Isn’t It Time to Adopt Online Appointment Scheduling?

by Mark S. Gothberg

“People love sched­uling things online. They are scheduling flights, hotels, and even hair appoint­ments. And it’s not just young people that like online booking, older people do as well. So why not healthcare? One day online scheduling will be mandatory in healthcare because people will de­mand it,” says Bob La Loggia, CEO of Appointment-Plus, an online scheduling solutions company based in Scottsdale, AZ.

A compelling argument for online appointment scheduling was pre­sented at the Sixteenth Annual Healthcare Internet Conference held in Las Vegas. Joining La Loggia was Leslie Kaiser, employee wellness specialist at Indiana University (IU) Health Bloomington Hospital.

There are many reasons to use online appointment scheduling, including:

• Reduction in no-shows. “No-shows are a major problem, not just in healthcare. Online scheduling allows you to have reminder email and text messages,” says La Loggia. No-shows that aren’t filled translate into substantial lost revenue. Just one missed appointment per day valued at $100 comes to a loss of $24,000 annually.

• Embraced by consumers. Looking online to see available ap­pointment slots and completing a reservation is preferable to spending time on the phone in a back-and-forth discussion of times that work for both the patient and the health­care provider. Or spending time in an office queue to book an appoint­ment.

• Important data capture. Pa­tients have to register in order to use an online scheduling system. So a wide range of useful information can be captured for future use, including email addresses and mobile phone numbers to promote e-newsletters, special programs, and events.

How it works

An online appointment system con­sists of two parts – one for the office and one for the patient.

Exhibit A: Patient Online Scheduling Form

As seen in exhibit A, a patient viewing the online scheduling form of “Valley Medical Clinic” can use the appointment locator to select the doctor, location, and type of appointment. A calendar indicates days in which appointments are available. Once a specific date is se­lected, the patient can view open time slots and choose one.

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