Doctible is a leading patient engagement platform used by thousands of dental practices. The platform helps practices grow by increasing online visibility and automating patient communication.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Doctible realized that its customers were struggling to efficiently screen and intake patients. To address these pain points, Doctible has added a Virtual Waiting Room module to its dental software platform. Below, we provide an overview of this new product, its benefits, and share how you can begin using it at your dental practice.

“Our Patient Communicator platform is used by thousands of practices across the nation and the common theme we saw in the last few months was the use of texting to check-in patients for symptoms and asking them to wait in the parking lot,” says Doctible CEO, Ajit Viswanathan. “The waiting room as we know of is going to be a thing of the past for a period of time. Giving practices more efficient tools to manage the check-in process becomes critical as they ensure that their practices are safe and secure for each and every patient. Doctible’s Virtual Waiting Room plugs seamlessly into their workflow thereby giving them the peace of mind that patient flow is efficiently managed with the utmost regard for safety.”

Visit Doctible to learn more about their platform and see a live demo of the Virtual Waiting Room.

Table of Contents

• What is Doctible's Virtual Waiting Room?
• How Does the Virtual Waiting Room Work?
  • Patient Screening
  • Patient Check-in
• What Are the Benefits of Doctible's Virtual Waiting Room?
• How Can I Get Started Today?

What is Doctible's Virtual Waiting Room?

Doctible's Virtual Waiting Room is a software tool built to help practices streamline patient screening and the check-in process. Your team can create digital screening forms that are sent to patients via text message 24 hours prior to their appointments. The product includes a dashboard for your front office team to monitor progress and ensure that all patients have completed the necessary pre-appointment forms. In addition, it includes a button that allows your team to remotely notify patients that you are ready for their appointment to begin.

The goal of the Virtual Waiting Room is to help usher each practice into the contactless era needed to protect the safety of its employees and patients.

How Does the Virtual Waiting Room Work?

Doctible's Virtual Waiting Room automates patient communication in the 24 hours prior to each appointment. Below, we share a step-by-step breakdown of how the product works to standardize communication and save time for your team.

The patient experience begins with a screening questionnaire that they receive via text message 24 hours prior to an appointment. The questionnaire is completed by the patient and is visually represented to the practice staff on Doctible’s dashboard. Exception scenarios are also quickly displayed so that staff can take appropriate measures.

Patient Screening

The process begins 24 hours prior to each patient appointment. Doctible's system automatically texts each patient with a customizable screening form that you develop for your practice. For coronavirus, this form can include questions to gather information such as:

The screening form is completed on the patient's cell phone. When the form is completed, the results are available for your team to review.

Patients receive another text message one hour prior to their appointments. This text message asks patients if they have had any change in their responses since taking the screening the previous day. Symptom-free patients are instructed to text your practice when they have arrived for their appointment. This immediately updates the Doctible dashboard and alerts the staff so that they can visually see their patient flow.

Patient Check-in

As you can see below, the dashboard tracks which patients have completed their forms, confirmed that they are symptom-free, and arrived for their appointments. Using this dashboard, your team can click the 'Check In' button to let the patient know that you are ready for them to enter the practice and begin their appointment.

Once this 'Check In' button is clicked, patients will receive a final text message that lets them know you are ready for their appointment. From this point forward, the patient experience proceeds as normal.

What Are the Benefits of Doctible's Virtual Waiting Room?

Doctible's Virtual Waiting room is a valuable product with multiple benefits. The tool helps practices improve safety, streamline operations, and increase revenue. The top benefits of the Virtual Waiting Room include:

In addition, Doctible has plans to add more functionality to the product. In the future, this product will help front office staff manage daily tasks – for example, to capture missing patient information, remind patients of missing payments, or inform patients about current promotions.

How Can I Get Started Today?

The best way to get started is visiting Doctible to schedule a free demo of their platform. Their team can walk you through the product and help you determine if it's the right solution for your dental practice.

In addition to the Virtual Waiting Room, Doctible offers a wide range of patient engagement tools. This includes:

To learn more about Doctible, you can also read our in-depth Doctible review.