5 Ways Medical Practices Can Benefit from an Advanced CRM

Medical practices face a unique challenge: Balancing effective administrative oversight against a focus on patient care. To address this issue, many providers have turned to customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

A CRM system is a software platform that enhances your ability to connect with your patients and increase the efficiency of your practice. It automates basic tasks and allows you to securely share information with authorized personnel. 

Curious about whether your medical practice could benefit from a CRM? This article looks at five ways that an advanced CRM system could change the way your facility operates.

1. Simplify Scheduling 

The best CRMs allow medical practices to simplify every aspect of their scheduling process. In turn, this simplifies the patient experience, sending reminders to patients and minimizing the risk of no-shows. 

Patients can receive these reminders through email or text messaging. Confirmation indicators can alert you when patients confirm their appointment, further streamlining patient scheduling. Because this system is fully automated, it can free your staff to focus on other activities.

Of course, this also makes it easier for your medical staff to perform and manage scheduling tasks, including:

• Reserving rooms
• Reserving equipment
• Managing waitlists
• Block scheduling

These scheduling tasks can be easily managed through a shared calendar, while appointment types are clearly identified for easy reference. 

Your staff can even use these features to manage the schedules of individual providers, making it easier than ever for medical practices to handle equipment and personnel.

2. Increase Staff Efficiency

Automated features decrease the workload on your administrative staff, allowing your team to keep their focus where it belongs: delivering top-quality patient care. 

Your team can also use digital systems to manage work-related tasks, streamlining every aspect of your operations.

Digital document storage eliminates the need for cumbersome filing systems, where patient data can easily become lost in the shuffle. A centralized data storage system gives authorized personnel access to patient records without compromising patient confidentiality or data security.

If you manage a medical practice, the data provided by these solutions can be leveraged to monitor your team’s productivity and optimize workflows. 

This data can allow you to:

• Identify time-stealing habits and activities
• Find opportunities for additional training
• Control individual workloads

These advanced analytics aren’t a form of digital micromanagement. Instead, managers can use the data obtained through an advanced CRM system to pinpoint and reward top performers. Incentivizing strong work habits can encourage your entire staff to commit to excellence while on the job. 

3. Stay on Top of Prescriptions and Lab Results

Today’s patients expect rapid results. Your medical practice can produce these results by integrating your systems with medical laboratories to provide fast, accurate communication.

Direct, digital integration with your laboratory partners will increase efficiency among your staff and offer several ancillary benefits, including:

• Increased accuracy
• Decreased turnaround time
• Increased patient satisfaction

Your team can safely and securely store these lab results in the patient’s digital record, eliminating the need for excess documents and paperwork while prioritizing access to information across your organization. These digital records are stored securely, protecting your patients’ privacy and confidentiality.

The use of a digital platform also significantly improves prescription handling. No longer will pharmacists have to decode the scribbled prescriptions of the physician.

Today’s software platforms allow health care providers to quickly select medications, cross-check these medications for adverse drug interactions, and then transmit these prescriptions to the patient’s pharmacy digitally.

This automation can save time, as pharmacies and medical practices can communicate directly, and pharmacy staff will no longer need to call your office for clarification. As a secure communications channel, this technology also meets the privacy and safety requirements of both Medicare and the DEA.

4. Increase Patient Retention

How do you keep your patients coming back for additional appointments? This consideration is particularly important for medical practices that encourage patients to make routine visits or annual check-ups. 

For specialty practices and medical spas alike, getting your patients to return may be a recurring challenge.

Automated reminders and email marketing tools can turn your first-time patients into regular visitors. The marketing tools built into modern CRM software allow you to connect with patients and provide a “next steps” guide or promotional materials that encourage a follow-up visit.

Additionally, automated scheduling software can ensure that your guests are prompted to make additional appointments and foster a further commitment to your practice. Cosmetic practices and medical spas may even promote add-on services, further increasing practice revenue.

5. Manage Reviews

You can use CRM tools to invite patients to leave an online review. The best CRM software does this automatically after a patient’s appointment, allowing them to leave a note about their visit.

You can then analyze and respond to these reviews before they appear on sites like Google or Yelp. The best reviews can easily be published anonymously to your website or social media page to showcase the stellar reputation that your practice enjoys. 

Some patients may even allow you to publish their comments with their names attached, giving your medical practice an edge of personal credibility for others who may be researching medical spas or treatment centers.

At the same time, negative reviews give you a chance to address problems as they arise, allowing you to contact your patient before their feedback becomes public. Quickly resolving the issue can help you retain the customer and minimize any damage caused by a negative online review.

Put Patients First with PatientNow

PatientNow offers all of these benefits and more. Regardless of your type of practice, our digital solutions can maximize your efficiency, improve patient retention rates, and help you track your revenue flow. 

Our advanced marketing tools make it easy to follow up on new patient leads and promote your medical services to strengthen your presence in your local community.

Sign up today for a free demo of our comprehensive CRM solution. See these great features in action and learn how PatientNow can help you put your patients first.