• Companies are using appointment scheduling as part of the sales process. For example, Merchant Payment Services (MPS) allows prospects and new visitors to its Web site to immediately schedule a time to learn more about MPS’ products and services.
• Universities are using appointment scheduling to better serve their “customers” – students who are “digital natives.” Students can self-schedule everything from activities at fitness centers to proctored exams.
• Health insurance companies are using appointment scheduling software to provide better service and greater value to their plan members.  Members can schedule calls with clinicians and medical advisors at the insurance company.
• Entrepreneurs are using appointment scheduling software to better manage the business and their own time. TheDrumConnection eliminated administrative burdens with appointment scheduling software.
• StoryCorps, a non-profit organization, focuses on its mission of recording the stories of our lives without wasting limited resources on manual scheduling.  The everyday people who contribute their stories to StoryCorps can book their appointments online.

Appointment scheduling software is not just about managing appointments.  It has evolved into a solution for lowering administrative burdens, improving customer service and adapting to customers’ life styles.

Kelley Kassa
TimeTrade Blogging Team

Image credit: InMagine IZ215020

Social media played a role, but more important, customer-oriented thinking is alive and thriving in some healthcare institutions.

Back in July I complained about trying to get an appointment at a clinic outside Boston: they said I didn’t need an appointment, but when I got there I found a long wait. I didn’t name them (I try not to be a mudslinger), but I dropped a clue: I called them “Elsie.”

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather: I was contacted by Curt Bakal, MD, Chairman of Radiology at Lahey Clinic (LC – “Elsie”), genuinely asking to understand my concerns.

Even better, they’d already acted. Within days they’d changed the sample phone script that people are taught to use:

“Thanks for calling. We recommend that you make an appointment for your x-ray prior to your arrival in order to expedite your visit. Just for your information, our average wait time is about 25 minutes but, we have increased wait times around the lunch hour. The best time to come in is between 7:30 and 10:00 am or after 5pm if you want to avoid the longer waits. … I will transfer you to the appointment office. If you get disconnected, their phone number is 781-744-8000.”

Is this GREAT? Now they tell you what you need to know, so you can have control of the situation and plan your time effectively! And:

• They listened to my post. When they did, they heard something unexpected: it matters that we have to wait, and we want to be empowered with the information to make choices.
• And they did all that without even telling me (at first) – they just did it because they saw something they could improve. (All they knew was “snooty blogger ranted”– and rather than getting wrapped up in responding to the rant, they listened thoughtfully and saw something useful and acted, without even engaging Snooty Blogger. And even though the rant didn’t name them.)

This response was implemented by Administrative Director Rich Guarino and Operations Manager Lorraine Kelly. Also involved was Linda Cagle, the VP who handles scheduling at Lahey.

Then they invited me to come meet with them. (When’s the last time a company did that with you?) And when I went, they listened intensely – full eye contact, really looking for what there was to learn.

Clearly, my closing assertion in that post “Methinks … it doesn’t occur to them to respect their customers’ time” was off target: these people do notice.

Healthcare providers take note: customer-oriented thinking is not complicated or costly. How much did this change affect their budget?

Bloggers too, take note of the approach I’d chosen. In my frustration my post bordered on mud-slinging, but rather than just ranting, I pointedly focused on my real-world concern: the value of my time, and my ability to plan my life. This gave the Lahey people something to hear, which got a good dialog going.

I’m glad that in my closing assertion, I said I think healthcare is wrapped up in itself. This left room for the possibility that things might not be as I think.

• Customer service in healthcare is not at all dead. Some good people are actively listening and doing meaningful things in response. How great is that?
• Bloggers, it works better to connect the dots for your readers. Don’t just complain; explain the real-world impact.
• Dialog works better than flaming.

• We’ve added one registration station and are cross training staff to keep it fully staffed during lunch time, to minimize waits.
• We are looking at purchasing another suite that will speed work and decrease waiting time for patients.
• We recently instituted a patient satisfaction survey sampling tool, and we plan continuous monitoring and follow up.

We hear a lot about what’s messed up in healthcare, but I’m inspired by this. Alert, motivated, capable – how great is that?

