People naturally like to do business with companies that make their lives easier.
Unfortunately, in our world today calling and scheduling an appointment with the optometrist is not easy. The optometry office is only open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Most people are busy during the day and do not have time to make a phone call, navigate a phone tree, and answer 10 minutes worth of questions about insurance and demographics.
For example, a mother who manages her family is busy during the day driving kids to school and practice. At 9 p.m., when she finally has time to sit and relax, she remembers she forgot–again–to call the optometrist for her kids’ eye appointments. She notices her friend on Facebook mentioned she just scheduled eye appointments online for all three of her kids. Which office will this mom schedule with?
Online scheduling gives patients the option to contact the office or schedule when it is convenient for them. Here are three software options with various capabilities.
- Limelight – This is a new feature by SolutionReach that allows patients to schedule appointments. The available times will show up when the patients say they want to schedule appointments online. For more information contact them for a review.
- iMatrix – The software through iMatrix allows for patients to request appointments any time online. This does not sync with your practice management software, but it does allow for individuals to communicate in ways that best fits them. We have found that requests for appointments online through this method are averaging one per day.
- 4patientcare – At this point, it appears that 4patientcare has the upper hand on the most advanced software for patient online scheduling. We’ve used 4patientcare through Ocuhub at our office and found the software to be very nice.
Online scheduling is an upcoming trend, and successful offices are using it to meet patients where they are and be easy to do business with.
