As a convenient and lower-cost option for patients, Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) have become a popular alternative to hospitals. From 1996 to 2006, ASC visits increased 300%. The allure for patients includes streamlined services, specialized procedures, and a stronger focus on patient satisfaction. With more patients turning to ASCs for care, workflow efficiency is critical to success.
Last minute cancellations and no-shows cause gaps in scheduling that result in lost in revenue and wasted staff time. Annually, they cost the healthcare industry roughly $150 billion. In addition, when patients cancel last minute or fail to show up to their scheduled appointments, workflows are disturbed, time is wasted, and staff resources are misappropriated.
By effectively communicating with patients to remind them of future procedures, ACS can reduce cancellations and no-shows. Traditionally, staff members reach out to patients manually to remind them of upcoming procedures. However, with growing patient volumes of nearly 23 million procedures annually, the utilization of nurses and full-time employees (FTEs) for manually calling 100% of patients to remind them of upcoming procedures is not feasible. As ASCs hope to prevent unplanned cancellations and no-shows, they have begun seeking more effective processes.
Utilizing automated outreach technology, ASCs can make appointment reminder calls. Automated outreach through multiple touchpoints and attempts will increase the likelihood that patients engage. Staff or nurses that would normally be tasked with manual outreach for procedure confirmations can now focus their attention on bettering patient care and experiences at the facility.
CipherHealth’s automated call and text technology solution, CipherOutreach, is ranked Category Leader for Patient Outreach in the Best in KLAS’s 2018 report. The platform is fully customizable to your organization’s areas of focus, including the mode of outreach and the cadence in which it occurs. CipherOutreach’s in-depth reporting capabilities provide actionable insight into patient activities to identify areas of improvement and reduce no-shows.
To discover how your organization can use CipherOutreach to decrease surgical no-shows and increase your bottom line, contact us today.
