In the healthcare industry, optimizing the patient onboarding process is essential to ensure efficient and quality care delivery. However, it comes with some challenges, like time-consuming documentation, incomplete information and ineffective communication, resulting in incomplete patient files. 

Onboarding via SMS

Using Infobip self-service, you can easily adress these challenges and streamline the new patient onboarding process by sending your patients an SMS a link to an online patient form and reminding them beforehand of the documentation they need to bring to their appointment. 

Requirements

1. Infobip Self-Service Platform:  

Sign up for an Infobip account if you don’t already have one. You can create and try it out for free. You will need access to Infobip’s services and API.

2. Web Server or CRM

A web server to host the online patient forms and receive data from patients or a CRM for healthcare providers.

3. Appointment booking system

An online system you use for booking appointments. If you don’t have one, you can send out messages manually through Infobip self-service instead of automating the process.

Implementation 

1. Infobip integration

There are several ways to integrate Infobip solutions. Follow Infobip’s API documentation to integrate our messaging API into your existing application. Use the provided API credentials (API key, secret) for authentication. You can also look at this tutorial to learn how to do it with one of our SDKs. 

Alternatively, you can use the Infobip self-service solution to use a no-code SMS solution.

2. Create Online Patient Forms

Develop online patient forms using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ensure the forms collect necessary patient information (personal, medical, consent forms, etc.) as required by your clinic. 

3. Link Generation in Appointment Booking System

Modify your appointment booking system or CRM to generate a unique link to the patient form upon appointment booking. Incorporate this link into the confirmation message that will be sent to the patient via SMS or WhatsApp. 

4. Send Confirmation Message

Upon appointment booking, trigger an SMS message to the patient using Infobip’s API, containing the link to the online patient form. Personalize the message with the patient’s name and appointment details. 

6.  Compliance 

Ensure compliance with data protection regulations, especially when handling patient data. 

Bonus Idea:

Integrate an SMS/WhatsApp reminder for upcoming appointments into your booking system to reduce the number of no-shows!

Benefits of SMS onboarding

Efficiency: The new patient onboarding process becomes significantly more efficient, reducing in-office paperwork and administrative overhead. 

Improved Patient Experience: Patients appreciate the convenience of filling out forms online, reducing wait times and potential errors. 

Enhanced Data Accuracy: Real-time data transfer improves the accuracy of patient records, reducing errors and ensuring better care. 

Reduced No-Shows: Proactive communication allows clinics to remind patients of their appointments and request necessary documents, reducing the number of missed appointments. 

Time and Cost Savings: The streamlined process reduces administrative workload, allowing the clinic staff to focus more on patient care.