Build Stronger Relationships With Your Plastic Surgery Patients

How the Right Plastic Surgery Software Can Help With Patient Relationships and Education

Last updated December 20, 2021

Two of the better-known benefits of advanced technology include increased efficiency and better performance. But new tools can also help physicians and patients take advantage of new forms of communication, providing options and multiple touchpoints to deliver care. Find out how technology can help educate and build new layers to patient relationships in plastic surgery practices.

Increase Facetime With Plastic Surgery Mobile App Technology

At first, accessing plastic surgery software on an iPad in the office might seem like an advantage primarily for you and your staff, but consider how your patients could benefit as well. A plastic surgery mobile app that allows full access to your EHR on an iPad frees up time to speak face to face with your patients during a consultation. It’s about technology that enhances, not replaces, your time with each patient. No longer being tethered to a keyboard means you and your staff can interact at appropriate points throughout a patient’s time in your practice. It even helps with patient education, showing before and after photos. This kind of experience could help improve your patient retention.

See for yourself in this minute-and-a-half video that shows how mobile technology can increase patient engagement and education, including ways to show treatment plans in a visual format.

Increase Plastic Surgery Communications with a Patient Portal

A patient-friendly strategy for your plastic surgery practice should include a well designed patient portal. Waiting on hold for a long time to schedule an appointment or get test results can be frustrating for patients as well as office staff. Patient portals offer a number of ways to alleviate frustrations and increase convenience. Think of a patient portal as a tool to improve the customer service aspect of your practice. Patients could gain increased access to self-scheduling. Selecting a portal that allows patients to schedule online appointments could increase satisfaction.

In addition, your staff could answer non urgent patient questions at their convenience, helping to minimize disruptions throughout the workday and helping give patients peace of mind. When a portal is fully integrated with a plastic surgery EHR system, patients can review their medical records at home. This feature could lead to a decrease in manual work for your office staff during check-in. Portals can also help patients gain a sense of control over their health and well-being.

Enhance Efficiency With Automated Patient Reminders

The practice management software system you select could also send patients automatic appointment reminders via text, email or voice mail. This helps reduce the traditional back and forth of telephone calls between your staff and your patients to remind them of upcoming consultations. Your staff can benefit too — when they spend less time on the phone confirming future appointments, they can more effectively greet and interact with patients currently in the office. This strategy also fosters more face time between your front office personnel and patients.

What about patient no-shows? Automated patient reminders have the potential to reduce the number of people who miss appointments by reminding patients in multiple ways at set times. Missed consultations not only cost your plastic surgery practice financially but also get in the way of providing the best care. It is unlikely any strategy can completely eliminate no-shows. But you can spare your office staff from the awkward phone calls after the fact. Choose a plastic surgery practice management system that automatically sends out texts or emails asking if patients would like to reschedule.

Save Time With a Patient Kiosk App

Speaking of technology that can save time, signing in patients, confirming contact information and checking insurance status could be a lot easier for your front office. It’s time to retire the clipboard and paper forms in your waiting room. Instead, consider an app patients can use to check in on an iPad. Updating information is easier when the app connects directly to your plastic surgery EHR system, and it can help reduce the likelihood of errors when transferring information.

Handing patients an iPad to update their information while they sit in your waiting room also sends a message that your plastic surgery practice is modern and up to date. That can be reassuring for patients who are trusting you with their healthcare, and possibly improve patient satisfaction and engagement. Using ModMed Kiosk, as this brief video shows, helps involve patients in their own care. They can check the data in their record each time they visit and update their information as it changes. This encourages them to keep their data complete and up to date, saving time during the clinical consultation.

Get Direct Feedback From Patient Surveys

When a patient pays your plastic surgery practice a compliment directly or through an online review, it can boost your confidence that you’re on the right track. But do you know how most of your patients feel about your practice? It can be difficult to improve your customer service if you don’t have feedback from your patient population. Learn how patient surveys and other patient engagement tools can make a difference to the health of your practice.

Strike the Right Balance

One key component of improving patient satisfaction and engagement is providing the right balance between technology and true human interaction. Efficient plastic surgery software can make it easier for your staff to focus on patient encounters that boost engagement and satisfaction. In other words, technology can boost efficiency, but should never completely replace human interaction. An almost fully automated practice could be seen as unrealistic and impersonal. Instead, adopt the right plastic surgery software tools to help you streamline your workflow without leaving patients feeling left out. Finding the right combination of automation and personal touches can help you excel at engaging with patients.

Plastic Surgery Software Can Make More Sense

While you’re searching for the best plastic surgery software for your office, why not choose EHR and practice management systems designed by plastic surgeons, for plastic surgeons?

It can mean the difference between working for your software versus your software working for you. In addition, such software can help you achieve the patient engagement and patient satisfaction you’re seeking — by offering options that include many of the features outlined in this blog post. Learn how plastic surgery software could enhance your patient relationships.

This blog is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, medical or consulting advice. Please consult with your legal counsel and other qualified advisors to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.