Enhancing Patient Experience and Operational Efficiency at Dermatology Associates

By Blakely Roth | February 5, 2025

Facing growing patient volumes, Dermatology Associates was looking to reduce staffing strains and speed up check-in times. The practice not only wanted to enhance patient and staff satisfaction but also find ways to improve data capture and eligibility verification by leaning into smart automation. 

Practice Manager, Donna Hyland, knew a change was needed, “Providing our patients with the best service and care possible is our top priority. As we continue to increase providers and patient volumes, we know we can use our technology to drop workloads and get our patients to their dermatologists, faster.” 

 About 

• Practice Management System: Nextech 

• Number of Locations: 3 

• Number of Providers: 9 

• Patient Volume: 4,500 / month 

The Challenge

Staffing strains at the front desk started during COVID, but became an ongoing challenge for Dermatology Associates. From long wait times to strains when staff would call out sick, the practice know it was time to make a change.

Donna Hyland says, “Prior to Clearwave, we had 2-3 check-in positions based on the volume of providers and patients expected per day, as well as a check-out person. We knew we needed additional help at the front desk, and we were having trouble finding staff.” 

The Solution

Dermatology Associates launched Clearwave Registration, including patient check-in kiosks and pre-registration capabilities, to optimize staffing, intake and collections. Now the practice has dropped patient check-in times from 30-45 minutes down to just under 5 minutes for first-time users, creating an 83% drop in wait times. Dermatology Associates also uses Clearwave Multi-Factor Eligibility™ and Registration solutions to speed up payment determination and collections. The practice sees average co-pay collection rates of 73% and self-pay collection rates of 53%, all taken by the kiosk during check-in. 

Front Desk Lead at Dermatology Associates’ busiest location, Shylah Nettles, says, “The check-in process overall is a lot faster and cleaner for our patients and easier for our staff.” 

The Clearwave Impact

Offering patient-led registration with Clearwave has significantly reduced staffing burdens for Dermatology Associates, to the point where they’ve dropped required front desk staff by nearly 25% per location. Donna Hyland shares, “It’s made a big difference. Today, we operate smoothly with one front desk lead, one check-in person and one check-out person.” 

Hyland notes the impact on their collection process, “We’ve always prioritized patient collections at check-in and emphasized this priority with staff. The kiosks continue this focus, helping us consistently capture payment at check-in and ensure that whatever needs to be collected is collected.”  

Going on she notes the benefits as a Dermatology practice, “Being able to charge for cosmetic services ahead of time through the kiosk is a great benefit, especially since we often see patients for cosmetic procedures. We’re able to load balances and any fees into Clearwave to be charged at check-in.” 

Find other ways to increase collections are your dermatology practice here. 

Patient-Powered Results

• 25% Reduction in Required Front Desk Staff 
• 95% Kiosk Adoption 
• 83% Drop in Check-In Time 
• 4M50S Average Check-In Time for First Time Users 
• 50% Pre-Check Utilization 
• 81% Appointments Confirmed via Clearwave 
• 73% Average Co-Pay Collection Rate at the Kiosk 
• 58% Average Self-Pay Collection Rate at the Kiosk 

Read Dermatology Associates full story here. 

Save Staff Time & Grow Your Practice With Ease

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