According to Canalys.com, the Apple App Store and Google Play each boast more than 800,000 apps as of May 2013. According to Nielsen’s Q1 2013 report, smartphone users spend 87% of their app/web time using mobile apps. Every day more and more apps provide business solutions for everything from restaurants and banks to cosmetic companies and dental offices. Apps wouldn’t be so widely accepted from one business to another if they had no benefits. Dentists who have incorporated this technology into their practices are seeing a change for the better, with faster growth and a more efficient and streamlined dental office experience.
Most dentists are spread too thin. When they chose to go to dental school, I’m sure they thought they would only be performing dentistry. I’m not so sure they realized they would be getting a crash course in business law and management, IT, marketing, accounting, and human resources when they started their practice. With so much to do, it’s inevitable that every practice will have some shortcomings. This is where mobile apps can help.
With a variety of dental apps on the market, it’s important to find or build one that is solution-based. It needs to have a purpose for monopolizing real estate on a person’s phone and needs to benefit the office. That’s why the leading dentists who have sought out such an app are able to increase their bottom line. They have created a more predictable and efficient dental office environment.
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Here are some mobile app features that can get similar results for your office:
1. Diagnostic and solution-based approach — Find or build a mobile app that will address the issues most dental offices experience on a daily basis. Collections, scheduling, emergencies, patient information, and appropriation of resources/staff time are some ideas. Identify the defect in your office system so that the app can assist. While the idea of owning an app is cool, an app that actually addresses dental practice needs will help dentists see a return on their investment.
2. Brings in money 24/7 — Today’s consumers are using the most convenient ways to pay bills, such as Pay Pal, online banking, and other “stamp free” methods. There’s no mailman, no delays, and no paper. It’s a good idea to incorporate a payment option through the app. By giving patients an option to pay you on their Smartphone, bills are paid faster and accounts stay more current. Research shows that simplifying the payment process will lead to more paid bills rather than delinquent accounts.
3. Increased patient retention — While sending out postcards and mailing “last call for dental insurance benefit” letters may work for your older clients, the growing number of patients connecting through technology is surpassing them. The digital world we live in is requiring dentists to change the way they communicate with patients. Once patients are connected to your office with an app, they immediately have access to all kinds of information and notices pertaining to their treatment without searching for it. The dental app icon alone is a subtle reminder to patients that it’s time to make an appointment, and that translates into dollars for your office.
4. Optimum scheduling for monetization — Scheduling appointments must accommodate both the patient’s time and the doctor’s daily financial goals. Apps have many capabilities when it comes to helping fill those treatment chairs. This can be something simple, such as an appointment request module where patients can simply request an appointment with their schedule specifications, or it can be more interactive, with the office sending out “push notifications,” which act like alerts when a last minute appointment time opens up. With a system like this in place, time is saved, communication is direct and clear, chairs are kept full, and it’s a win-win for both patient and office.
5. Increased practice visibility, market space, and growth — Word of mouth is still one of the best and most economical ways to get new business. Social media such as Angie’s List and Yelp are so wildly popular because they are like word of mouth, but through a megaphone. Anyone can share their opinions about a service or business, and everyone looking for that service or business will hear about it. If the opinions are good and plentiful, new business will be attracted. Using social media is so much more cost effective for getting new business than coupons, Groupons, email blasts, and other ways because it costs nothing. Having an app with a direct connection to an office’s social media outlet makes it effortless for patients to post. No more lost requests for testimonials from patients that need to get to a computer or don’t feel like “searching the web” for your listing.
6. Trust and comfort — People trust businesses that take the time to “keep up with the times.” Being a leader in the community and offering patients a mobile app shows that you care enough to give them the best service via the technology of their choice.
Tanya Stein, RDH, MS, is with Dental Anywhere Mobile Apps.
