This blog was written for Click4Assistance and originally published on 2019/12/10. ↗️
’Tis the season for colds and flus, which means everyone knows someone who is either scurrying to the nearest chemist or doctors’ surgery to be seen, or curled up in bed waiting for it to pass, with their GP on speed dial. Either way, it’s no fun, not for the patient, and not for the staff of any healthcare practice. With phones ringing all day for appointments, waiting rooms full of sick patients of varying severities, and general holiday pressures, there is little room for time wastage. Luckily, Click4Assistance has a solution that will ease some of that pressure, and allow your patients and staff an innovative communication system that saves time and money.
“Please hold, you’re 9th in the queue.”
How many times have you heard that, when you have already been on hold for 20 minutes? During this time of year, it’s harder for patients to reach your surgery’s reception to make appointments or get some advice, unless they physically visit there in person, which would means it’s more inconvenient for the patient, and it’s means more foot traffic for your surgery staff to manage. You can easily free up the phone lines and avoid increasing your foot traffic by implementing a live chat system. This will allow patients to ask quick questions or make appointments via a live chat system rather than call or walk in.
Strengthen the relationships you have with your patients
When your waiting room isn’t full of people and your phone lines aren’t constantly jammed, the number of patients you could actually communicate with one-on-one could skyrocket. This improves efficiency and the overall quality of your practice. Patients who can receive assistance more easily will feel like they have a better relationship with their GP, which will boost your patient satisfaction rates. Live chat systems help patients who are unable to leave their house, or even their beds, get healthcare advice or have short follow ups with doctors and nurses. This also aids patients who are experience difficulties with communication in person or over the phone.
In addition to aiding patients physically, live chat systems provide a more discreet form of communication. There may be something that’s more embarrassing to speak about in person or even over the phone, but via live chat, a patient may feel more at ease and relaxed, making treatment more of a possibility.
Speak more, spread less
One big benefit of a live chat system is an opportunity to speak more frequently with more patients and lessen the spread of contagious illnesses. Waiting rooms are notorious incubators, and especially affect those who may already be ill, have compromised immune systems or be medically vulnerable.
Following up with patients can be made much simpler with live chat or even video chat. This way, a recovering patient can have a quick follow up from their own place of comfort should they not be required to have a physical check up, and your waiting rooms remain a little clearer.
An additional benefit of a live chat software, like Click4Assistance offers, is how much time and money it saves in the long run. Your staff could spend less time on the phones and can speak with up to three or four patients at a time with online live chat. This, in turn, frees their time up to do more, rather than sit behind phones all day.
Click4Assistance is GDPR compliant and all chats are secured to the highest encryption level, making our live chat as safe as online payments. Alongside encryption and GDPR compliance, Click4Assistance integrates smoothly and seamlessly with existing systems, websites and social media. This means it’s much easier for you to work with and all your data is connected.
If you’re interested in deploying Click4Assistance, the UK’s premier GDPR compliant live chat software solution, to make your healthcare business more efficient and productive throughout the holiday season, give us a call on 08451235871 or send an email [email protected] and one of our team experts will be with you right away.