Step-by-Step Guide to Medical Appointment Scheduling

Understand the procedures, steps, potential risks, and requirements for medical appointment scheduling.

In today’s modern healthcare landscape, medical appointment scheduling is one of the most crucial components of a patient’s visit. Effective scheduling plays a significant role in the patient experience—because it can foster loyalty and engagement among patients. It can also increase staff productivity, decrease front office distractions, and reduce expenses. Furthermore, it can afford healthcare professionals additional time to complete other equally important responsibilities.

While the fundamental skill of medical appointment scheduling may not appear to be an exciting opportunity for emerging healthcare professionals, it’s a vital task that can shape the day-to-day performance of your practice. In fact, many Medical Assistants are trained to perform appointment scheduling duties across various environments.

This article provides a comprehensive guide on the art and science of medical appointment scheduling—one of the most essential healthcare procedures for medical staff.

(Click here to view our full list of the most common Medical Assisting duties and responsibilities.)

Medical Appointment Scheduling Definition

What Does It Mean to Perform Medical Appointment Scheduling?

Performing medical appointment scheduling involves allocating specific times for exams and handling customer service inquiries. It consists of a range of administrative tasks, such as wave scheduling, an appointment scheduling method that assigns patient appointments at the same time (e.g., several patients are scheduled at the top of the hour, and others at the bottom of the hour). This method helps eliminate schedule gaps due to no-shows or late arrivals—allowing flexibility for visits at different priority levels or varying complexity. A common variation is known as modified wave scheduling, a technique that groups multiple patients into a “wave” and schedules their appointments within a specific time slot, versus scheduling them individually.

Additional responsibilities for medical schedulers may include overseeing open bookings, managing double bookings, organizing or categorizing appointments, facilitating self-scheduling, and other related tasks. In some instances, medical schedulers may perform these duties across multiple offices.

What is the Purpose of Medical Appointment Scheduling?

Medical appointment scheduling aims to maximize resources, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the patient experience. By streamlining this process, patients will gain timely access to care, benefit from reduced wait times, and receive more thorough treatment—making them more likely to return to the practice. In addition, it allows the staff to determine whether a patient is eligible for insurance and effectively gather all required information in advance.

How Long Does It Take to Perform Medical Appointment Scheduling?

Medical appointment scheduling is an ongoing process that consists of several steps. That being said, the time it takes to schedule an appointment varies significantly. At the front-end of patient scheduling, it may only take a few minutes to book a patient. Alternatively, it could take weeks or even months to schedule a new patient with a specialist. It’s also important to take into consideration the time needed for the insurance verification process and other backend tasks, such as data processing, for example.

Who Can Perform Medical Appointment Scheduling?

While several healthcare professionals may be qualified to schedule medical appointments, it’s typically a task that’s reserved for Medical Office Administrators (MOAs). MOAs are multi-competent health professionals who play a crucial role in organizing and managing data in a medical office. They are also referred to as medical records and health information technicians.

(Click here to learn how to become a Medical Office Administrator.)

In many healthcare offices, Medical Assistants are also responsible for creating and maintaining a daily or weekly schedule of appointments. Furthermore, they frequently prepare copies for providers and other healthcare professionals.

(Click here to learn how to become a Medical Assistant.)

Training Requirements for Medical Appointment Scheduling

The training requirements for medical appointment scheduling can vary—and may be based on your location or profession. Aspiring healthcare providers will typically receive this training through their educational programs. Most aspiring MOAs in the U.S. require a postsecondary certificate, while some employers may also require an associate degree. Formal training can generally take anywhere from nine months to two years to complete, depending on the program type.

At Unitek College, we offer a Medical Assisting Program that could give you a strong advantage, both in the field and/or when applying to healthcare positions. Our curriculum encompasses subjects such as medical office administration, healthcare law, pharmacology, diagnostic imaging, professional ethics, and more.

Medical Appointment Scheduling Procedure

Medical Appointment Scheduling Steps

Healthcare professionals should follow these recommended steps for efficient patient scheduling:

1. Segment patient scheduling into two blocks of time.
   A best practice is to schedule morning appointments from noon backward, and afternoon appointments from noon onwards. Establishing this as the benchmark can help you sustain maximum productivity—ensuring most of the day has been scheduled for patients. Pro-tip: Coordinate with leadership and team members to potentially use any empty time slots for staff meetings, overflow, or last-minute appointments.
2. Implement patient self-scheduling.
   Studies have shown that most patients prefer to schedule their appointments online, versus dealing with potentially long hold times and arduous scheduling processes. According to a recent article from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), nearly 90% of patients would choose a provider based on self-scheduling options. In today’s digital age, it behooves healthcare practices to invest in online scheduling systems, which also provide greater convenience for both patients and providers.
3. Prioritize appointments whenever possible.
   Patient visits often vary in the level of care required and the time that’s required. Therefore, it’s important to take these factors into account when scheduling appointments. While some patients may require same-day appointments, other issues can often be addressed through a simple phone call or email.
4. Send appointment reminders via both text and email.
   Use a top-rated appointment reminder software system that’s HIPAA compliant to ensure a greater number of kept appointments and on-time arrivals. No-shows are both costly and inconvenient, especially when a provider is particularly busy and has a good-sized waitlist.
5. Establish a patient waiting list.
   Last-minute cancellations are frustrating; however, a patient waitlist can help make the best of this lost time. In fact, it doesn’t have to be “lost time” at all. Employ a patient scheduling platform that allows access to a waitlist of people who are ready to be notified. That way, you can send a mass notification via text and email when there’s an open slot—saving the practice both time and money.
6. Utilize an automated patient recall system.
   Implementing a patient recall system ensures that patients return for their routine appointments and follow-up visits—maintaining a more consistent and full schedule. It can also help bring patients back to the practice, particularly if they haven’t seen the provider in years. Choosing the “best” patient recall system depends on your practice’s individual needs.

