Canceled appointments can cost your medical practice millions over the course of a calendar year. Patient no-shows cost the U.S. healthcare system $150 billion each year, according to one estimate reported in the Post Gazette.
While there are plenty of medical software programs out there, you may still not have the money or budget for an appointment scheduling system if you’re running a small practice. In this list, you’ll find some alternative software solutions that can greatly benefit your practice and put more money back in your business. The great thing about each of these software solutions is that you’re still able to follow and maintain the PCI HIPAA BBB regulations.
Acuity Scheduling
The free version of Acuity Scheduling comes with unlimited appointments. It makes schedule appointments for new and existing patients quick and easy. Since it is not designed with medical practices in mind, the free version comes with stripped-down features. For example, the ability to sync your schedule with Google Calendar is available on the paid version, so users on the free version will have to do more work to block off the Acuity calendar.
Appointy
Apppointy is available for use on a wide variety of operating systems and is even available for mobile devices. The free version includes five services, one staff seat, and unlimited bookings. Since the free version is ad-supported and feature-limited, paid versions start at $19.99 per month. While the free version doesn’t come with individual staff logins or unrestricted Google Calendar linking, it makes up in its SMS reminders.
ClickBook
ClickBook is free for one user or one physical practice. It also comes with 50 or fewer bookings. It’s one of the most affordable software programs that benefit medical practices of all kinds. Since the free version supports ads, the paid version starts at $19.95 per month. However, the free version is only for one user and the software wasn’t made with the healthcare provider in mind. It does provide features such as e-mail appointment reminders, smart scheduling, and recurring appointments.
PracticeSuite
This is one of the most robust software programs available. It can be integrated with any billing and practice management system. PracticeSuite comes with a wide variety of features and options for free users. It includes authorization utilization tracking, basic practice productivity reports, and customer superbills. Free users receive 25 electronic claims each month, including insurance and patient payment posting.
The ICD-10 and CPT coding provide a numerical list of codes by categories, chapters, and sub-categories. This is the only software program that offers unlimited chat support. There’s also a knowledge base that teaches you how to use the software. Even as your practice grows, you’re locked into the free option.
Sagenda
This free appointment scheduling program can be added to any website and maintains control of your internal scheduling. This software program is perfect for chiropractors, naturopaths, and practices. The great thing about this program is that it’s free to use and comes with an option to upgrade. This company makes most of its money by targeting large companies and enterprises.
While it’s not specifically for the medical industry, it’s beneficial for healthcare practices. This simple and clean interface will integrate into any iWeb or WordPress website. It also comes with features such as e-mail notifications and patient self-service. While this software is simple to use, it doesn’t provide recurring appointments.
While these software programs are totally free, they come with their share of pros and cons. It’s important to weigh these differences before choosing one of these software programs for your practice. Read reviews and speak to each of the vendors so you can choose the right software program for your medical practice.
