Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Dish Ghose, Dazzling Smiles Dental, Craigieburn, VIC
Patient Discovery is a free service provided by Centaur Software online eAppointment service. Your practice is advertised for free on most major online medical directories such as HotDoc, HealthShare, MyHealth 1st, and National Dental Plan. By putting your practice in front of all these directories, you increase your online visibility with patients looking to make bookings.
What’s good about it
Placing your practice information on all these individual websites is a tedious and laborious task. With Patient Discovery, it’s a one-time thing. You enter all the details—the dentists working, the procedures you undertake, the opening hours, the practice address—and it’s distributed to all the directories.
The other big advantage is that it integrates with your online booking system. There’s no need to check any additional emails or watch any of the platforms. All appointments are automatically placed in your booking system. In my practice, the number of bookings we receive through Patient Discovery is increasing each month.
A lot of our patients don’t want to call and book appointments—they prefer to do it all online. They want to see what’s available, picking and choosing a time that’s convenient. Patient Discovery works 24/7 so bookings can be made after hours and on weekends. There is no set-up fee, just a fee for every new patient with a confirmed booking.
What’s not so good
It’s a great system but it would be better if it covered more directories. The more partnerships they have, the better it is for everyone.
