7 Ways to Improve the Patient Experience When Faced with Appointment Overflow

Every single action that takes place in your medical office centers around the patient experience. Naturally, healthcare administrators are never happy to see when appointment overflow finds its way onto the schedule. Fortunately, there are ways to improve patient experience when faced with appointment overflow.

Appointment overflow occurs when some patients wait longer than expected. Others may have their appointments canceled or leave without being seen. This can lead to dissatisfied patients and negative experiences with your medical office.

Understanding Appointment Overflow

Appointment overflow happens when your medical office has more appointments than it can accommodate within its regular working hours. This can occur due to a sudden increase in demand for their services, a shortage of available time slots, or unexpected emergencies that require immediate attention.

The 7 Ways to Improve the Patient Experience When Faced with Appointment Overflow

The patient experience is fragile, and appointment overflow tends to be negative for the patient. You can improve patient experience when faced with appointment overflow by utilizing the following strategies:

#1: Communicate With Your Patients

It's crucial to keep patients informed of what's happening at every step, not just when an appointment needs to be canceled. Ensure that your medical assistant or front office staff calls all patients scheduled for the day to inform them that there is an overflow and it may affect their appointment.

Also, don't stop communicating once they show up. Inform patients of the estimated wait time when they check in, regardless of their scheduled appointment time. Have the nurse apologize for the wait and let the patient know how much longer they will have to wait to see the doctor.

#2: Use a Patient Waitlist System

When patients call for a same-day appointment on an overflow day, a waitlist system can be a valuable tool in improving the patient experience. When appointment slots become available due to cancellations or rescheduling, you can notify patients on the waitlist. These patients will be offered the opportunity to book open slots.

This reduces wait times, optimizes resource allocation, and ensures that patients in need receive prompt care. Patients appreciate the transparency and convenience of such systems. It provides a fair and efficient way to access healthcare services.

#3: Implement an Efficient Cancellation and Rescheduling System

An efficient cancellation and rescheduling system is crucial for enhancing the patient experience during appointment overflow.

Patients sometimes need to cancel or reschedule appointments due to unforeseen circumstances. By providing an easy and accessible process, healthcare facilities can ensure that canceled slots are quickly made available to other patients in need. The convenience of such systems minimizes patient frustration and optimizes resource utilization, resulting in shorter waiting times.

#4: Take Your Time During Appointments

Ensure that when your doctors and providers finally see a patient who has been waiting, that patient receives the same level of care they would receive on a non-overflow day. It seems counterintuitive to say "take your time" in a scenario where there are more appointments than there is time. However, providers who slow down and give their patients the complete care and attention they deserve can improve an otherwise negative experience.

#5: Handle Their Feedback With Care

Patients tend to be vocal when they feel like they're not being heard. This can be especially true in overflow scenarios. In these cases, your patients have been subjected to potentially hours of waiting for an appointment that should have begun at a stated time. They may have had their appointments rescheduled or canceled, depending on the severity of the overflow situation.

When these vocal patients write in to share their negative experiences, it's crucial to listen to them and respond compassionately and apologetically. The patient wants to know that you view their experience as unacceptable and will not let it happen again. Most importantly, they want to know that their experience matters to you.

#6: Improve the Use of Your EPM System - An Essential Tool to Improve the Patient Experience When Faced with Appointment Overflow

You can utilize the electronic practice management (EPM) system reports to consult for information about the patient experience. The system can even generate full appointment metrics from NextGen EPM. This includes appointment statuses, daily patterns, and event types. Data like this helps you compare periods of overflow with those of previous months and years to see what has changed and what has remained the same.

Accessing this information can help you understand what happens during periods of overflow, and most importantly, how you can minimize overflow going forward.

#7: Know Why It's Important to Focus on Patient Experience During Overflow

You can't provide good healthcare as a medical facility without focusing on the patient experience. Healthcare provided by you is closely tied to patient experience. Not only that, but the patient experience affects everything from patient retention to referrals and reputation.

When appointment overflow happens, it's essential to treat it like the serious problem that it is. Your patients don't expect to show up for an 8 AM appointment and see the doctor at 11:30. They may be understanding for a few minutes of waiting, but overflow situations tend to escalate and lead to long wait times.

That's why it's so important to control what you can by communicating with the patient and working to lessen overflow situations wherever possible.

Get Consulting for Your NextGen EPM Implementation to Improve the Patient Experience When Faced with Appointment Overflow

NextGen EPM is a valuable tool for managing appointment overflow, thanks to its extensive auditing and reporting features that enable you to see scheduling in terms of how the day unfolded in terms of patient appointments.

To get the most out of your EPM, it's crucial to have the optimal implementation and know what matters in terms of reports and auditing. That's where a consultant can be of assistance. Get the most out of your NextGen EPM implementation and get to the bottom of your overflow problem by working with TempDev's experienced consultants. Contact us today!