Four Novel Ways to Keep in Touch With Patients

When treating your patients at the office, it can sometimes feel like the visits are all too brief. Treatment and care are so important, and when your patients step out the door at the end of the appointment, so much of their treatment and continued health is now completely in their hands. It’s important to continue communicating with your patients, but how can you do that without affecting the care you give to others? When you automate patient communication, you create new ways to stay in touch and help better care for all of your patients. Four novel ways to keep in touch include automated voice messages, text messages, emails, and recalls.

Although it’s good to communicate with patients, many are busy and prefer automated reminders to their phone over talking to a live person. When you hire an automated reminder service, your patients can receive pre-recorded messages reminding them of appointments they have made. This helps them to keep their appointments or at least call and cancel in a timely manner.

Emails can be an effective form of communication, especially nowadays when people have email notifications tied to their mobile devices. That means they can usually access their email from anywhere. Emails are a quick way to send reminders or inform patients about their treatment plans. They usually offer a quick way to communicate back to your office concerning appointments, which many patients might find convenient.

Sometimes one phone call or message is not enough. Some patients need a reminder well in advance, then continual reminders if they are going to schedule follow-up appointments. Automating recalls is a great way to boost patient return for continual care. Patients are more likely to keep appointments if they are reminded, so why not ensure a recall for those who might need an extra reminder?

You can also get your patients involved in the communication process by allowing them to choose the ways they wish to be contacted. This helps give them some control and feel like they really are a part of the communication process. When you automate these communication methods, it also saves your practice time and money, allowing you to focus on the patients in front of you. Keep in touch with your patients through technology. They’ll appreciate it.