Holiday season is fast approaching, and many practices are getting ready to close down to spend time with family and friends, as well as reflect on a successful 2022. Rather than being satisfied with a presumably full calendar to close out the year, now is the time to be proactive and get a head start on filling the 2023 appointment calendar.
The phone can be a great tool in helping kick off 2023 on a high note. Here are three ways your practice can use the phones to increase appointments scheduled and boost patient experiences so you can rest assured business will be booming once you return after the holidays:
Even if your holiday hours and closing dates are clearly listed on your practice front door, website, or social media accounts, patients aren't always aware. Set up an automated greeting to inform patients of upcoming closures as well as when your practice will reopen. Create intelligent routing profiles to route emergency calls to an on-call doctor or assistant. Lastly, schedule time to call your regular patients and inform them of your holiday schedule. This presents a chance to fill up final appointment slots for the year if some are still available. It can also allow you the opportunity to book the patient for a future appointment in 2023. In either case, the patient will appreciate the consideration of making sure they know when you will be closed or getting them on the calendar early in the new year.
Patients will try and squeeze in appointments before the end of the year to meet their insurance deductibles. If a patient wants to book an appointment for this year, but your practice only has appointments available for next year, still offer to schedule an appointment at the next available date. Even if that means booking the patient months later than they had originally wanted, it ensures they have a spot saved. Also, mention to the patient you can place them on a waiting list. This way, in the case of a cancelled appointment, patients on the waiting list can be used to fill those previously cancelled slots keeping your 2022 and 2023 calendars fully intact.
A lot of time and money goes into investing in different marketing campaigns to help promote your practice. Successful marketing campaigns are measured by booked appointments and revenue. If a marketing campaign is lacking in either of these areas, it may be time to rethink your strategy moving forward in 2023. Evaluate the successes and failures of these campaigns through call outcomes and appointment conversions. This can help you determine the impact of that marketing campaign and if you would like to continue with the same strategies or pivot in a different direction.
Make these holidays memorable for your patients and practice using the power of the phone. With these three methods, your staff will spread holiday cheer with patients AND begin setting your practice up for success in 2023.
Learn more about how Call Box helps healthcare practices improve caller experience and optimize call outcomes at callbox.com.