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Online appointment reminders reduce no shows
Online contacts with patients and appointment reminders reduce no-shows, said Stephen Malik, CEO of Medfusion, at the recent AAFP conference. Nationally, Malik said, the no-show rate averages about 10 percent. But the 4,500 physicians using the AAFP patient portal, he said, have an average no-show rate of only 4 percent.
Online contacts with patients and appointment reminders reduce no-shows, said Stephen Malik, CEO of Medfusion, at the recent AAFP conference. Nationally, Malik said, the no-show rate averages about 10 percent. But the 4,500 physicians using the AAFP patient portal, he said, have an average no-show rate of only 4 percent.
The AAFP recently formed a partnership with Medfusion to provide free Web sites to its members. MedFusion also offers secure patient portals that enable practices to do "virtual office visits" and process other online transactions with patients, including appointment and refill requests, bill payment, and lab result reporting. To receive "basic" MedFusion services, said Malik, physicians pay a $100 upfront fee plus $19 a month.
