The Cost of Neglecting Text Appointment Reminders

In today's fast-paced world, missed appointments can be a significant headache for medical practices. Simple solutions like text appointment reminders have emerged as effective tools for reducing no-shows. They offer flexibility by allowing patients to manage their healthcare appointments on the go. Whether they're at work, running errands, or attending to family matters, patients can easily respond to reminders and make necessary adjustments to their schedules. In this blog, we'll explore the tangible costs associated with not utilizing text appointment reminders in medical practices.

Missed Appointments: A Costly Conundrum

According to the National Institute of Health, the average cost of a no-show visit in the United States is around $200. If you could prevent just one no-show visit per provider each week, you would be INCREASING your monthly revenues by $800 per provider.

Imagine if you could prevent one no-show per week for each provider at your practice for a full year. That’s an additional $9,600 per provider of revenue your practice could collect!

Administrative Overhead: Time is Money

Manual outreach is not without its hardships. Many patients don’t answer the phone or listen to voicemails. Most patients prefer to communicate via text and manually calling is more expensive than you might think.

Most practices use on average 45 minutes per staff member per day to call patients regarding appointment confirmations. Based on an average of a $15 hourly wage, practices are spending roughly $57 per week per staff member in phone call appointment reminders. Multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and it’s over $2,960 spent in staff labor just to call patients for appointment confirmation. So, if you have two providers, that cost could be as much as $5,850 annually. You can see how this could get more expensive if you have multiple providers.

Patient Satisfaction: A Critical Component

Instant Access to Information: Patients receive automated text reminders shortly after scheduling their appointments. This provides them with immediate confirmation of their appointment details, including the date, time, location, and any necessary preparation instructions.

Ease of Communication: Text reminders often include features that allow patients to confirm, reschedule, or cancel appointments with a simple reply. This two-way communication stream provides patients with a convenient way to manage their appointments without having to make phone calls or visit the practice's website.

Reduced No-Show Rates: By receiving timely reminders, patients are less likely to forget about their appointments or double-book themselves. This reduction in no-show rates not only benefits the practice financially but also ensures that appointment slots are utilized efficiently, reducing wait times for other patients.

The Solution: Text Appointment Reminders

By recognizing the hidden costs associated with missed appointments and administrative overhead, medical practices can make informed decisions to enhance their operations and prioritize patient care. With Criterions text appointment reminders, not only can you reduce costs but also improve overall efficiency, patient satisfaction, and increase your revenue.

Fill out our contact form below to learn more about Criterions integrated text appointment reminders and how it can help your practice today!