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Bottom Line Edited by Dennis Shepard, MDOnline Appointment Scheduling Takes HoldOnline software lets your patients schedule their appointments, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Michael
Beime, What does that patient do? Better yet, what can you do about it? Meet www.jacknabbit.com. The Seattle-based service lets consumers schedule appointments with subscribing businesses—be they ophthalmologists, golf centers, hairstylists or auto mechanics—through the Web. Your staff can focus on something more productive than scheduling appointments, and prospective or long-time patients will appreciate the convenience.  Jacknabbit.com offers Web-based online scheduling services. Its software is free and the company charges 50 cents per appointment made. How it Works The process begins at your website (or the one jacknabbit provides you), where the patient clicks on “nab an appointment.” Using scheduling software provided by jacknabbit, the patient clicks through a series of screens, selects the date and time of his appointment from the available options and lists the services he needs. It takes about 10 seconds and does not require callbacks confirming times. The patient receives instant confirmation and e-mail reminders from jacknabbit as his appointment date approaches. (After booking an appointment, Microsoft Outlook users have a link that automatically copies the schedule to their Outlook calendar.) The booking information is available to you immediately, and in “real time.” You can sign up for the scheduling service right from the jacknabbit site in less than 10 minutes. After you set up your office hours, services and so on with jacknabbit.com, you will manage all scheduling activity from your office or anywhere you have access to the Internet, and have one source of real-time appointment information. You and your patient may also refer to his “personal appointment history” list, helping to recall times and details of previous visits. “We are allowing customers to schedule their appointments in the most efficient way possible,” says Dick Schulenberg, CEO of jacknabbit.com. “The versatility of jacknabbit.com allows it to be used anywhere, at anytime, by anybody.” While the software and the first 60 days are free, the company charges a $100-per-month minimum up to 200 transactions, and 45 cents a transaction on a decreasing sliding scale after that. You will be billed monthly on this per-transaction basis. The service is free for your patients. Also a Marketing Tool Jacknabbit recently announced an alliance with Internet giant InfoSpace, thereby extending its scheduling technology to InfoSpace’s extensive network of regional phone companies, wireless carriers and websites. Once your jacknabbit.com-enabled practice is located in a search through InfoSpace’s infrastructure services for wireless devices, your office may be a click away. This may also come in handy for anyone who wants to schedule an appointment quickly in other service-based industries such as automotive centers, medical laboratories and clinics, vacation resorts and equipment rentals. You can manage appointments from your office, your home or anywhere you have access to the Internet. Reaching Patients The service was officially launched this year on Leap Day (the firm’s logo is a jumping white rabbit) and is in direct response to a rapidly growing trend in online scheduling. While it is estimated by jacknabbit.com that thousands of businesses will employ this service in 2000, the company has identified 2 million businesses that could benefit from real-time scheduling. This is due, in large part, to its cost- and timesaving natures. “The technology in jacknabbit.com is filling a simple e-commerce need,” says jacknabbit.com president Warren E. Aut, a retired Navy admiral. “We’re reaching service-based businesses striving to find a clearer link to their increasingly Internet-savvy customers.” Security Features Only you and jacknabbit.com will be able to access your information. A login ID and password are required to gain access to the site. All sensitive data such as credit card numbers is encrypted. And speaking of security features, you’re probably in very good hands with jacknabbit. As commander for Fleet Air Mediterranean, Admiral Aut was responsible for all U.S. air operations in that region, overseeing 20,000 sailors and a boatload of ships. For more information, call (877) NAB-TIME or visit www.jacknabbit.com. |