A lot has changed during the past couple of years. Between COVID protocols and social distancing, people turned to online tools in record numbers. Healthcare is no different.
Patients now demand instant answers to their questions and the ability to schedule appointments online at their convenience and contact you when they want. This explains why 93% of consumers say they prefer to communicate with businesses via text.
As patient expectations have evolved, so has dental communication software. Here are some of the top dental patient communication software trends in 2022.
Enhanced Patient Communication
While most appointments were booked by phone in years past, today’s patients want online booking options and simple ways to communicate. They want to schedule appointments online and get instant answers to their questions without having to talk to someone, fill out a form, or wait for someone to get back to them.
Dental patient communication software has evolved to make this possible. Patients can interact with virtual assistants on a practice’s website or via text to make appointments and get answers to questions.
With TrueLark, you get a dental communication system that works 24/7 so you never miss a patient phone call again. If your front desk staff is busy or a call comes in after hours, TrueLark instantly engages with patients via text so they can book appointments online and get instant answers to questions.
Online Appointment Scheduling
Patients want to control their own schedules instead of being forced to commit to future appointment dates they may not be able to honor. Providing them with an easy way to schedule, change, or cancel appointments online gives them this ability.
Offering online appointment scheduling also gives your dental practices a significant competitive advantage. Only a quarter of dentists offer online scheduling, but 43% of patients say they look for doctors or dentists after hours. And making it easy for patients to book appointments online helps you fill up your calendar.
Modern dental communication software like TrueLark adds online scheduling to your website in minutes by dropping in a line of code. Patients can also access scheduling by text. TrueLark also integrates seamlessly with your practice management software and booking platforms to keep everything in sync.
Conversational AI
The best dental patient communication software uses conversational AI to handle more than 85% of patient inquiries without human intervention. This can significantly reduce the workload for your front desk staff so they can focus on in-person interactions and other tasks that help you grow your practice.
Conversational AI has evolved to the point where it is often difficult for patients to tell whether they are interacting with a bot or a person. Gone are the days of long phone trees and complex text chats. Today, natural language processing can define intent and sentiment in texts to provide relevant information in a natural-sounding way.
Collect Information Before Appointments
Another way that your dental communication system can help improve efficiency is by gathering information before appointments. For example, you can ask for payment and insurance information to save time during check-in and check-out.
Omnichannel Support
Today’s patients communicate differently. They may call or text, use a chat function on your website or communicate on social media channels like Facebook or Instagram. However they choose to communicate, you need a way to handle their queries efficiently and promptly.
Dental communication software like TrueLark provides complete omnichannel support, including AI-powered text messaging and messaging through Web Chat. By providing omnichannel communication options, you can engage with patients on their preferred communication channel.
You can also manage all of your social conversations in one place. For example, you can use the Contact Us button on social platforms, use a virtual front desk assistant to answer Facebook messages, and add your TrueLark text-only number to your Instagram account.
When patients reach out, they want immediate answers and do not want to wait for you to call them back. Your omnichannel virtual assistant can automatically answer their questions and book appointments for them.
Seamless Integration
You no longer have to juggle multiple platforms. Today’s modern dental patient communication software can integrate seamlessly with various practice management software, booking platforms, and marketing automation software.
TrueLark integrates with booking platforms such as:
- Planet DDS
- Eagle Soft
- Dentrix
- Open Dental
TrueLark also integrates with marketing automation software, including:
- HubSpot
- Zapier
- Gravity
- Instapage
Reporting and Notifications
The right platform lets you monitor patient communications and provide alerts if a patient specifically requests a callback or if your virtual assistant cannot provide the answer a patient needs.
TrueLark provides daily summary emails on who is calling, what calls have been handled, and more. You will be able to view all of your customer communications, text transcripts, and voicemails in one place.
Improve Patient Communications and Grow Your Practice
TrueLark provides effective, efficient dental communication software to improve patient communications, book more appointments, and grow your dental practice.
Do you want to learn how to use dental patient communication software to effectively engage today’s patients? Contact TrueLark at (408) 898-9660 or book a demo.
