Why Do Chiropractic Practices Need Patient Engagement Software?
When you have a model of car, brand of phone, or high-tech gadget that you love, you might believe it to be perfect. After all, it meets all your needs and works perfectly, so there is no reason to consider a change—until you upgrade. Then, you realize that what you had wasn’t all that great, it was just comfortable.
Tools like patient engagement software are the same way. Even though the current model might seem perfect, it probably isn’t. There are options that can provide an exceptional experience for the patient, giving your chiropractic practice a better reputation.
But if you are going to upgrade, you probably want to know what you are upgrading to. A new patient engagement tool should be easy for patients and staff to use and the communication frequent enough for patients to feel connected. The patient should feel like they have a partner in the process, working side by side for their healthcare needs, though not in an evasive way.
Knowing the benefits of the upgrade is important, but you should also learn the other vital factors in this investment, specifically how communication makes a critical difference in the following areas.
Saves time for everyone involved.
Up front, there will be a time investment to learn the new system, both for staff and for patients. But it will quickly become apparent that automation helps connect with patients for scheduling and confirming appointments. Ultimately, it is a better way to keep patients connected in a timely manner, much more than the previous system of phone calls and voicemails.
Increases satisfaction for the patient.
Improving patient engagement improves patient satisfaction, which leads to patient retention. The advantage of a patient engagement system is that it can create a feedback loop through an online tool such as Google Reviews. This type of monitoring is a great way to maintain a pulse on satisfied patients. Additionally, staff can use this information to market and promote the practice to prospective new patients.
Increases patient retention.
Engagement is all about cultivating a relationship that feels like a partnership and not a business transaction. The patient-practice relationship must have a mixture of communication strategies and feedback loops. Also, communication should not be one sided and not always in the same format. The same is true of the relationship between a patient and a chiropractor. Sometimes a text is enough, sometimes a call is needed, and other times, a face-to-face interaction is what is required. Great engagement has all these aspects.
Loss of engagement through complicated systems
Older systems, though familiar, are mostly inefficient when compared to the options that a modern patient engagement system can provide. One example is the simplicity of a text message, which can be used to confirm an appointment. This process is much easier than having to return a voicemail from a scheduler or logging into a portal system to make a change. Additionally, with updated research about text communications, you can utilize your automated system to get the best engagement and better results than what you had before.
When weighing a decision like this, you must consider what will happen if you do not make the investment. For one thing, you might be left behind when it comes to meeting expectations for younger people, such as using short, easy engagements like text messages. The bottom line is that if your practice is not using patient engagement software, you are dropping behind your competitors.
A final benefit can be found for the chiropractic office staff. Employees can benefit from patient engagement in so many ways: feeling successful over time, having more time to focus on people instead of logistics, and building trust with patients.
Even though things might seem comfortable in their current state, upgrading feels even better. The impact on patient engagement is also substantial and long lasting.