3 Benefits of a Great Patient Engagement Strategy for Chiropractors
Next-level patient engagement is emerging as a critical factor in producing better overall health outcomes. The more patients buy into elements of their care plans, the better they do in the long term. Just about every area of medicine is recognizing the advantages.
One way to secure patient engagement benefits is through advances in technology. The app economy and improvements in telecommunications and connectivity provide a conduit for ongoing communication between patient and provider.
But how might this play out on a daily basis for you as a chiropractor, given the constant demands on your time to balance running the business and providing quality care?
By instituting the right practice management system, you can access tools to streamline your operations for great efficiency and free up time for your staff to connect more with patients and their needs. The key is automation. A practice management system helps move tasks from manual activities to automatic ones. It has the potential to transform the way that you relate to patients in areas such as scheduling and self-help preventive care.
Realizing patient engagement benefits offers a substantial opportunity for improving the all-around patient experience. Here are three benefits for you to pursue.
1. Patients in Control
One of the most significant patient engagement benefits enabled by integrated practice management software for chiropractors is the process of setting appointments.
The legacy model for appointment setting has built-in inefficiencies. For example, patients pick up the phone and call for an appointment, and a staff member tries to accommodate the request. It takes time and is subject to trial and error.
Practice management tools typically include the capability to enable patients to go online and schedule their own appointments. This is especially useful for large multi-office practices, as patients can choose a slot that’s most convenient for them across the network.
Online scheduling sends a message of trust to patients and enhances loyalty. It also builds the capabilities of your office to provide personalized care more generally. Since staff members will spend less time on the phone on patient appointments, they can spend more time focused on patients already in the office.
Your business will also benefit because you will convey that you understand that patients aren’t one-size-fits-all. Some patients may not be able to call for appointments before you are closed for the day, or they may not like talking on the phone. Enabling them to engage online is a way to bring them closer.
2. Reactivation and Reminders
Sometimes life gets in the way, and patients get out of the habit of regular chiropractic checkups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people struggled to stay on track in their recoveries. Integrated practice management and electronic health system solutions can help turn that around by enabling targeted patient engagements that trigger key behaviors.
Zingit has an automated text-messaging platform that enables you to reconnect with patients who have gone dormant. The system mines your practice records to identify patients who have been inactive for a certain period of time and encourages them to reactivate.
The text message that you send could be as simple as a reminder of your practice’s mission and the importance of regular chiropractic care—it’s a way of saying, “How have you been?” You could also craft a special offer to bring people through the door, such as a package of appointments for a discounted price.
One of the patient engagement benefits offered by Zingit is the ability to reach people on their terms and on their time frames and to deliver the message on a platform—their phones—that they almost always have nearby.
The benefits of extra personalized communication extend beyond reactivations. Text messages can remind patients of their appointments. Zingit’s system enables you to customize those alerts to fit a specific business purpose or need. Keeping a connection with patients between appointments can pay dividends for your practice and for their healthcare.
Perhaps the best part of this feature is that these texts can be programmed to send automatically, freeing up staff to focus on immediate patient concerns.
3. Connecting Beyond the Appointment
Even with efficiencies in your practice, it’s still a challenge to find enough time to engage with patients the way that you would like. Practice management solutions can have patient engagement benefits beyond the office by providing a means to communicate with patients between their appointments.
Zingit’s text-based communication system can be used as a patient self-help tool. You can send texts with links to information resources that promote building better, healthier habits. For example, you can share information about certain exercises or stretches that promote neck and spine health, or you could send a series of texts regarding the importance of good diet choices for long-term health. It’s important to remind patients of the ways that they can help themselves feel better.
This also helps you develop your marketing message as a provider who is sharply focused on patient needs, beyond revenue-generating appointments, by providing timely education.
Zingit Enables Patient Engagement Benefits
Zingit focuses on simplifying chiropractic practices through patient-friendly software that allows for enhanced communication and more efficient processes. It will help you grow faster and increase revenue, automate patient engagement, build your reputation through reviews, and deliver top service.