5 Strategies to Improve Patient Intake Efficiency

With long patient wait times being associated with higher dissatisfaction and even worse patient outcomes[²], digitalization is necessary for greatly reducing wait times and streamlining the patient intake process. The clear solution moving forward is utilizing technology such as virtual waiting rooms to navigate the patient intake process. Virtual waiting rooms are a service that can be accessed by patients completely digitally, whether in the form of an app on their phone or through their computers or tablets. It empowers patients to use their own devices to complete self-check-ins, fill out forms, communicate with their providers, and receive instructions before ever stepping foot in a clinic or hospital – and it can be used for virtual consultations as well. Allowing bidirectional patient messaging through virtual waiting rooms would greatly cut down on patient wait times. In order to transition to a virtual care model where virtual care becomes a financially viable form of patient visits, provider groups must inevitably deal with the virtual waiting room technological challenge.