In this 3-part series, we’re sharing the top best practices for managing your waitlist and filling appointment cancellations.
In part one, we shared two best practices to help fill appointment cancellations. In this post, we we’re revisiting one of those–the mode of communication. Based on our data, text messaging (SMS) is the best method of communication and results in the highest rate of response and appointment confirmation.
Today, we’re exploring mode of communication in more depth and examining which mode shows the best results based on one particular patient demographic –age.
Based on volume, we see the highest percentage of accepted offers occur via text message. However, if we look at every outgoing message and examine how many acceptances we receive for each, it reveals a very different story. The better performing mode of communication isn’t always text messaging.
Data has shown, again and again, that overall, response rates are better for text messaging versus voice messages, particularly in healthcare when it comes to appointment reminders. How, then, can we explain the above data that shows voice messages performing much better than text for offer acceptance?
Age greatly affects offer acceptance based on the mode of communication. The average age for patients receiving messages via voice is 72, whereas the average age for patients receiving messages via text is 43.
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There are likely several very different characteristics that can explain why voice offers are seeing a better acceptance rate with the older population including an urgency for needing an appointment and a greater level of schedule flexibility. The below graph shows the percent of waitlist offers accepted via either text message or voice, split out by age groups. As you can see, there is a higher proportion of waitlist offers accepted via phone call among the older populations.
The below graph further supports these findings. The graph shows the raw number of offers accepted based on age for all modes of communication. In general, we see a greater number of offers accepted among patients age 50 and up.
So, while text messaging continues to perform better overall, it’s important that you understand your patient demographic before choosing your primary mode of communication. If working with the older population (65 years and up), voice messages should be a significant part of your communication plan for managing your wait list and filling appointments.
Our products are optimized for communication that is best suited for your patients. So, if you’re looking to improve your patient communication and save time managing your wait list, contact us today to find out how we can help!
Looking for more best practices for managing your waitlist? Check out part one and part three.
Tashfeen Ekram, MD, is a radiologist, self-taught coder, healthcare innovator and Co-Founder of Luma Health. Contact him on Twitter at @tashfeenekramMD.