Just imagine:
Scenario 1
A potential new patient has decided to make an appointment with his favourite doctor after doing some research on the internet. However, when he tries to contact the doctor, he only reaches the answering machine and is told that the practice will be closed for the next two weeks due to holidays. As he doesn't want to wait any longer to make an appointment, he contacts another practice.
Scenario 2
A patient who doesn't have a regular dentist (e.g. due to moving house) suffers from toothache and wants to visit a practice as soon as possible. During his lunch break, between 12 and 1 p.m., he quickly finds a practice on Google that he likes and tries to contact it by phone. Unfortunately, the practice is closed at lunchtime and is only available again from 2 pm. As he would prefer to see a dentist on the same day, he calls the nearest practice he finds on Google.
Both scenarios are not possible with regard to the Practice marketing-This is of course extremely annoying. After all, a lot of time, effort and money may have been spent on SEO invested in order to Practice homepage and to realise a convincing web design - the patient has therefore gone through a "longer" decision-making process and is now "lost" due to something as trivial as poor accessibility. The good news is that both scenarios are easily avoidable if the practice website has a Online appointment booking is offered.
BITKOM: One in eight people have already booked doctor's appointments online
That the Online booking of medical appointments A recent study by the digital association BITKOM shows that online appointments are playing an increasingly important role: "Although online appointments are still far from being possible with every doctor, 13 per cent of Germans have already used this option. A further 33 per cent can imagine doing so in the future. [...] One in ten consumers (10 per cent) have also already received text message or email reminders for appointments or due check-ups, and 49 per cent are interested in this service," reads the press release "One click to a doctor's appointment" from 7 September 2016.
Conclusion for practice marketing
Doctors who have a practice website should consider integrating an online appointment booking option. There are various options available to doctors to realise this:
1. specialised doctor appointment portals
like Doctolib or eTermio offer the option of making appointments directly on their portals, as well as a corresponding extension that can be easily integrated into practice websites. A small disadvantage is that such portals are not cheap and sometimes charge a fee for successful appointments. You can find more information on possible providers in our blog post Online doctor's appointments: Direct comparison of providers.
2. doctor rating portals
like Jameda now also offer the option of making appointments online. Here too, directly via the portal or via an extension on the practice homepage. The service is only available to premium customers. However, if you are already a premium customer, you should consider using the service.
3. provider of appointment scheduling software
such as Terminland.de are another and more cost-effective option. Here too, the software can be easily integrated into your own practice website.
4. classic practice software
can - depending on the provider and design - now also be used to offer online appointments on the practice website.
5. contact forms
The most cost-effective option is certainly to use a mobile phone, which patients can use to make appointment requests. However, they lack the character of an actual and "binding" appointment booking.
Do you need support in adding an online appointment booking option to your practice website?
We are happy to advise you → Get in touch.
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