How to Enhance Patient Experiences at Large Chiropractic Practices

The consolidation of chiropractic care into mega-practices with multiple locations offers attractive opportunities to generate more revenue while also increasing patient satisfaction. But if you are not careful, it can also lead to inefficiencies that push you in the opposite direction.

The risk of this happening lies in the inability to unify patient experiences from one practice to the next, so patients—like customers of fast-food chains or department stores—know exactly what to expect, wherever they are.

No matter the business, uneven patient journeys take a toll. They can cost you big money by triggering poor reviews and referrals. But with so much happening in the daily operations of your practices, how can you see the bigger picture and uniformly enhance the patient experience across multiple locations?

Integrated practice management systems with electronic health records provide part of the answer. These provide opportunities to introduce uniform processes, leveraging the power of automation to streamline areas such as scheduling, billing, overall patient care, and other factors.

The benefits of unifying patient experiences can gather momentum, resulting in increased caseloads, revenue, and profitability. Happier patients mean a greater likelihood of positive reviews and referrals.

Enhancing Patient Experiences across Multiple Chiropractic Locations

One of the main objectives of large multi-location practices is to deliver greater convenience to patients in terms of geographic flexibility, additional appointment availability, and dependable and predictable care.

Succeeding in each of those points calls for creating a consistent experience across various locations. But that’s easier said than done. How do you identify the challenges? Where do you direct your focus first? How do you know if you are succeeding?

Consider emphasizing these three aspects of your operation when building a consistent patient experience across your multi-site practice.

Scheduling

Technology has turned the tables on legacy business practices by providing customers with more control over the terms of engagement.

In this environment, customers—patients—both demand and expect frictionless experiences. They want their interactions to be easy and trouble-free, particularly when it comes to scheduling. The ability to schedule appointments when you want, where you want, and with the provider you want is a crucial element of a successful large multi-site chiropractic practice. But without a uniform scheduling system across multiple locations, you may be missing opportunities to accommodate patients, especially at busy times.

Instituting systems that enable patients to book their appointments in real time based on the availability of doctors on staff or the appointment type is an essential step in uniformly enhancing patient experiences across locations.

A uniform system means patients can see who is on duty and which locations have availability, rather than face long waits. They have choices. Make it easy for them to find appointments that work for them, and you’ll lower the risk of them getting frustrated and finding a different provider.

Billing

The complicated interplay between healthcare providers and health insurance is confusing in the best of circumstances. Patients rely on their providers and their staff for help in making sure visits are correctly coded and claims are submitted on time so they only pay what they owe.

Without uniformity in billing and reimbursement processes across offices, chiropractors risk creating uneven and frustrating experiences for patients. One office might submit claims to insurance differently than the others, leaving patients frustrated. Another may be on a different cycle for mailing bills, leaving patients with a surprise excess bill.

A single true multi-site practice management and EHR system can dramatically streamline billing and eliminate a few of these headaches. The right systems can also help you keep your own accounts up to date so you know what you need to collect and when.

Coordination of Care

Chiropractic offices are busy places that see many patients each day. Some locations in your network might have processes that seamlessly enable patients to move from the waiting room to the treatment room. Others may be less effective, leading to longer wait times.

Increasingly, patients are depending on their various doctors to make sure other providers are kept informed. Many chiropractic patients face an assortment of health challenges. For instance, a car accident victim may need head or neck surgery and then require follow-up care with the chiropractor or coordination with counselors.

Establishing uniform standards for coordinating care and communication across large practices is another way of improving the patient experience. A single practice management system can help by making sure all records are updated at once and are accessible across the network, no matter which location a patient decides to visit.

How ChiroSpring Improves the Patient Experience

ChiroSpring is an EHR/practice management system that provides large practices with the tools to enhance chiropractic patient experiences.

The application provides true multi-location support, delivering agility and flexibility in how you operate your practice. The CHIROSPRING application includes online scheduling modules that improve the appointment-setting process, streamline the billing process, and enhance in-office efficiencies for coordination of care and patient experience.

ChiroSpring is an all-in-one practice management and EHR system built specifically for chiropractors to help them regain face-time with patients, spend less time on back-office tasks, maintain a limited staff, and save operational costs.

To see how ChiroSpring can help you simplify how you manage your practice, reach out to one of our specialists today!

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