Exceeding customer expectations isn't always easy to do these days. So providing a patient experience that exceeds expectations is one of the best things you can do to help retain your patients and keep them from looking elsewhere for their eyecare needs. What are some things you can implement into your office and workflow to help make the appointment experience the best it can be for both your staff and your patients?

3 Ways to Enhance the Exam Experience for Everyone

Modernize the Pre-Appointment

The appointment really starts before the patient is even in your office. The moment a patient decides to schedule an appointment with you is when their experience begins. Making it easy for your patients to schedule their appointment in the first place with online scheduling can help boost appointments on your schedule. Once an appointment is set up you can reduce the wait time in the office by sending them pre-appointment paperwork to fill out online before the appointment. Or, if they don't fill out their paperwork before hand, you can use a tablet in your office waiting room for easy data entry and less work for your front desk staff.

Who It Benefits: Your front desk team will be able to complete faster check ins, and patients will spend less time in the waiting room. 

Reduce Data Entry

Paper processes throughout an appointment might be familiar to you and your staff, but it can really slow you down in the long run. Data entry with software systems can sometimes be equally as time consuming, especially if you're working off multiple systems that require you to enter the same data more than once. An integrated practice management and EHR should carry over and pre-populate information that's previously been entered. This will save you and your team from having to re-key information over and over, and will reduce chances of error from data entry or hand written mistakes.

Who It Benefits: Reducing data entry throughout an appointment will help your entire staff save time and communicate more efficiently. And, your patients will benefit from less errors on their patient record.

Share Information More Easily

The right practice management and EHR system will make it easier to share information with your patients. Having a tablet-friendly system makes it simple to spend more face-time with your patients in the exam room, and less time turning your back to face a desktop. Plus, if your system is equipped with educational materials you can quickly access videos and other helpful information that you can share on the screen with patients in real time.  

If you are also taking advantage of a patient portal you can just as easily send those educational materials and any other important follow up information directly to the patient so they can refer back to it after their time with you in the office.

Who It Benefits: As the OD you'll benefit by building stronger, trusting relationships with your patients in the office and you'll probably get less follow up questions if patients can access education online. Your patients will be confident they have the answers and understanding they need when they leave your office. 

Want to learn more about a system that can help you build a better patient experience? See a demo of Uprise.