Executive Summary
Patient access departments are increasingly offering web-based scheduling to satisfy patients and increase revenue.
- Excess capacity can be reduced.
- Patients need to connect with the health system only once.
- Patients brought in through a medical group’s web-based scheduling stay within the network, which boosts revenue.
Just as they use online tools to book restaurant reservations or request a cab, patients want the same experience in self-booking a doctor’s appointment, says Kaveh Safavi, MD, global managing director of New York, NY-based Accenture’s health business.
“Health systems can use self-scheduling tools to boost appointment capacity, reduce patient wait times, and streamline care coordination,” says Safavi. Revenue cycle technology experts predict what patient access soon will see:
• Many more patients will book online.
By 2019, 64% of patients will book appointments online, and nearly 38% of appointments will be self-scheduled, according to Accenture’s research.
• Staffing will be affected.
“Adopting self-scheduling enables call center capacity and workforce to be reassigned to more complex activities,” says Safavi.
• Access to care will improve.
By making general appointment scheduling available online, health systems can reduce excess capacity, offer 24/7 scheduling, and better manage schedules to maximize availability and capacity, says Safavi.
Jamie Gier, chief marketing officer at Kirkland, WA-based SCI Solutions, says that today’s health systems need solutions to improve the patient access experience “end-to-end.”
This process includes order and referral management, scheduling, timely and complete pre-registration and insurance authorization, and integration with back-end billing systems. “New tools found in these smart, web-based workflows make scheduling more accurate and efficient,” says Gier.
• Patients will be more satisfied.
Web-based scheduling solutions improve the patient’s overall experience, says Paige Popp, product director at Experian Health, a Franklin, TN-based provider of technology for hospitals and healthcare providers.
The reason is because patients are able to request or self-schedule new appointments, view existing appointments and procedure instructions, pre-register for scheduled appointments, and submit required forms prior to service. Gier says, “These technologies lead to a better, more distinctive patient experience, where scheduling is bundled with registration activities.”
This process means patients need to connect with the health system only once to obtain estimated out-of-pocket expenses and to be scheduled for the right test at the right location. “No longer will patients show up, only to be told for the first time that their co-pay or deductible is something they cannot afford,” says Gier.
• Revenue will increase.
Elimination of traditional paper-based processes and introduction of automated reminders mean patient no-shows are reduced drastically, says Gier, adding that “health systems increase revenue collections while decreasing denials and write-offs.”
Fewer no-shows
In 2009, SCI customer Jacksonville, NC-based Onslow Memorial Hospital implemented self-service and outpatient order and scheduling capabilities.
“With easier, more accurate and convenient ordering and scheduling, Onslow has seen a 54% increase in practice utilization and a 40% decrease in patient no-shows,” Gier says.
David Dyke, vice president, product management and business development for RealyHealth Financial, a McKesson company, says the key to a strong return on investment for web-based scheduling is adoption. “The airline industry is a good example of a very quick transition from legacy processes to web-enabled,” says Dyke. Historically, boarding passes could be obtained only at the check-in counter, which was driving 100% of passengers to the dreaded ticket-counter line.
“Print-at-home reduced that significantly, and mobile app functionality quickly advanced to nearly eliminate ticket counter lines for most travelers,” says Dyke, adding that hospitals can use a similar approach.
“Identify high-volume patient activities that can move from manual to electronic,” he advises. “Then identify the best route — web site, mobile app, texting — to improve the patient experience.”
Revenue stays in network
Hartford HealthCare Medical Group implemented ZocDoc’s web-based scheduling tool in March 2014. Current and prospective patients can schedule appointments with primary care physicians and specialists.
“We’ve been able to unburden our front desk from answering calls that would have otherwise come to the office directly,” says James Watkins Jr., president of Hartford HealthCare Medical Group, a 250-provider multi-specialty group in Connecticut, part of Hartford HealthCare.
While it’s only the staff of the medical group who interface with the ZocDoc system, many of the patients who are part of the medical group also become patients of Hartford Healthcare’s hospitals. The patients brought in through the ZocDoc channel are kept within the network and help to boost the overall health system’s revenue, says Watkins.
After the web-based scheduling tool was implemented, “[t]he difference has been drastic and almost immediately noticeable,” says Watkins. Here are some benefits:
- Patients can schedule their future appointments during off-hours so that empty slots for the next day and even morning can be filled.
- With fewer calls coming in, the front desk staff can focus on providing better customer service to patients walking into the office or those calling for clinical needs.
“We’re still at the beginnings of our relationship with online appoint-ment scheduling,” says Watkins. “There’s much more to come, in how we use this as a business model and interact with our patients.”
