Overbooking, how to manage it in healthcare

Photo: Hal Gatewood

One of the most important things healthcare service providers need to accomplish is patient satisfaction. A major issue to patient satisfaction can be overbooking. Therefore, in this article, we are going to discuss overbooking and how it can be managed in healthcare. Furthermore, we will go through some of the innovative and new solutions to overbooking problems and how they can help patients and doctors accomplish interactions, meetings, and appointments without having to go through the frustration of waiting long.

Overbooking - Why it is an issue for healthcare

There are numerous repercussions of overbooking. The biggest one that is affected by overbooking is patient experience and satisfaction. Nowadays, with the increased number of patients, when a patient books an appointment, they know the chances of meeting the doctor right on time are very slim. This is a huge problem that creates weaker relationships between healthcare service providers and patients.

Time is extremely crucial in healthcare. It can sometimes mean saving someone's life. Therefore, each patient deserves to have timely communication with their designated doctors. Overbooking can cause a lot of frustration. This goes both for doctors and patients alike. Sometimes, overbooking is used on purpose for countering the number of no-shows. However, this seems counter-productive given the downsides that it brings.

Another major issue that arises from overbooking is the quality of care. Overall clinic quality should be a top priority for patient satisfaction and a positive healthcare journey. Waiting times are increased with overbooking and this puts tremendous pressure on the staff. While it may seem like overbooking done on purpose might lead to a reduced number of no-shows, long-term, this strategy does not work well. To be more precise, it negatively affects patient experience and often ruins patient-physician relationships.

Innovative solutions

So, we have mentioned the essential problems that arise with overbooking in healthcare. However, what are the right solutions and how exactly can you manage overbooking in healthcare properly? For starters, it is important that we mention the fact that the world of healthcare is constantly innovating and evolving. Now, healthcare and technology are more than ever being combined to provide better services and a better patient experience. With the advancements in technology, new, innovative solutions to overbooking have appeared. Online, digital services in healthcare are not really that new but they are being used globally more and more. Furthermore, even though technology and healthcare have always been closely connected, new digital platforms are giving healthcare service providers the opportunity to settle down the issues such as overbooking once and for all. Let's take a look.

Confirmation of appointments and online appointment scheduling

First of all, if an appointment is made, it is crucial that patients and doctors can receive notification if the appointment is going to happen or not. The majority of no-shows can be avoided if an online, digital platform using online scheduling software, could notify both parties on time about the upcoming appointment. Furthermore, an option to have your patients be able to confirm appointments will greatly reduce the number of no-shows and in turn, greatly reduce overbooking as well.

An increase in conversion of appointments, treatments, and exams can be achieved by using a proactive service that enables confirmation of appointments. Using these services, you can deliver better and more timely information to your patients regarding their upcoming appointments, schedules, exams, treatments, and so on. In addition to this, you also enable them to reply and confirm the appointment for example 24h before it should take place. This is an excellent way of dealing with potential overbooking.

Managing blocks and rescheduling canceled appointments using digital platforms

Schedules sometimes change. Emergencies in healthcare are not rare. Sometimes, a doctor who was supposed to be available at a given time may not be available. The same goes for patients as well. However, management of medical blocks and contingencies is crucial.

A service that notifies patients and manages the rescheduling of the appointment and/or shift during times when a consultation or a medical appointment will not take place, can greatly reduce overbooking. Using online platforms such as E-mail, for example, a patient can receive a timely message about the cancellation of their appointment but also, they can receive a message proposing a new appointment. That way, the patient already has a new option and does not have to wait for the process of scheduling a new appointment.

Booking appointments through digital platforms is easier

As more and more surveys are made, patients, around the globe, usually report that they would rather have instant access to the needed healthcare services and providers than have to wait longer times and endure queues in person. Digital platforms for booking medical appointments allow patients to do it from the comfort of their own homes. How exactly does this help with patient satisfaction the overbooking issue? Well, online booking means less time spent on the phone and less wait time for patients trying to book an appointment.

When it comes to overbooking, online patient scheduling software and digital platforms can:

• Eliminate the possibility of double-booking appointments,

• Reduce waiting times,

• Offer timely reschedules,

• Better manage the volume of incoming calls,

• Lowers the strain put on staff,

• Provides faster scheduling done instantly through digital platforms.

The final take

In summary, overbooking can be a big problem for all healthcare service providers and medical clinics. Solving it is not always easy but it is necessary to do so in order to increase patient satisfaction, form a better relationship with the patients, and, overall, provide better healthcare service. Overbooking can be solved efficiently and effectively with the use of digital platforms and technologies. With new, innovative solutions presented in healthcare, the problem of overbooking is slowly becoming the thing of the past.