Excessive administrative work can divert attention from providing excellent medical care. Thankfully, there are modern software tools that medical practices have adopted to streamline clerical tasks–and one of those is medical scheduling software.

Modern medical scheduling software helps medical practices accelerate administrative workflows. These digital tools boost operational efficiency all while improving patient experiences.

In this article we’ll describe how medical scheduling software addresses administrative burdens faced by medical practices and enhances patient satisfaction.

What is medical scheduling software?

Medical scheduling software makes booking appointments easier for patients and providers. This digital tool helps organize calendars across a healthcare organization. Within one platform, staff can quickly and easily view provider, equipment, and/or facility availability to prevent double bookings.

Medical scheduling software also aligns practice calendars with patient appointment requests to automatically find overlap in available times. Medical scheduling software typically involves three core features:
 

1. Appointment Scheduling: Administrative personnel use calendar views to filter criteria by healthcare provider, location, and/or equipment to quickly identify available appointment times. It’s important that this central feature is user-friendly and customizable to fit a range of practice needs. 
2. Automated Appointment Reminders: Reduce the odds of no-show appointments and rescheduling by sending an automated text message or email reminder to the patient. Medical scheduling software should also include the ability to send follow-ups in case a provider would like to see their patient again.
3. Patient Self-Scheduling: Patients can schedule appointments with a few clicks online via a patient portal without picking up the phone or tying up administrative staff. Online scheduling is becoming more popular with patients, and the right software should make it easy for patients to find time slots that work for them.

How does patient scheduling software benefit a medical practice? 

Medical practices must run as efficiently as possible to stay afloat and competitive. Many practices are still recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted all areas of the healthcare industry. A recent study of medical practices showed that although some physician practices have experienced gains in the past year, most are performing well below 2019 averages. 

Managing the cost of care is critical to ensuring future success and financial stability. The rise in telehealth and telemedicine have created an even more pressing need for robust scheduling software. More types of appointments means more for your administrative staff to juggle–unless you pass that work off to an intelligent software solution. Here are some of the benefits that come with using medical scheduling software:

• Improve administrative efficiency: Medical appointment scheduling software simplifies administrative workflows and patient onboarding, making the workday more efficient for healthcare administrative staff. 
• Reduce overhead costs: Medical scheduling software allows practices to serve more patients without adding more personnel by reducing the amount of manual administrative tasks. This allows practices to stay lean and limit their overhead costs for staffing and administrative personnel.
• Prevent no-shows: Some practice management and medical scheduling software providers also have built-in automated appointment reminders. These digital reminders help patients plan ahead and reschedule their appointment versus holding the clinician’s time and then not showing up.
• Empower patients: Patients benefit from medical scheduling software because it empowers them to book their own appointments through a digital portal. With just a few clicks, patients can book a convenient time to see their provider without picking up the phone.
• Minimize wait times: A medical scheduling solution can decrease wait times by reducing the likelihood of overbooking. Software can automatically evaluate when a provider is at capacity so appointment workload is manageable.

What makes Benchmark Systems medical practice management software different? 

The right practice management software can streamline administrative tasks, and assist with medical billing and revenue cycle management. Benchmark Systems has all the features you need to maximize efficiency, and implementing our practice management software is easier than you may think.

Benchmark Systems PM offers a five-star rated in-house support team that will work with your practice to develop scheduling workflows that work for you. Our practice management software has been proven to help medical offices simplify administrative operations. The software’s core functionality includes: