Abstract
Patient appointments are the gateway to your practice’s revenue. If scheduling and appointments aren’t managed well, you’re going to have holes in your schedule…and your bank account. The pitfalls of patient scheduling–no shows, forgotten appointments, and cancellations–negatively impact the smooth running of your practice and your bottom line. Getting on top of scheduling means you’re going to have to proactively manage your patient flow. With new technologies and expanded functionality, practice management systems for scheduling have the ability to keep your practice and your patients on track.
5 Key strategies to enhance your scheduling process, step 2 of 5
2. The legal risks of missed appointments
Missed appointments and failing to schedule follow-up appointments are responsible for another unwelcome problem: legal risk.
Medical liability experts say missed appointments and failing to follow up poses some of the greatest legal risks for physicians.1 Additionally, missed appointments seem to be on the rise, as team-based care becomes more popular, and patients are referred to a larger number of healthcare professionals.
In a survey of 723 patient care sites by the medical liability insurer The Doctors Company, 53 percent of respondents said referrals and scheduling follow-up appointments were their top risk-management problems. According to legal analysts, taking the steps to improve follow-up care can prevent lawsuits and save physicians significant time and expense. Doctors should start by pinpointing holes in their staff communication systems and ensuring that appropriate actions are taken after missed appointments. The physician, office manager and staff should all be involved in uncovering areas in the practice that could create liability risks.2
The expense and legal liability of poorly managed appointments are problems that are forcing private practices to look at advanced scheduling solutions that provide electronic reminders and convenient patient portals.
Learn more about how AdvancedMD will improve your scheduling process. Schedule a no-commitment personalized demo of the AdvancedMD.
