Did you know that almost 41% of consumers schedule appointments after the close of normal business hours? Moreover, 61% prefer a business or healthcare provider that offers online appointment scheduling. And, over 70% of them access the internet on their smartphone. For this reason, there is a need for online appointment scheduling in healthcare.
Appointment Scheduling Statistics for the Healthcare Industry
According to a recent Stax study commissioned by Healthgrades, 83% of consumers patients are familiar with online appointment scheduling. Moreover, almost 70% of patients prefer to schedule their medical appointments after hours (when they’re free to do so). For about 35% of patients, the ability to do so is a major deciding factor when choosing a healthcare provider. This means that your practice needs to provide the ability for patients to self-schedule appointments 24/7.
That’s a tall order if you’re still using sticky notes or a calendar, with employees recording appointments manually. The better option is to use technology to your competitive advantage.
Particularly in the healthcare field, online appointment scheduling is only now starting to catch fire, with 85% of consumers still forced to schedule medical appointments by phone. So, physicians, clinics, urgent care centers, testing centers, hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers have an opportunity to put technology to work for their practices.
As a result, healthcare and medical providers can improve patient experience and satisfaction.
Online Appointment Scheduling in Healthcare
Online appointment scheduling software can serve as a practice differentiator and a means by which to improve operational efficiency. Moreover, the Stax study found that almost 81% of patients prefer a physician who offers online appointment scheduling — both primary care physicians and specialists. The patients who most prefer online appointment scheduling book more appointments (for themselves and others) and tend to be younger, more affluent, and more highly educated.
Let that sink in for a minute: 81 percent!
And here’s the most shocking of all Stax’s findings: When given a choice between physicians with similar experience, proximity, availability, and patient satisfaction ratings, the vast majority of consumers (81% for primary care doctors, and 77% for specialists) choose physicians who provide online appointment scheduling.
Again, 81%.
Could there be a better time for your healthcare practice to implement online appointment scheduling? EZnet Scheduler® has all the features you need at a highly affordable price. On top of that, EZnet Scheduler offers a 15-day free trial with personalized onboarding from our outstanding team of product experts.
And we back our appointment scheduling software with USA-based customer support. Support from real product experts, not bots. Watch our new explainer video to learn more!
Isn’t it time to let your patients know that their next appointment with you is just a click away?