Despite the diverse care options at CentralMed, the practice was finding it difficult to compete. “Many other urgent care clinics have opened in the area, some of them affiliated with large franchises. We are the only one offering a multi-modal approach, and are also the only minority-owned clinic of our kind. However, we still needed to differentiate our practice to attract new patients,” Dr. Lebarty says.
PatientPop website refresh
Dr. Lebarty learned about PatientPop’s reputation enhancement solution, and thought it might help make an impact on their practice. “We already had a web presence, but it definitely wasn’t what it should have been, and it wasn’t helping drive traffic to our clinic. I set up time with the PatientPop team and I suddenly realized what we had been missing.”
“The PatientPop team refined our existing website and made it much more user friendly. They took control of our online presence, and added online appointments and messaging. These features are very popular with patients and our staff. We’re able to respond to messages and comments immediately, so patients get the answers they need right away. This is particularly important in a specialty like urgent care,” he continues.
Dramatic growth, better patient engagement
Has Dr. Lebarty seen traffic changes since using PatientPop? “We are much busier than last year, even considering the effects of the pandemic. I attribute a lot of this to our improved web presence. Before, we had no idea how patients found us. Now we know exactly how many hits our website gets, and what percentage of those visitors make appointments. We now have reliable data to make good business decisions in the future.”
He’s convinced that online communications via PatientPop enhance quality of care. “We are much more engaged with patients because of our messaging capabilities. Our speedy replies demonstrate our commitment to fantastic service, a huge factor in attracting new business. My guess is that as many as half of our new patients choose us because of our website features and communications.”
The system has also made life easier for the clinic’s front desk. “About 50% of our patients now make their own appointments online. That translates into half as many phone calls, shorter wait times on hold for those who do call, and less hassle for our receptionist, who can now take care of other tasks,” he says.
Soaring star ratings
CentralMed uses PatientPop to solicit reviews by sending out surveys and ensuring that they can be found online. “We now have at least three times the number of reviews as before,” notes Dr. Lebarty. “Even better, our star ratings have gone up from 3.0 to 4.3 stars. I should really thank our PatientPop rep, because she predicted this would happen — and she was right.”
Kareo Interoperability
Dr. Lebarty had been a fan of Kareo’s EHR ever since he used it in a nursing home practice. So he adopted it from day one when he opened his own clinic. “We use just about everything that Kareo offers,” he says. “Kareo Clinical, Engage and Billing all work great and we heavily rely on e-notes and e-script every single day. The system is like second nature to me now. I’m very, very happy.”
He likes the fact that Kareo and PatientPop integrate seamlessly. “When patients request an appointment, the system sends them online intake forms, which auto populate into Kareo’s EHR. Although we still have to verify insurance status, the online forms save work for our front office staff and trim the time patients spend in the waiting room. Also, it’s very useful having all communications stored in the patient’s file for future reference.”
Solutions for the future
After growing up in a village in Nigeria, Dr. Lebarty has long dreamed of returning to help underserved populations. He is the founder and president of Project Health Africa, a nonprofit that will soon open its first clinic and provide equipment and supplies in rural areas. He hopes to use Kareo as the group’s EHR as they “work to save one life at a time.”
Dr. Lebarty says that he definitely recommends the software to other practices. “Every month Kareo and PatientPop come up with something new. They’re staying on top of all the changes in healthcare. I don’t know how I’d manage without them.”
