Businesses often spend more hours optimizing schedules than they care to admit, especially in lodging reservations, ticket booking, education, or urgent care platforms, where this process is very dynamic.

Let's focus on the healthcare industry to gain a better understanding of how to build or upgrade a medical scheduling app and why it's crucial.

Digitalization has dramatically changed the operating models in all industries, including healthcare. The adoption of electronic health records (EHR), IoT, eSignature, TeleHealth, and automated scheduling software have been on the rise.

The last one is still performed in the old way in many organizations. Patients call the medical clinic reception to make an appointment and then the responsible employee looks through the schedule and suggests free time slots.

Sure, such a situation has several drawbacks, as manual processes in medical care can lead to inefficient time management and income loss.

Let's briefly highlight the major benefits of physician scheduling software:

Handy and accessible. Online platforms can be accessed anytime and anywhere, allowing you to use them 24/7 and track appointment information in real-time. Switching from manual scheduling to medical appointment software significantly helps to streamline processes for both patients and physicians.

Cost-effective. Unused scheduling capacity can cost more than you might expect. Automation of medical scheduling systems is the only way to efficiently manage cancellations and avoid revenue losses.

Emergency response without delay. The COVID-19 outbreak magnified the main management challenges in medical delivery systems, including overworked frontline medical personnel, overcrowded emergency rooms, and long patient wait times. An automated scheduling system proved to be the best solution to address these challenges. Scheduling the appropriate amount of staff to the right place at the right time allows organizations to be always ready for unexpected demand spikes.

Less room for error. Manual appointment scheduling is notoriously prone to mistakes and omissions that can lead to double bookings, cancellations, and lost income. The use of out-of-date medical scheduling methods, such as paper calendars, Excel spreadsheets, and phone calls can result in such errors.

Providing comprehensive information. Doctors require easy access to patient information, while patients want to know as much as possible about medical specialists before booking an appointment. Medical scheduling platforms provide users with physician accounts, where they can check the doctor's competencies, experience, photos, and other relevant data. This is a significant healthcare factor that influences clients' decision-making.

Reduced missed appointments. Patient no-shows can be a real headache for many businesses. They result in significant losses to the healthcare system each year. According to NHS Digital data, in just six months in 2020, there were 7.8 million registered patient no-shows in England, which averages to 42,822 (!) no-shows per day. Appointment scheduling software can easily address this problem. With in-built reminders, push notifications, and SMS, the cases of no-shows can be significantly reduced.

Increased employee engagement. Employee engagement and satisfaction are crucial factors that should not be overlooked. Giving your employees access to suitable software tools to manage their work schedules can have a significant impact. By empowering your team to express their scheduling preferences, you make it easier for them to adjust their schedules as per their needs. This not only boosts their engagement but also relieves managers of the burden of constantly balancing workload with unknown personal schedules.

Strengthening workflow capabilities enables medical care businesses to quickly achieve performance improvements and meet clients' expectations.

Here is a list of essential features for medical appointment scheduling software that can enhance both employees' and clients' experiences.

Registration & login system. It provides registration options and secure access for patients, doctors, and medical staff, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access data. A well-developed registration and login system minimizes the risk of data breaches and protects patient privacy.

Physician/Patient profiles. Implementing physician profiles enables patients to have easy access to information about medical specialists and make informed decisions when choosing a doctor. In turn, patient profiles can help physicians to provide more personalized care to their patients and easily access important data. Finally, this feature helps build stronger relationships between patients and physicians.

Online appointment system. Efficient online appointment scheduling is a critical feature for both patients and clinics, eliminating long queues and wait times. The system should enable easy input of patient information such as appointment time, date, contact details, personal data, and any other necessary information. By streamlining the appointment booking process, patients can easily schedule appointments, and clinics can optimize their workflow.

Appointment reminders. Appointment reminders sent via push notifications, email, or SMS can significantly reduce the number of no-shows and late arrivals, ultimately helping clinics avoid costly gaps in their schedules.

Insurance eligibility verification. It is necessary to confirm the patient's insurance coverage before their visit. This ensures that your company will be reimbursed for the services provided. By integrating automated insurance verification, medical practices can quickly verify patient insurance information, reducing the risk of errors and streamlining the process.

Live chat. It is an additional option that allows patients to message physicians right on the app and ask questions related to the service before making an appointment. Live chat can help patients access care more easily, particularly in situations where they may have questions or concerns that don't require an in-person visit. With live chat, patients can receive medical advice and care from anywhere, at any time.

Google & Apple calendars synchronization. This option makes it easy to keep track of personal and work appointments in one place and to balance all the meetings and tasks.

Patient reviews. Add a review feature to the scheduling app for gathering feedback and creating ratings to help clients choose the physician. Reviews can create transparency around the quality of care provided. By allowing clients to leave reviews, medical practices can demonstrate their commitment to quality and build trust with potential patients.