Following the footsteps of the retail and finance industries, omnichannel healthcare is gaining traction. An omnichannel dental practice results in improved patient retention, increased revenue, and streamlined processes.
What is omnichannel?
Before we delve into what an omnichannel dental practice looks like, let’s talk about what omnichannel is. In Latin, “Omni” means “all.” Essentially, an omnichannel experience is seamless and consistent across all channels. This means whether through a brick and mortar location, by phone, online, or via social media, the quality of service is always the same.
An omnichannel dental practice helps create deeper relationships at all points of the experience, improving patient retention for your dental practice.
Patients expect an omnichannel experience
Patients may not recognize that they want an omnichannel experience, but the experience they’ve come to expect is an omnichannel one.
The dental experience is no longer as straightforward as it once was. Patient touchpoints start even before they step into your practice. Patients start researching their healthcare providers online; 90% of patients will choose another provider entirely if they don’t like what they see through online research. This is why dental marketing for your practice is critical.
Reminders to patients before their appointments are a given to reduce no-shows and late cancellations. However, these days, more and more dental practices are catering to their patients and contacting them through their preferred contact method such as text message or email.
The dental experience doesn’t end when the patient leaves the practice – follow-up calls, social media posts, and email marketing are all ways to keep top-of-mind and create lasting relationships with your patients across multiple channels.
The rise of the omnichannel experience was in response to how people interact with businesses these days. Patients want their dental experience to travel across devices and channels with them. And that’s the heart of omnichannel – a great patient experience that occurs across channels but ultimately feels seamless.
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What patients want
In an overall omnichannel healthcare experience, mobile is becoming increasingly important. Consider this information that was found in regards to hospitals:
- 44% of patients who found hospitals on their mobile devices booked an appointment
- 86% of physicians believe that mobile apps and devices will play a major role in their practices
- Almost 90% of millennials say their smartphone never leaves their side
In a related field, like dentistry, we can expect that similar figures would be found. What this means is that a mobile-optimized website or a mobile app for your dental practice takes higher priority than ever before.
In the age of instant gratification, convenience and speed will be rewarded. Patients want their healthcare interactions to be fast and easy.
Some tips to offer fast, convenient service:
- Optimize your dental schedule so that you don’t overbook and keep patients waiting
- Answer the phone within three rings or returning a patient’s missed call immediately
- Accommodate patients’ busy schedules by opening earlier or staying open later or on weekends
Value of an omnichannel dental practice
With an integrated dental software, you can significantly improve patient experiences at your practice and by extension, increase your revenue.
Consider this new patient experience at an omnichannel dental practice:
- Booking: A patient books their appointment online
- Pre-appointment: Patient receives a text message reminding them of their appointment
- Check-in: They get to the office and fill out their patient information on a kiosk tablet at the front desk
- X-rays: The dental assistant takes the patient’s x-rays with digital imaging technology, and the images are immediately transferred and appear on the dentist’s screen
- Treatment plan: Using the x-rays, the dentist explains to the patient the proposed treatment plan
- Payment: Up at the front, the office manager pulls up the treatment plan the dentist entered and lets the patient know how much the treatment will cost and how much their insurance will cover
- Follow-up: Post-appointment, the patient receives an email, thanking them for their business
The experience occurs across multiple devices and involves the integration of imaging and dental practice management softwares – but all the patient experiences is a smooth appointment.
Integrated dental software can enable omnichannel experiences
To be able to offer your patients an omnichannel experience, you need an integrated dental system that has all of your patient information and dental technology in the same place.
ClearDent has everything you need working together in one convenient place:
- Digital images: Integrated imaging software so that charts and images can be easily viewed and worked on side-by-side
- Patient notes: Clinical notes are easily created and stored securely after signing on patient files
- Documentation: Kiosks allow you to conveniently gather important patient documentation. Documents such as consent forms are generated in just a few clicks and stored securely
- Insurance: Accurate statement of coverage is received from the patient’s insurance company and updated in ClearDent in seconds
- Patient communication: ClearConnect is a patient communication system built directly into ClearDent for appointment confirmation, recall reminders, new patient welcome packages, real-time conversations with patients via 2-way text messaging, and more
- Payments: Recurring payments for large or ongoing procedures can be set up easily
An omnichannel dental practice provides a connected experience across the entire patient journey. An integrated dental software can help you provide exceptional, omnichannel patient care, setting you apart from the competition.
ClearDent can help you offer an omnichannel patient experience
