In an economic uncertainty, both consumers and businesses are feeling the pinch, and the medical industry is no exception. It goes without saying that saving on outgoings is a huge priority, and marginal changes in the way we interact in the mobile era are helping both consumers and businesses to do precisely that.
Increasing Productivity
In 2013, SMS marketing has a vital role to play in medicine, and there are a number of ways such services can improve the experience of the patient while simultaneously cutting costs for the practice. One in particular is a deceptively simple solution to one of the biggest problems in the medical industry in terms of cost: missed appointments.
Texting a patient to remind them of an upcoming appointment serves to essentially increase productivity levels, as it helps to reduce the number of missed appointments, and therefore the level of wasted working hours.
The beauty of SMS reminders is that they are instantaneous, and can be delivered at any time of the day. Patients can be contacted in order to remind them of an upcoming appointment hours, days or even weeks in advance, for much less than the cost of sending a letter – of which there’s no guarantee of arrival or receipt.
Seasonal Marketing
The medical industry is one of many which can make use of seasonal text message marketing. As winter rolls in, contacting patients to inform them that it’s time for an annual flu shot can help to increase the uptake in the number of people purchasing the vaccine. This can also be mirrored during the summer, where SMS marketing can be used to inform patients that they may be at risk of infectious diseases if they are intending to visit more tropical climes without the recommended vaccinations.
The New Year is a particularly lucrative time to use SMS services to promote healthy living campaigns. Statistically, more people are more likely to attempt to kick their bad habits at the beginning of January than at any other time of year, making it the perfect opportunity for the medical industry to use SMS marketing to promote smoking cessation methods and ways to become more active.
Streamline the Courier Service
By improving the communication process within a courier service can save both parties time, and time is money. By being informed of delivery dates, times and status the whole procedure can be streamlined without wasted effort
Patient Interaction
Communication via SMS is a two-way street, and text messaging is also changing the way in which patients interact with their healthcare professionals. It’s a method which is put to particularly good use for certain conditions.
One such example involves patients living in remote areas. Previously, a rural patient with an on-going medical condition such as diabetes might have required regular visits from a doctor in order to take blood sugar measurements. With the advent of text communications, it’s now possible for the patient to relay blood sugar readings and receive advice regarding medication levels via SMS, negating the need for a GP to physically visit the patient.
It’s ultimately small cost-saving measures like this which can save the medical industry significant amounts in the long-term. It’s safe to say that SMS has a healthy future in medicine.
Patient Feedback
In order to improve your customer service and referral rate, medical businesses can use text messages to obtain feedback from patients. TextSurvey is a great way to run Friends and Family campaigns, interact with recent patients, and get objective constructive feedback for improvements.
Call TextAnywhere on 08451 221 302 for more information.