A physician writes about Abby’s ongoing discussion with patients about their frustration with endless waiting. He explains what life is like in a doctor’s office and concludes:

It does help to focus on good manners and empathy, and to alert patients at the time of check-in if there’s a problem, which allows them to return or reschedule. Of course, the physician conveying personally to his patients that their time is as important as his also goes a long way. — MARC SCHNEIDERMAN, M.D., PENNSYLVANIA

This resonates with my recent post about an x-ray appointment. To my great pleasure, that clinic contacted me and let me know about some changes they’d already made in response to my post.

How great is it that people are waking up to customer service – and the customer’s experience – in healthcare?

More on the clinic’s response later this week. It was exemplary.

It’s a project of unprecedented magnitude, and while government authorities are working their tails off to get everyone vaccinated, they seem to be overlooking a proven opportunity to improve reach: offering appointments can reduce wait times, which helps compliance. (“Compliance” is healthcare’s word for whether patients actually do what providers recommend.)

Citing a CDC advisor who calls it “potentially the largest mass-vaccination program in human history,” the Washington Post said Saturday

To prepare, more than 2,800 local health departments have begun recruiting pediatricians, obstetricians, nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and even dentists, along with a small army of volunteers from churches and other groups. They are devising strategies to reach children, teenagers, pregnant women and young and middle-aged adults in inner cities, suburban enclaves and the countryside.

Last night ABC News ran this two minute clip. (You’ll have to sit through a commercial first.) At about 0:36 remaining, Ryan Owens says “Many children will go to their pediatrician. Others will have to go to the health department and line up, just like these people are.”

He turns and points to a lengthy queue.

This is ridiculous: it discourages people from getting shots.

Of course we’re biased; we believe in the convenience and effectiveness of Web self-service appointments, and we sell the stuff. But seriously: this is a public health issue. People are less likely to do something when there’s a long wait.

Conversely, when the time factor is under control, compliance increases. Evidence:

• In May we reported on a talk at the Pediatric Academy Societies’ annual meeting saying Appointment scheduling issues keep children from getting vaccinated.
• At last April’s “Health 2.0 meets Ix” conference in Boston, Kaiser-Permanente VP of PR Holly Potter (@HTPotter) reported that Kaiser has found (with its millions of Web users) that when patients can pick an appointment time online, at their convenience, they’re 40% less likely to no-show.

This isn’t rocket science: You know yourself, when there’s a long line for something you’re less likely to do it. It’s just that healthcare hasn’t quite woken up to the opportunity. (Kaiser has, most haven’t.)

We hope private providers and public health officials alike will give us a buzz. Spread the word.

Related resources:

• Blog post: Medical journal article shows reminders help patients stick to the plan
  
• Our healthcare solutions page
  
• Case study: Sonora Quest labs TimeTrade smooths patient traffic and guarantees service within five minutes of scheduled appointment time
  
• Case study: Berkeley HeartLab Centralized scheduling helps provide cardiac patients with top-notch care
  
• Case study: Family Health Care Clinic Family Health Care Clinic delivers better care, 25% more visits, $2.5 million more revenue

It hit me because of events in two vastly different industries a week earlier:

• That Sunday I was on the phone with Southwest Airlines, and their system said “Our hold time is unusually long. If you want our system to call you when it’s your turn, press 1.”
• Two days later I had my adventure with the x-ray appointment (not) at a local clinic.

What do airlines and x-rays have in common? Both are capacity-based, which means customers need to be matched up with availability. And there’s a world of difference in how these two managed the customer experience.

• Southwest had their robot do the waiting, so I didn’t have to.
• The clinic has lots of friendly, courteous people, but responsibility for my waiting time apparently hasn’t dawned on them. “Come on in, and we’ll get to you when we can.”

Think about this. Waiting stinks (and is a costly waste of time), so what ways can you think of to improve the customer experience?

Later this week I’ll return to this, but give it some thought. Maybe in the shower.

For a refresher on the cost (and value) of people’s waiting time, see our very first post: It’s RUDE to make people wait. And costly. That’s where this photo first appeared. It’s a real-life case study.

