The average patient load of a primary care physician is 2,300 patients with an average of 93.2 patient encounters each week. This equates to roughly 22 minutes per patient encounter. This does not include the administrative tasks associated with each patient such as charting, coding and billing.
As a result, doctors across the country are experiencing burn out at an alarming rate. The best solution to maximize a physician’s time and improve the overall productivity of a practice is to automate healthcare processes where possible. Here are 5 areas to consider:
- Appointment Reminders: While personal interaction is important, that doesn’t mean you have to call every patient to remind them of an upcoming appointment. Consider implementing an appointment reminder software. Many will allow you to customize the message as well as delivery time based on patient preference.
- Appointment Scheduling: No matter how many reminders you send, sometimes emergencies happen or patients simply forget. Some appointment software will also allow you to send a notification inviting a patient to reschedule a missed appointment. A full-service online scheduling will also give patients the ability to schedule appointments at their convenience without tying up your phone lines or administrative staff.
- Patient Recall: It’s more cost-effective to retain an existing patient than it is to attract a new one. Keeping track of when patients are due for their next appointment can be cumbersome. Save time and increase productivity by streamlining this process with an automated recall system.
- Patient Feedback: Stop manually sending surveys to patients after each visit or relying on remembering to ask them to complete one every time they come in. Invest in an online reputation management service that also includes gathering patient feedback to help you maintain a patient-centered practice.
- Medical Revenue Cycle Management: Revenue cycle management includes keeping track of insurance claims, ensuring payments are collected, following up with denied claims. Outsourcing this service to a third-party provider like Applied Medical Systems can significantly improve your collections rate, ensure you maintain a steady stream of revenue and save you valuable man-hours in the process.
