Maximizing the number of completed appointments is a key goal for any hospital, health system, or ambulatory practice as it not only helps the financial health of the organization, but also ensures that more patients can receive the care they need. 

Indiana-based Eskenazi Health strives to reduce no-show appointments for wellness and preventive care, along with those for several specialty areas such as dental, rehab, behavioral health and elective procedures. To meet this need, the health system seeks to engage patients so that they either confirm or cancel their appointment — thereby increasing appointment slot utilization.  If an appointment is cancelled, Eskenazi Health seeks to backfill it with another patient for that appointment slot, using waitlist data captured in their EMR system.

Eskenazi Health also looks to gauge patient preferences by offering multiple communication channels (calls and texts) for them to confirm, change, or cancel appointments.

Using Automation to Drive Results

Eskenazi Health used CipherHealth’s automated Appointment Reminders to conduct patient outreach for nearly 800,000 patient visits in English and Spanish, between January 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, when elective procedures were deferred due to COVID-19.* 

Eskenazi Health was successful in meeting their goals: More than 514,000 patients (64%) engaged with the appointment reminder outreach. The no-show rate among those who engaged (15%) was nearly half that of those who did not engage (29%).

Revenue Implications from Backfills 

Based on this sample of nearly 800,000 patient visits, the amount of potential revenue available to Eskenazi Health from backfilling cancelled appointments is approximately $1.9M.†

Not only did  Eskenazi Health  succeed in creating revenue from backfilling appointments, but the health system also  got more patients to seek the care they need when they need it to improve clinical outcomes.

Download the complete case study, “Decreasing No-Show Rates with Automated Appointment Reminders.

*As elective procedures have resumed at Eskenazi Health, CipherHealth’s  Appointment Reminder program has been reinstated for both in-person and telehealth visits. These scripts now include the standard questions for COVID-19 to identify patients who may be experiencing symptoms of, or have been exposed to, the virus.

†Based on the following assumptions:

• 50% of cancelled appointments (14,198) were backfilled

• Average visit cost of $150 (Appointments ranged from an average of $150 billed for general wellness visits, to more costly procedures.)

• Cost of technology required to enable the appointment reminders is deducted

For an in-depth analysis of cost implications, please contact us.