Update: A few weeks later the hospital described here contacted me, telling me of their terrific response! Follow-up post: Customer Service in Healthcare: It’s Alive!

Original post:
__________

What is wrong with these people???

I’ve been having a pain lately, in an arm that shouldn’t be having pain due to a past condition. The orthopedist who took care of my bones said to get an x-ray at some local shop and send her the CD. (She’s happy to save me the time of driving into Boston, and she knows local clinics can make a good x-ray.)

So I called the radiology department of a well-known, highly rated clinic in nearby Burlington – let’s call it Elsie – to make an appointment.

(You know about appointments. They help customers get served quickly and conveniently, and help managers plan their resource utilization. The win-win thing.)

Me: “Hi. My doctor says I should get an x-ray and send her the CD. Can I do that? — Good, I’d like to make an appointment.”

Elsie staff: “Oh, you don’t need an appointment. Just come right in. I mean, you can have one if you want, but you don’t need one.”

Me: “Cool!”

Me to my manager: “I’m going over to Elsie to get an x-ray. They said I can walk right in – should be quick.”

I get there, find my way through their campus (the directions were perfect), and find radiology.

The line to check in goes out into the hall. And at the front of the line, the sign on the desk says the current wait time is 30 minutes.

I look at my watch, conclude I don’t want to wait 45 minutes (or even 30) for a “no appointment needed” x-ray, and leave.

The parking machine wants money for my ticket. I talk to the cashier and the information counter; saying I wasn’t able to get my appointment so I don’t want to pay. (I’ve been there less than 10 minutes.) Both people look at me like I’m crazy and say there’s nothing they can do. A third person says maybe security will validate it. They gladly do.

On the way out I call again.

Me: “I want to make an appointment for tonight.”

Elsie staff: “Oh, you don’t need an appointment. If you want to make one for sometime tomorrow you can.”

Me: “I can’t make one for this evening so I don’t have to wait?”

Elsie: “No…” (sounding rather uncertain about why I’d be asking)

I just wonder, what on earth is so complicated? I happen to know first-hand that an appointment system for a few workstations is not at all expensive. Instead, they have a line of people out into the hall – sick and injured people, typically – and they cheerfully (genuinely cheerful) say “Oh, you don’t need an appointment.”

Methinks the world of healthcare is (mostly) so wrapped up in its own importance that it doesn’t even occur to them to respect their customers’ time. And that’s gotta change.

___________

What a wedding!

Yes, that is a real picture of my real daughter, with her new husband and the groomsmen. (Never underestimate the value of hiring a great photographer.) Yes, I am as proud and happy as any father has ever been.

It was a seaside wedding in Newport, Rhode Island, three days after my last blog post. Since then I’ve taken time off work to go to Washington twice to talk about my after-hours passion: bringing the patient perspective to healthcare reform. (I’m co-chairman of a medical society and I write on two healthcare-related blogs.)

My slides and video from one trip are on this blog, if you’re interested. This “hobby” is an outgrowth of when I had cancer in 2007. When I got better, I naturally applied my day-job high-tech thinking to how we can improve healthcare: better efficiency, better customer service, lower costs, and all that. (Imagine me, talking about those issues!)

In these meetings I urge that new-wave medical records systems let us view our medical information over the internet. (Me, advocating self-service??)  My own hospital lets me do it, and I don’t see any reason why all providers shouldn’t.

Anyway, enough!  Back to work.

In a talk last week at the Pediatric Academic Societies’ annual meeting in Baltimore, Dr. Melissa Stockwell of Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons reported on findings about vaccination appointments. A key finding:

Difficulty with scheduling appointments was a BIGGER factor in no-shows than whether parents even think the vaccines are worthwhile.

Specifically, for parents who doubt the value of vaccines, no-shows were 3.3x more likely than normal, but parents who had difficulty scheduling were 3.8x more likely to no-show.

Irwin Grossman, an eagle-eyed member of our sales team, spotted this assessment on the American Academy of Nurse Practioners site SmartBrief:

Health care providers need to pay attention to communication and ease of scheduling, as children whose parents rescheduled appointments were 3.8 times more likely to miss a visit for a vaccination, according to New York City researchers.

The full article, from Reuters, is here.