3 Ways to Gastroenterology Practices Use Patient Check-in Software to Augment Staff Workloads

By Chloe From Clearwave | June 13, 2014

The healthcare industry is battling a multi-faceted workforce crisis, and no specialty practice is immune. According to a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) report, 56% of medical groups report staffing as their biggest productivity roadblock.   

Gastroenterology, like other healthcare sectors, continues to struggle with the ongoing worker shortages, which has left many offices short staffed at the front desk. Even when candidates are available, increasing healthcare worker wages have made hiring unaffordable for many practices.  

This environment puts added pressure on veteran workers, only furthering burnout and churn. When front-desk employees are overworked, practices risk incurring administrative errors along with revenue loss and provider frustration, not to mention the impact on the patient experience. Short-staffed offices aren’t able to deliver this experience, and when patients don’t get what they’re not shy about leaving a bad rating or switching providers… 

• 59% of patients say they are likely to provide feedback in online review platforms 
• 74% note they read online reviews when selecting a new doctor.  

The trifecta of staffing shortages, rising wages and worker burnout make it extremely difficult for gastroenterology practices to maintain efficiency and offer a superior patient experience. Growing gastroenterology practices are turning to automation to transform the patient check-in process and augment staff workloads.  

Why Busy Gastroenterology Practices Use Patient Check-in Software

For practices trying to navigate staffing shortages, the check-in process can quickly become a nightmare with backups at the front desk causing schedule delays and angry patients and providers.  

Standard check-in can take up to 20 minutes per patient. This lengthy check-in time limits the number of patients a practice can see in a day, and when things go off track, patient throughput is affected even further. Even one delayed patient can create a ripple effect that lasts throughout the rest of the day. For example, if a patient walks through the front door right at the time of their appointment or if check-in takes longer than expected because staff needs to update patient information in their practice management system (PMS), then patients won’t get back to see their provider until much after their scheduled appointment time. This leads to frustrated providers, lost revenue for the practice and angry patients due to long check-in and waiting room times.  

In short, a manual check-in approach or a digital approach that isn’t working can severely impact practice growth. According to a recent Patient Experience Report, 79% of patients place a high importance on timeliness and wait times when deciding if they want to continue to see the same doctor. The same report also highlights that 68% of patients consider a “fast check-in process” as important to their in-office experience. High-growth practices looking for a proven solution choose patient check-in kiosks to solve these challenges.

Proven Gastroenterology Patient Check-in Software That Works

High-growth practices are giving patients what they want with automation — using in-office, patient check-in kiosks to digitize the process. With self-service check-in software that allows you to configure workflows to meet your practice’s requirements while giving patients the seamless and fast experience they demand — you can watch your wait times drop by 50%-90%!

Digitizing patient registration with self-service kiosks and patient pre-registration capabilities provides benefits across your practice. Here are three specific ways these solutions allow gastroenterology practices to optimize efficiency and stakeholder experiences: 

1. Offers fast check-in and shortened wait times. With a kiosk registration approach, practices have dropped check-in times from 20 minutes down to two or three, meaning patients can arrive at the office much closer to their appointment time and still get to the exam room faster. Additionally, with customizable check-in workflows you’ll be able to reduce the amount of “repeat” paperwork they have to fill out, shorten wait times, eliminate crowded waiting rooms and even leverage custom questions to meet your unique needs without hindering check-in times. With benefits like these, you’ll see improved patient satisfaction and reviews – driving retention and practice growth!
2. Removes menial check-in tasks. Digitizing check-in removes the administrative burden of manual data capture and paperwork, reducing overall staff workloads as well as burnout and churn. It also frees front desk workers to focus on high-value tasks, such as patient care, phone management or prior authorizations. From a practice standpoint, you can better manage your employee resources and get more done every day without having to pay for staff to stay overtime to get left-over tasks completed! With digital check-in kiosks and patient pre-registration complete with clinical intake, you can streamline data capture and accuracy for cleaner claims and patient-focused exams.
3. Keeps provider schedules on time. Reducing the tedium of patient paperwork also reduces costly delays in getting patients back to their provider. Additionally, with pre-check completed ahead of time through digital patient check-in, your patients will be ready to be seen in minutes, helping keep provider schedules not just on track but even allowing more patients to be seen every day, increasing profit margins. The best part? They can see more patients without increasing staff headcount, so you don’t have to worry about talent shortages or overloading current employees. 

Gastroenterology Patient Check-In That Fuels Profitability & Patient Satisfaction

While gastroenterology practices can’t control external factors such as the talent crisis or rising worker wages, they can change their internal approach to make the effects of such challenges minimal. Providing a modern check-in experience at your gastroenterology practice can help transform the front office, boost practice efficiency so you can see more patients with your current headcount, and provide the experience that today’s patients, employees and providers require.  

Contact us today to learn how Clearwave’s Patient Check-In Kiosks can help you boost profits and position your practice for long-term growth. For other ways to offset the repercussions of the talent crisis, check out our eBook, “Rising Healthcare Worker Wages: 5 Steps to Offset Profit Setbacks.”