QLess Shares Tips with Healthcare Facilities for Improved Patient Care

QLess, the global leader in mobile technology that eliminates physical lines and waiting rooms, today released tips for improving patient care in the healthcare industry. With new findings from a ClickSoftware study revealing that Americans feel healthcare is one of the country’s most frustrating industries—due to the amount of hours spent waiting to be served—QLess’ expert advice is centered on the adoption of cost-efficient technologies that better manage medical appointments and improve patient satisfaction.

“Nearly one in four patients echo the same complaint when visiting an urgent care center, hospital or their primary care physician: time spent waiting, waiting and waiting some more before they are seen,” said Alex Bäcker, co-founder and CEO of QLess. “Long waits at medical offices create an awful first impression and a stressful atmosphere that also adversely effects staff. Worst of all, the long waits and the resulting issues can be easily avoided with mobile technologies.”

More than half of the respondents in the ClickSoftware survey, which was conducted by Harris Poll, indicated that the most important change companies can make to improve services is providing customers with more frequent and exact estimate arrival times via their preferred method of contact. To address this request and enhance overall customer service strategies, QLess has released the following tips:

–          Self-Assessment—the first step to zeroing in on problem areas is to recognize them. Healthcare facilities must survey and listen to patients and team members about operations and office flow. Track patient care by observing how long the average patient waits for help, as well as how much time staff is allocated to speaking with—or calming down—patients who are waiting.

–          Automate patient services—leveraging Electronic Health Records (EHRs) should remain a priority among healthcare decision makers, as the digital format can improve practice operations, opening up time to better serve patients. According to HealthIT.gov, 79 percent of providers using EHRs reported more efficient practice functions.

–          Allow patients to wait for services, however and wherever they choose—eliminate physical waiting times through a patient-friendly mobile queue system. With QLess’ patented, cloud-based virtual line technology, patients check into an appointment by adding their name to a virtual queue—from any phone, the Web, a tablet and more—and continue about their day until notified that their turn is approaching. Real-time wait forecasts and text message alerts are sent to the patient, flagging when it’s time to be served. Not only does the technology reduce congestion, it allows offices to deliver service on schedule while decreasing patients’ perceived wait time.

–          Pay attention to Yelp reviews and social media conversations—it is crucial to monitor online conversations, while encouraging patients to voice positive experiences. Healthcare offices should proactively ask for a Yelp review and reach out to any patients who were involved in a negative situation.

–          The Golden Rule: treat patients how you want to be treated—whether a healthcare practice takes care of five or 50 people a day, the patient should feel like they are the only one there. Reward staff members who consistently give patients a positive experience—it may include spotlighting their performance at the office, giving a bonus, or simply paying for lunch.

Linda Ratner, executive director of Impact Urgent Care, recently implemented QLess’ best practices for improving patient care by adopting its wait management technology. Using QLess, the facility eradicated its overcrowded waiting rooms and experienced a 20 percent increase in patient satisfaction.

Ratner commented: “Patients often had to wait for two hours to see a doctor at our facilities. We were committed to find a way for patients to be more comfortable while they waited. QLess provides patients with the opportunity to stay home until they need to get to our clinic, and as such, we’ve eliminated the wait altogether. Thanks to digital technologies that streamline processes, like QLess, patients are happier and our practice is running a lot more smoothly.”

The average human spends two years of life waiting in line. QLess urges the healthcare industry to give precious time back to patients by taking the wait out of the waiting room. Visit www.qless.com to learn how healthcare practices can benefit from line-eliminating, mobile wait technology.

About QLess

QLess is the global leader in mobile wait management. The company helps organizations dramatically improve customer experiences by eliminating lines and offering convenient ways to make and manage appointments. QLess’ patented, cloud-based virtual line technology helps make businesses more profitable and efficient by improving productivity and aligning resources with customer traffic patterns. QLess clients span five continents and include government offices/DMVs, universities, urgent care centers, and local and multinational retailers, including Vodafone and T-Mobile. Organizations of all sizes offer QLess to customers through in-store kiosks, mobile phones, tablets, or websites. For more information, please visit http://www.qless.com.


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