15 Nov Streamlining Patient Communication for 60% with Solutionreach
To help eye care practices learn how patient relationship management software helps improve patient outcomes and builds a more profitable practice, we are sharing this guest blog from Solutionreach, a First Insight integration partner. The following practice success story features a MaximEyes Cloud client, Springhouse Eye Associates in Pennsylvania, who uses Solutionreach services.
Curious about how this practice streamlined communication to make messaging easier for 60% of patients? Read about their experience to improve the eye care experience for patients.
Solutionreach: Texting Saves Time and Increases Responses
Kym Lauriello, a technician at Springhouse Eye Associates, wanted a better way to connect with the patients she was communicating with every day. The practice was already using Solutionreach to send automated appointment reminders, but Kym wanted an easier way for patients to reach the office, so she was excited to try SR Conversations.
“It’s more convenient to text patients,” says Kym. “Patients like to communicate, but nobody wants to take a phone call. Or maybe they can’t make a phone call, but they can send a text. It’s just easier for patients.”
The ability to text patients has saved time for Kym. One of her responsibilities is to answer questions from patients, a task she used to complete over the phone.
“I rarely make outgoing calls, I go directly to text messages,” says Kym. “On average, I was calling six to ten patients per day, and now I can just text them. It’s quite a time-saving feature.”
The practice has also seen an increase in the responses they receive when they text patients instead of calling them. Most patients respond to a text from Kym within 15 minutes.
“I was leaving a lot of voicemails, and patients wouldn’t call me back,” explains Kym. “With a text, I give them the same information, and I usually get a response that lets me know the patient saw the message. Even if the response is ‘Ok, thanks,’ or ‘No thank you,’ the response time is almost always immediate.”
Springhouse Eye Associates frequently reminds patients they can text the practice, and they have seen a large portion take advantage of the feature.
“We put a note in our reminder messages, so patients know they can text us,” Kym states. “About 60% of our patients are texting us, which is great considering a lot of our patients are over age 75. And the patients who text us say they like that new communication method.”
Due to their ability to text the practice, Springhouse Eye Associates is hearing from patients before they become a no-show when they can’t make an appointment.
“More people are letting us know if they aren’t able to make their appointments,” says Kym. “And about 90% of the time, we’re able to text them back and reschedule the appointment.”
Solutionreach: Easier Internal Communication with SR Huddle
SR Conversations was helpful in improving patient communication, so when Kym heard about a new feature called SR Huddle to help with intra-office communication, she was excited to implement it in the practice.
“In the beginning, the staff had to be open to change,” Kym says. “But it was more user-friendly than any of us anticipated, so it’s been very successful, especially with the doctors.”
Instead of tracking down co-workers, or leaving notes for each other, the staff now uses SR Huddle to send instant messages and share important information.
“We have a lot of part-time workers, so that means people aren’t always in the office at the same time,” explains Kym. “If something gets changed or general information needs to be distributed, we can post it in Huddle and then we don’t have to wonder if everyone got the message.”
This feature also comes in handy when the two locations of Springhouse Eye Associates need to communicate with each other.
“Huddle is a great form of communication, especially with two locations,” says Kym. “If something happens in one office that the other needs to be aware of, it’s easier to communicate by throwing it in Huddle so the other office can be informed as well.”
The staff at Springhouse Eye Associates appreciate the reassurance they get by communicating with each other through SR Huddle.
“Notes get lost or misplaced,” Kym states. “With Huddle, each message has a date and time stamp so it’s easier to follow-up. You know the correct person is going get the information even if you don’t cross paths.”
For Kym and the rest of the staff at Springhouse Eye Associates, Solutionreach and SR Conversations have been great additions to the practice.
“It’s a benefit to both the practice and our communication with patients,” Kym says. “The new wave of communication is through texting and email more than calling, and SR Conversations provides a clean line of communication.”
Practice Management System Integrations Build Strong Patient Relationships
Communication, with your patients and your staff, are the key ingredient for practice management success. Combining patient relationship management (PRM) or patient communication services like Solutionreach with your optometry practice management and EHR system like MaximEyes builds long-term, positive relationships with your patients.
You don’t have to concern yourself with data mining logistics with MaximEyes, because an automatic upload to the Solutionreach server happens once a day or at certain times.
Solutionreach uses your exported data from MaximEyes to run targeted campaigns from that list. Since MaximEyes integrates with Solutionreach, you have the robust tools you need to drive successful marketing campaigns for your eye care practice. Want to find out more about our partner, Solutionreach? Schedule a free consultation with Solutionreach.
Learn how MaximEyes helps you use data to drive revenue for your practice. Schedule an online MaximEyes demo today.
Featured Image Photo Credit: shutterstock.com/chainarong06