Fewer no-shows, higher occupancy and lower costs with SMS appointment reminder service in GP practices.
A simple, short SMS message to remind patients of their GP appointments prevents missed appointments and the loss of valuable GP time. PharmaPartners has developed the SMS appointment reminder service to help GP practices keep their patients informed. To do this, PharmaPartners works in collaboration with Spryng. The result? Fewer absences, lower costs, streamlined work processes and optimal capacity utilization.
Spryng started 15 years ago to minimize absences in the healthcare sector by using simple SMS reminders. Naomi Vonk, Spryng’s Business Development Manager, is well aware of the benefits of PharmaPartners’ SMS appointment reminder service. Naomi: “In healthcare, an SMS reminder can make a big difference. By sending a reminder, healthcare providers save costs and optimize their work processes. Healthcare providers work more efficiently with the SMS appointment reminder service.”
PharmaPartners and Spryng have joined forces in 2018 to allow Medicom users to also benefit from Spryng’s SMS reminders by developing the SMS appointment reminder service.
To get started
The SMS appointment reminder service is a module that PharmaPartners developed specifically for Medicom users. A link to the GP’s calendar and the patients’ 06 numbers allows patients to be automatically reminded of their appointments. Naomi: “After installation, the care providers don’t have to worry about it anymore. The medical practice can easily define the desired text and choose the sender, for example the practice name.”
The SMS appointment reminder service was developed to help GP practices contact their patients. Naomi: “The reminder gives the patient the option to change or cancel the appointment. In this way, the medical practice can make targeted adjustments to capacity utilization and plan accordingly. Since people no longer forget their appointments, there is no need to reschedule them. This avoids long waiting lists. In short, GPs can manage their time better. Of course, it also saves a lot of money.
According to Naomi, the past year has proven once again that the digitization of healthcare is an increasingly urgent topic. “During the coronapandemic, we had to keep a greater distance and the pressure on healthcare increased greatly. PharmaPartners’ SMS appointment reminder service also addresses these issues. A text message to confirm an appointment time ensures that patients don’t arrive too early or too late. This makes it easier to regulate pressure in the waiting rooms. This SMS is sent automatically, so medical assistants do not have to set aside time for it. During the pandemic, the product was also used to share additional information about corona measures with patients and to confirm the vaccination appointment with the GP.”
A valuable means of communication
Although SMS has been around for more than 30 years, it remains a very effective medium, according to Naomi. “Today, everyone gets a lot of emails every day. As a result, confirmation of an appointment by e-mail quickly disappears in the daily flow, or ends up in spam. A confirmation by phone takes too much time for the care staff. An SMS stands out in our daily communication flow because we don’t use it so much in our private lives these days. Most people communicate via WhatsApp. The fact that SMS stands out is also reflected in the numbers. 98% of appointment reminders sent via SMS are opened, usually within three minutes of receipt.”
PharmaPartners chose to collaborate with Spryng because Spryng is the specialist in SMS services in the healthcare sector. Naomi: “Almost all hospitals in the Benelux use our services. We are the only SMS provider in Europe that is ISO 27001 and NEN 7510 certified, and Spryng’s customer data security and safety is 100% compliant with AVG guidelines. We also have years of experience in the industry. We know that the SMS appointment reminder service makes a big difference in GP care.”
Want to learn more?
Are you interested in an SMS service for your practice? Or do you already have an SMS service but want to get more out of it? Spryng takes stock of your situation and your wishes. Together we can work out a plan for a smooth communication system that will help your practice and your patients! You can also try the SMS service yourself, with a free trial account on Spryng. You can do so via this link. Would you prefer a no obligation offer? Request a quote here. Do you still have questions? Let us know, and our team will immediately get to work on your specific situation and possibilities. Because our goal is to make the care process easier with SMS services.
