How to Save 500+ Staff Hours With Online Scheduling

By Chloe From Clearwave | December 2, 2024

Online scheduling solutions are meant to put the power in your patients’ hands, giving them the convenience to book their appointments in seconds. While these solutions aim to help practices increase acquisition and meet patients where they are, when done right, the most powerful self-scheduling solutions also reduce staff workflows and improve booking accuracy.

For Thomas Eye Group, busy phone lines and growing patient demand lead the practice to turn to online scheduling, in hopes of reducing staffing burdens across their 17 locations. To ensure both patients and staff were happy with the move to digital scheduling, they took a unique approach. Now, they’re handling thousands of appointments with less staff burden and higher patient satisfaction, proving that automation isn’t just an option – it’s a game-changer.

See how the use patient online scheduling to transform their operations. Keep reading to learn how to implement online scheduling in your practice to save 500+ hours!

Transform Your Practice with Patient Online Scheduling That Works

The journey to finding the right scheduling solution isn’t always straightforward. As Ashley Tibbits, Director of Patient Access at Thomas Eye Group, discovered, not all patient online scheduling tools are created equal. 

Many practices find their practice management systems (PMS) lacks the sophisticated booking capabilities needed for complex scheduling requirements. Hear what Tibbits has to say here.

The challenge often lies in balancing sophisticated backend capabilities with user-friendly interfaces that patients can navigate easily. For Thomas Eye Group, this meant implementing a solution that could accommodate various appointment types, provider schedules, and location-specific requirements while presenting a seamless booking experience to patients.

Successful implementation requires careful evaluation of your practice’s unique workflow patterns and scheduling complexities. The right solution should integrate seamlessly with your existing systems while offering the flexibility to grow with your practice’s evolving needs. Most importantly, it should deliver measurable results – from reducing phone volume to increasing patient satisfaction – making the investment worthwhile for practices of any size.

Empower Your Practice with Smart Scheduling Technology That Patients Love

Success with patient online scheduling comes down to customization. Modern healthcare practices require sophisticated scheduling solutions that can adapt to their unique workflows, whether they’re a small specialty clinic or a multi-location practice group. Noitavia Fitts, Senior Manager of Patient Experience at Thomas Eye Group, shares that customization of their patient scheduling workflows helped the practice stay competitive in the market and alleviate staff burdens around scheduling management. See what Fitts has to share here.

The power of customization extends far beyond basic appointment types. Look for a  patient online scheduling system that offers advanced features that transform the booking experience. Look for a solution that will:

• Verify insurance eligibility in real-time, right as patients are booking
• Seamlessly integrate with your PMS 
• Identify patient records with ease to avoid duplicate accounts
• Match patients with the right type of provider based on their needs
• Measure and provide booking analytics
• Offer advanced features like an automated waitlist or multi-language scheduling

For specialty practices, this level of customization is crucial. The right scheduling system adapts to these needs while maintaining a simple, intuitive patient experience.

This intelligent logic ensures patients book appropriate appointments while reducing the need for staff intervention and rescheduling. For practices, this means fewer scheduling errors, reduced administrative burden and more efficient operations – all while providing patients with the modern, digital experience they expect from their healthcare providers.

Revolutionize Staff Workflows While Boosting Patient Satisfaction

Patient online scheduling goes far beyond basic convenience. The automation of routine scheduling tasks transforms how healthcare teams operate. When staff members aren’t tethered to managing routine appointments, they can focus on high-value activities like:

• Answering complex clinical questions
• Managing prescription refills
• Providing detailed pre-visit instructions
• Handling urgent patient concerns
• Improving in-person patient interactions

For many practices, phone lines are overwhelmed with basic scheduling requests, leading to abandoned calls and frustrated patients. Patient online scheduling addresses this challenge head-on. Thomas Eye Group, for instance, has seen a significant drop in abandoned call rates, leading to improved patient satisfaction and better resource utilization.

The real results speak for themselves. Thomas Eye Group saved 520 staff hours in just one year through patient online scheduling. This dramatic reduction in administrative burden allows healthcare teams to spend more time helping patients with clinical questions and prescription refills instead of simply scheduling appointments all day. The impact on staff morale can’t be understated. 

Additionally, patient online scheduling supports more accurate appointment booking. By implementing customizable scheduling rules and automated verification processes, practices can reduce booking errors while ensuring patients are matched with the right providers at the right time. This improved accuracy not only saves time but also enhances the overall patient experience.

Accelerate Growth Without Adding Staff Burden

For fast-growing practices, patient online scheduling is no longer optional – it’s essential for sustainable growth. Modern healthcare practices face increasing pressure to expand services and locations while maintaining operational efficiency. Traditional scheduling methods often create bottlenecks that can hinder this growth, requiring additional staff with each new location or service line.

Patient online scheduling breaks through these traditional barriers by automating the most time-consuming aspects of practice management. The results speak for themselves: Thomas Eye Group facilitated 18,000 online appointments in just one year, supporting their expansion from 9 locations to 17 without overwhelming their staff.

This technology enables practices to grow intelligently, whether they’re adding new locations, providers or services. Multi-location practices can maintain consistent scheduling protocols while adapting to local needs. Healthcare organizations can now expand their footprint without proportionally increasing administrative staff. 

Looking Ahead

Today’s patients expect digital convenience in every aspect of their lives, including healthcare, and this trend shows no signs of slowing. The future of healthcare scheduling lies in intelligent automation that can adapt to both practice needs and patient preferences. These advancements will further transform how practices operate, creating more efficient workflows while improving the patient experience. The practices that embrace these technologies today will be better positioned to thrive in tomorrow’s world of healthcare.

Ready to transform your practice with patient online scheduling? Learn more about how to customize your scheduling workflows for maximum success and choose the right scheduling tool for your practice needs.