out all of the necessary paperwork in advance so that they are ready to be seen when they arrive at the practice. Not only will this help reduce wait times, but it can also allow your team to see and treat more pets within business hours.
Digital solutions will also provide you with valuable insights and data about your clients and how they are engaging with your practice. Reviewing this information on a regular basis can help you to identify any areas where the digital experience can be improved as well as where it has succeeded.
At ER Express, we equip veterinary practices with the most comprehensive digital patient engagement tools available to help both improve and streamline the patient experience. If you are looking to elevate the way that your clients interact with your practice, contact us today to request a demo.
Urgent care facilities are often tasked with the challenge of streamlining patient flow. In a high-volume business that can see hundreds of patients in a single day, ensuring that everyone is seen and treated in a timely manner can help improve your practice’s efficiency and profitability significantly.
If you are struggling to manage the patient flow at your own urgent care, we are going to outline some key strategies that you can put into practice. By following these tips, you can help to improve patient satisfaction while also increasing your bottom line results.
One of the best ways to improve patient flow in your urgent care facility is by offering telehealth as an alternative to in-person visits. This allows patients who may not need to be seen in-person the option to consult with a doctor or nurse via video chat, which can free up time and resources for those who do need to come in for an in-person visit.
An effective way to implement telehealth is to integrate your telehealth platform with an online check-in tool which can automatically text or email your link to your patient at the time of their virtual visit.
In addition, telehealth can be a great option for patients who live far away from your urgent care facility or who have transportation issues. By offering this service, you can make it easier for everyone to get the care they need without having to visit the office. This also creates more available treatment rooms in your facility for those that do travel for a visit in person.
Another way to help improve patient flow is by digitizing your registration and consent forms. Digital paperwork can speed up the check-in process for patients since they will no longer need to fill out paper forms when they arrive for their visit. Instead, they can complete these necessary documents from their mobile device or computer in advance.
You can also use an electronic medical records (EMR) system to keep track of patient information and medical histories. This can help you to quickly and easily retrieve a patient’s file when they come in for a visit, which can also save time during the check-in process.
The digital platform that you implement at your urgent care should also allow visitors to upload their license and insurance info through a secure, HIPAA-compliant interface. Improving digital patient engagement will help streamline the check-in process and provide your staff with the necessary information they need while also reducing wait times for patients.
Another key strategy for improving patient flow is to provide transparency about your urgent care wait times. By posting your current wait times in a virtual waiting room, patients can make an informed decision about whether they need to be seen right away or if they can schedule a time slot for later.
This information can also help you to better staff your urgent care facility. For example, if you see that wait times are consistently long during certain hours of the day, you may want to consider scheduling more personnel during those times. With a more stabilized capacity at peak points during the week, more patients can be seen and treated simultaneously.
In addition to providing transparency about your urgent care wait times, you can also allow patients to “get in line” remotely. By using a virtual queuing system, patients can hold their place in line from the comfort of their own home or office. Then, when it’s their time, they can simply walk in and be seen by a medical professional without needing to spend time in the waiting room beforehand.
SMS and text messaging enable patients to interact with your urgent care prior to their scheduled time slot. Instead of calling or visiting in person early in order to ask questions about their scheduled time, they can send a quick text from their mobile device.
The last strategy for improving patient flow that we’ll discuss is being transparent with setting expectations. When a patient calls or visits your urgent care facility, be upfront about what they can expect during their visit. This includes letting them know how long they will likely need to wait to be seen, what type of treatment they will receive, and how much it will cost.
By providing this information upfront, patients can make an informed decision about whether they need to be seen right away or if they can wait for a later time slot. This can help to reduce the number of no-shows and last-minute cancellations, which can free up time slots for other patients who may need to be seen sooner.
At ER Express, we equip urgent care centers with the most complete suite of innovative software solutions in a HIPAA-compliant, white label fashion. If you desire to improve your patient flow at your own facility, request a demo today.
We are excited to announce that ER Express is now fully integrated with ezyVet! This powerful collaboration streamlines your practice management by seamlessly connecting ER Express’s online check-in and digital intake tools with ezyVet’s comprehensive veterinary software. Request a demo today to see how this integration can elevate your clinic’s efficiency and enhance the overall experience for your staff and clients.
Enter your name and email below to discover how you can meet a growing demand and improve pet owner satisfaction.
© ER Express. All rights reserved.
