Why a Patient Portal Isn't a Magic Pill for Patient Relations

Kiltesh Patel
July 11, 2018 | 2 min read

Why a Patient Portal Isn't a Magic Pill for Patient RelationsWhen it comes to building a practice and a dental business, we've talked a lot about patient communication. Communicating regularly with patients is how you'll reduce patient attrition, increase recall rates, build a culture of loyalty, and keep your practice growing. A number of platforms on the market claim to improve communication—from text messaging and email to reputation management and more. But there's one feature these platforms offer that is nothing more than a marketing ploy, and that's the patient portal.

Patients don't want a portal

Sure, it sounds sexy and exciting to offer your very own portal, but the reality is patients don't use it. In fact, tab32 used to offer a patient portal. But watching and talking with our customers showed us that a portal is fixing a problem that isn't there.

Your patients don't want to remember another password. They don't want to log in. And the responsible adult of the house doesn't want to have to keep track of those passwords and logins for everyone in their family.

Patients want clear communication

The problem the portal tries to address is simply communication. You want to offer your patients a place to get information and where you can remind them to come in for cleanings and unfinished treatments. The reality is that you can do all those things through phone calls, text messages, and email. Instead of putting the work on the patient to log in to their portal, you show them you actively care about their oral health.

tab32 allows you to communicate securely and regularly with your patients. You can set up automatic recall messaging, send custom messages, even find those with unfinished treatments and invite them back.

Build relationships, build your practice

The bottom line is that communication builds relationships. And in a day and age when a new dentist is a quick Google search away, you want that relationship. Creating that sense of belonging and trust between you and your patients is what will build a successful dental business. You won't do that when your idea of communication is a poorly designed and executed patient portal.

Meeting your patients where they are, taking a sincere interest in their health, and becoming a part of their lives will reap dividends. 

We'd love to show you how we've replaced a patient portal with better communication tools that mean more to your patients. Contact us today for a free, one-on-one demo:

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