How recalls and reminders can keep your business and patients healthier
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many healthcare practices have experienced lower patient numbers, which has in turn led to substantial loss of income.
Data from doctors and patient advocacy organisations, including The Cancer Council, shows that GP visits for routine screening and testing procedures are down, with many Australians also skipping out on routine care for chronic health conditions like diabetes and asthma. There are a number of reasons for this, including fear of infection, a focus on other priorities and reluctance to overburden their practitioner with non-COVID related matters at this time.
To safeguard both the health of their business and their patients, practitioners need to be proactive in encouraging patients to continue to seek regular medical treatment, particularly for ongoing health issues and preventative screening.
Making use of recalls and reminders
The use of recalls and reminders is a straightforward way to keep in touch with patients and encourage them to return for long-term care and regular appointments. Recalls and reminders can be used to:
- Remind patients when they have upcoming appointments
- Remind patients when they need to come in for preventative screening
- Check in with patients who haven’t visited in a while
- Let patients know when reviews need to be scheduled for items like care plans and team care arrangements
- Inform patients of new Telehealth services, ePrescribing or other options available to make it easier for them to get the care they need.
How MedicalDirector is facilitating proactive patient care
At MedicalDirector, we have a number of accredited partner integrations that can help you send recalls and reminders seamlessly from your existing software. Using a platform like MessageNet, practices can free up time for their admin staff by automating tasks like SMS appointment reminders and notifications, as well as boosting patient engagement by sending relevant, targeted health messages. MessageNet also helps you reduce last minute cancellations and no-shows by reminding patients when they have an upcoming appointment.
As well as MessageNet, MedicalDirector has partnerships with a number of other patient engagement providers including AutoMed, HotDoc, MessageBird and MyHealth1st.
It’s never been more important for GPs to take a proactive approach and actively encourage patients to seek the medical care they need, whether that’s via a Telehealth or face-to-face consultation. Recalls and reminders offer excellent opportunities for practices to connect with patients and help them get the preventative and ongoing care they need, even in the middle of a pandemic.
For more information about how you can tailor your health software to meet the unique needs of your practice, browse the MedicalDirector Marketplace.
