Whether patients are filling out their paperwork at the same time as their appointment, either by hand or at a kiosk with a computer or completing them at home after receiving them in the mail from your office and/or downloading PDF forms from your website to fill out and bring to their first appointment, headaches are created for the entire staff and time that could have been used for treatment has vanished. The forms have to be scanned into your EMR or practice management software; some staff may prescreen the information and the doctor has to quickly read and evaluate the provided information, often from difficult to read forms, before speaking with the patient.
Sending patients to your website to complete their forms slows down the process. You are depending upon them remembering in a timely manner to visit the website. Many simply forget or type in the wrong URL and don’t have the completed forms when they show up for that first appointment.
Our research has shown that up to 25% of all patients who actually download the forms and fill them out forget to bring then to their first appointment. This holds true for emailed or snail-mailed forms. When they arrive, they are asked to complete forms again. They are annoyed even though it was their fault and the office schedule is already behind and late since the patient didn’t come in early.
PatientStudio online forms are the answer. Patients complete their forms at home and submit them to your office days or weeks in advance; to help ensure that the forms arrive timely, text and email form completion reminders are sent automatically.
When you receive the appropriate patient and insurance information before the patient’s appointment, staff can validate the patients’ insurance coverage and check their eligibility online, bypassing the telephone altogether. With proper practice management, front office staff can reserve some time at their own convenience and deal with multiple patients’ insurance eligibility all at once, without other pressures and much more efficiently.
Staff and doctors can evaluate the patient’s history, red-flag medical problems or concerns and be better prepared when the patient arrives. So, if you are not receiving 90% of patients’ forms prior to their first visit, it’s time to make a change.