These Healthcare Trends May Change The Way Patients Book Appointments

If you’re seeing fluctuations in your appointment scheduling processes, you’re not alone. Gradual changes over the last year have impacted the way medical providers connect with patients. Before the end of the year, we identified a rise in booking medical appointments via SMS. As the year has progressed, researchers and experts have weighed in on the industry changes they are seeing and the impact these changes have on patient scheduling.  

Healthcare industry trends and their impact on appointment booking

Here are some current trends in healthcare when it comes to booking appointments this year.  

Primary care appointments will increase amidst the “return to health phenomenon”

Providers will see an increase in patients resuming routine visits as they were pre-pandemic.1 Providers should expect and prepare for a surge in primary care demand. Evaluate your staffing solutions and streamline processes to onboard new patients quickly. Consider working with a medical call-answering service like Nexa Healthcare to book appointments to have virtual receptionists on-call to address any increase in contacts.

Healthcare facilities will update their appointment-booking processes, tools and software

Medical providers are prioritizing accessibility and innovation in 2023. Prioritizing accessibility includes updating software to better the patient experience. The trend of booking appointments online via live chat and SMS will continue to grow in 2023. Medical offices that do not provide online scheduling options are taking advantage of critical opportunities to increase revenue. Be sure to offer these scheduling services in both English and Spanish to reach a wider audience.

Medical providers should also research tools and medical scheduling software, if needed, to automate administrative tasks. Researchers predict that the focus on automation and workflow improvements will “enable informed decision-making capabilities based on highly-accurate data –significantly boosting the practice’s financial performance.”2 Taking advantage of any artificial intelligence data can help you to understand better your practice, set goals and track progress. While Nexa Healthcare does not offer text message booking for healthcare as of June 2023, we are developing new products every day. Stay tuned to learn more about services that support medical providers like you.

Continued challenges in hiring medical receptionists and other staff

While we see more job postings for healthcare positions, the pool of available and willing workers has decreased. Unfortunately, medical workers across the country continue to experience difficult working conditions, cumbersome workloads and exhaustion. Onboarding employees isn’t going to be an easy task due to “high turnover, stagnant wages and anemic hiring,” according to some researchers.3 Administrators should consider looking into other staffing options to find consistent coverage.

24/7 medical answering services from Nexa Healthcare can help you stay booked

We provide trained medical receptionists who answer calls around the clock, including on-call and after-hours. You can capture every lead with bilingual, remote receptionists from Nexa Healthcare. Learn more about our top call answering services for healthcare by calling (888) 524-3799 or scheduling an appointment.