Necessary Equipment for Medical Appointment Scheduling

The equipment needed for scheduling medical appointments includes, but is not limited to, the following items:

• Computer: A reliable computer is essential to accessing scheduling and patient management systems.
• Software: Practice management software is needed for scheduling, billing, and access to patient health and medical records.
• Printer/Scanner/Fax: Most printer models now offer all-in-one capabilities. Many healthcare practices still use fax machines for sending and receiving medical information.
• Phone: A multi-line phone system is recommended for more effective patient scheduling.
• Internet: It’s important to have a stable internet connection for seamless connectivity of all network systems.

Potential Risks or Complications of Medical Appointment Scheduling

Some of the potential challenges that practices face with an appointment scheduling system include an inconsistency in the quality of service, loss of patient or provider preferences, lack of experience of the scheduling staff, and availability of information technology. In addition, overbooking and prolonged wait times can lead to patient frustration, anxiety, and walkouts.

This highlights the importance of hiring well-trained medical appointment schedulers who can accurately manage appointments. At the end of the day, the well-being of the patient, provider, and the healthcare system all depend on the efficacy of the scheduling staff.

Tips for Medical Appointment Scheduling

Following these tips may enhance your scheduling process and help mitigate potential risks:

• Monitor cancellations whenever possible.
  Taking note of patient cancellations will help you identify patterns, such as frequent cancellers. For instance, some patients might not be as comfortable with morning appointments. Others may need to cancel evening appointments due to unexpected work or family obligations. If you notice that a patient cancels more than two appointments for the same reason, you might tactfully suggest that they schedule appointments at times that are more suitable for them.
• Add a buffer time between each appointment.
  If possible, it’s best to pad each appointment by about 10 minutes. This extra time allows healthcare providers to write up any patient notes, sterilize the room, use the restroom, etc. Furthermore, the following patient will appreciate their provider arriving on time.
• Remember to relay no-show and cancellation policies to patients.
  Patients must review these policies in writing before their appointments. Some providers may charge a fee for no-shows, though this is often case-by-case. If you do charge patients, it’s always best to have a policy in place.
• Collect and assess patient data.
  To reduce wait times and maximize productivity, it’s essential to determine the causes of any bottlenecks occurring at the facility. Analyzing baseline data may help you understand which appointments or patients require more time than allotted. Ultimately, this will help you identify important trends and proactively address them.
• Ensure you are strategic if you double-book patients.
  A strategic approach to double-booking patients involves what’s known as predictive double-booking—a method that uses data analytics to predict patient no-shows. But whether you’re using this method or not when booking, the types of appointments you combine matter. For example, a new patient visit and a walk-in could be simultaneously overseen—because one healthcare professional could initiate the patient intake process for the new patient while the physician attends to the walk-in. Afterward, the physician can examine the new patient after completing their intake process. However, this process would not work in the case of two new patient visits.
• Always look for ways to improve the process.
  Remember, there are always ways to enhance efficiency within a medical office. For example, if you observe that your patient schedule is too full, or not full enough, be sure to bring this issue up at your next staff meeting. You may also want to mention which specific days have a more inconsistent schedule. Keep in mind that data is paramount to the success of your practice.

Why Should Medical Assistants Learn How to Perform Medical Appointment Scheduling?

It’s highly advantageous for Medical Assistants to learn how to schedule medical appointments, primarily because it’s a key component in the success of any healthcare system. Thanks to the efforts of MAs and other medical appointment schedulers, physicians can effectively maximize the time spent with each patient and provide a better service to the public overall.

While medical appointment scheduling isn’t always a job requirement, Medical Assistants are often responsible for at least some of the tasks in this realm. Scheduling is a simple yet valuable skill that can lead to more significant opportunities. Therefore, pursuing proper training is valuable for MAs—because it could lead to greater responsibilities, and potentially make them an indispensable employee.

Start Your Career in Medical Assisting

The ability to perform medical appointment scheduling tasks is a crucial skill that aspiring Medical Assistants should learn for their careers. Additionally, it serves as a vital practice for the sustainability of most healthcare providers, including physicians, hospitals, clinics, and various medical systems.

It goes without saying that medical appointment scheduling plays a key role in maintaining the overall health of patients as well as the efficiency of healthcare providers. By supporting physicians throughout this process, Medical Assistants can contribute to reducing patient wait times, increasing satisfaction rates, and accomplishing more tasks.

If you’re feeling inspired and want to pursue a career in healthcare, Unitek College offers various healthcare programs, such as our Medical Assisting Program.

Contact us today to learn more about our programs and tuition assistance options for eligible students—and take the first step towards a rewarding future in healthcare!