How Long Should Patients Wait on Hold for Medical Appointments?

Patients, like most people, feel their time is valuable. It is, after all, one of the commodities they can’t get back. When they call your office to schedule an appointment and find themselves on hold, they may feel that valuable commodity slipping away.

Statistics suggest that 60% of those on hold will wait for one minute before hanging up. Did they move on to another practice? You’ll never know.

And what is the experience for the patients waiting? Are they listening to catchy on-hold music, wondering when it will end? Are they left with a first impression that could be better?

What about your established patients? If they’re calling to set up a quick appointment, renew their prescription, or ask a question about their last visit, they may find a long hold time particularly frustrating.

Here, we’ll explore the hidden causes of patients waiting on hold and the technology solutions that can alleviate them.

Industry Benchmarks for Patient Hold Times

For those calling in, the average wait time in a doctor’s office varies. Some office staff pick up every call and then place the patient on hold. Others let the call go to voicemail.

According to WebMD Ignite, the average abandoned call rate for the healthcare industry is 5%. Although healthcare providers are in the low range compared to other sectors, they can still feel the effects. For instance, if their practice receives 500 calls a week and 5% of those calls are abandoned, it results in 25 missed calls every week.

If just half were calling to schedule a first-time visit and become a patient, that’s about 12 potential patients who may have headed to another physician. Reducing that abandonment rate to 3% would result in 7 missed potential new patients instead of 12 – an improvement of 5 additional new patients per week.

Sometimes, even more critical than missed new patient opportunities, lies the effect abandoned phone calls have on current patients. Whether their phone call revolved around scheduling an appointment, a concern about a current symptom, or a question regarding a prescription, the lack of access slowly erodes their trust and satisfaction.

The Hidden Causes of Long Patient Hold Times

So, why are patients waiting and having trouble reaching a real person in a timely manner? For many practices, the answer lies in inadequate staffing and the numerous tasks that the front office faces. From speaking with in-office patients to answering online queries, scheduling appointments, conducting follow-ups, and performing administrative duties, their days are filled to overflowing.

The Medical Group Management Association reported on Valley View and its declining schedule utilization rates. They found their clinics’ missed call rates were extremely high, with some clinics experiencing 50% of their incoming calls going to voicemail.

Solutions for Medical Practices: Reducing Patient Hold Times

Valley View’s approach to addressing its patient access issue was to examine the data. When was the greatest number of missed calls occurring? Once determined, they provided additional support at this time through upstaffing and pausing other tasks. They also prioritized answering phones, even if they had to put the caller on hold. The key was ensuring they were not on hold for longer than 60 seconds.

They also turned to automated solutions, developing a phone tree that helped patients navigate to their desired destinations without requiring support from the front desk. The results included improved patient care, reduced patient waiting times, increased schedule utilization, and added revenue.

Technology Solutions

Automated IVR solutions ensure patients who call your office are directed toward the most efficient solution for their needs. When programmed correctly, these systems provide easy navigation, routing callers to the appropriate personnel or sharing the information they’re looking for in a recorded fashion.

Common support found in these systems includes refilling medications, paying bills, and scheduling appointments. Should they require the assistance of a virtual medical receptionist or nurse triage service, their call can be directed to notifyMD’s® professional staff.

Staffing Optimization

As Valley View did, find out when your practice experiences the highest call volume. Then, scale staffing to ensure an adequate number that can handle the incoming calls. Instead of hiring additional full or part-time staff, many clinics turn to a medical answering service.

This approach provides support for your team and a professional service for your patients. Trained in medical terminology and your office protocols, your virtual assistant acts as an extension of your team. Empathetic and caring, they make appointments, forward calls to the appropriate department or on-call provider, and answer general enquiries.

At notifyMD®, we provide immediate virtual assistance when you need it the most. Whether you’re looking for support during busy office hours, on holidays or weekends, or after hours, we provide exceptional service 24/7/365.

Process Improvements

Without the proper processes in place, a vicious cycle can ensue, with phone calls going to voicemail, return calls going to voicemail, and so on, until the patient potentially gives up somewhere in the process of trying to get through to a live person. Instead, train your office staff to handle patient calls promptly and with the same level of priority as an in-person visit.

If attending to an administrative duty, it’s best to pause to answer all calls. They can do this by placing the caller on hold for no more than one minute while finishing the task at hand. If it’s going to be longer, they can ask for a convenient time to return their call, ensuring they connect instead of playing phone tag.

The ROI of Investing in Better Phone Management

Phone management plays a critical role in patient care and effective communications. Communication is the foundation of a successful medical practice, influencing all metrics, from patient outcomes to profitability.

By implementing better processes, technology, and staffing improvements, your medical practice runs efficiently with streamlined communications, a positive work culture, and maximum productivity. Standardized procedures save time, and automated solutions free staff to focus on more complex tasks.

Creating a Better Patient Experience

At notifyMD®, we’re excited to be part of the solution, supporting the healthcare community in creating a better patient experience. The notifyMD® App gives our clients access to our services 24/7 and at a moment’s notice.

Are you experiencing an unexpected rush of calls on a Friday afternoon? When the front office staff receives more calls than they can handle, the office manager can request our services instantly.

Immediately, our virtual assistants provide the support you need to ensure the highest quality of patient care and communications. If a patient requires the support of a qualified registered nurse, they can forward their calls to your on-call provider or our dedicated nurse triage team.

Are you ready to create a better patient experience? To learn more about our medical answering and nurse triage services, contact notifyMD® today.