A missed appointment means much more than the fact that there is an empty exam room; it represents a break in workflow, lost revenue, and most importantly, delays in attaining critical care for a patient. Everyone has experienced the frustration of standing with a surgical team with no patient present when a high priority surgery or complex diagnostic workup has become a "no-show." In the past when clinics used a manual process of telephone calls and paper reminders in an effort to assist clients in keeping their appointments, it has become obvious that those are not as effective as they once were in a world where the majority of people utilize their electronic devices to communicate. Smart Scheduling goes beyond placing a name on a digital calendar, but rather involves developing a continued, intelligent connection between the animal hospital and the pet owner. By eliminating the gap in communication through the use of technology and streamlining processes through automation, we can change the culture of reliability and respect for the team’s time by not only filling our schedules but also providing better care for the pet's owner through improving customer service.

The Psychology of the "Micro-Reminder"

Often, traditional reminder methods provide either an early reminder (that the patient forgets) or a late reminder (that the clinic is unable to accommodate). Smart scheduling creates “micro-reminders” – brief, action-oriented touchpoints utilizing multiple channels.

• 72-Hour Rule: Sending a text message 72 hours prior to an appointment provides a better opportunity for the patient to recognize that they have a scheduling conflict and allows time for the clinic to fill the appointment.
• 2-Hour Nudge: A push notification sent to a dedicated portal, such as the Nurovet app, acts as the patient’s final GPS location indicator, ensuring that the appointment is top-of-mind during busy days.

Eliminating Friction with "One-Click" Confirmations

If a client has to call the clinic back to confirm an appointment, the likelihood of them doing so drops significantly. Smart systems include "One-Click" functionality.

• Interactive SMS: "Reply 1 to Confirm, 2 to Reschedule."
• Direct Sync: When the client replies, the status on your clinic's dashboard changes color instantly. This allows your reception team to see at a glance which slots are "at risk" and proactively call those individuals.

Implementing Automated Waitlists

The ability to respond effectively to "gap" situations is also included in having an excellent level of efficiency. With a "quick-fill" waitlist, smart appointment software helps with excellent levels of efficiency by allowing you to respond appropriately when you experience gaps in your schedule and want to immediately fill that gap. 

• With instant notification, as soon as an appointment is cancelled, the software instantly sends a text message to every client on the waitlist who was looking for an earlier time than when you originally scheduled them for their appointment. 
• The first client who clicks on the link to take the open appointment will take the open appointment for that appointment as well as the schedule being updated in seconds with no staff having to do anything to update the schedule.

Data-Driven "No-Show" Risk Assessment

There are different types of clientele. AI-automated systems capable of machine learning can use prior appointment history to identify people who are at risk of being a "no-show."

• When an individual has missed 2 or more appointments in 12 months, that individual is flagged for a confirmation phone call by an employee.
• In addition, for frequent "no-show" clients and for expensive surgery slots, the automated appointment system can require a pre-paid deposit in order to schedule the appointment to ensure that the client has "something at stake" in keeping the appointment.

Bridging the Gap with Telehealth Triage

A missed visit may be due to uncertainty about whether it really was a required visit.

Being able to connect digitally allows the pet owner to ask a question or provide a picture. When the pet owner is able to get a response from the veterinarian or technician that they need to come in for an ear infection (or similar), the perceived value of the visit to the pet owner goes up and they are much less likely to skip the appointment.

Conclusion

A balance must be achieved between human psychology and technology in order to help reduce missed appointments. By improving your client's chance of remembering, confirming and valuing the time they spend in your office, you will also improve your staff's ability to provide a stable working environment and better health care for the patients (animals) you care for.

VMP provides the basis of a dependable schedule by ensuring an equally dependable infrastructure. VMP is the leader in the development of an IT-supported, innovative infrastructure that can provide your hospital with AI-driven solutions, unique financing and strategies for growing your clinic. We provide the tools to turn no-shows into know-shows so that your clinic operates at maximum efficiency.