The Pros and Cons of Chatbots and Other Automation

In the rapidly evolving landscape of the UK dental industry, the integration of technology has become crucial for streamlining operations. However, are the techniques used in other sectors and touted so readily by our marketing agencies suitable for one where personal service and dialogue with a real person have been crucial to the most ‘up-close and personal service’ you can get outside your doctor’s surgery and hospital?

Let’s delve into the pros and cons of adopting these technologies in the dental sector.

THE PROS

24/7 Availability:

Chatbots offer round-the-clock availability, providing patients with instant responses to their inquiries. This enhances customer satisfaction and ensures that potential patients are attended to promptly, even outside regular office hours.

Efficient Appointment Scheduling:

Automated systems can streamline appointment scheduling, allowing patients to book or reschedule appointments seamlessly. This not only reduces administrative workload but also enhances the overall patient experience.

Quick Information Retrieval:

Chatbots often excel at providing quick and accurate information about services, treatments/procedures, and general inquiries. Patients can obtain the information they need without the wait, contributing to a positive impression of the dental practice.

Cost-Efficiency:

Implementing chatbots can be a cost-effective solution compared to hiring additional staff for handling enquiries. It allows dental practices to allocate resources more efficiently.

Consistent Communication:

Chatbots maintain a consistent tone and information delivery, ensuring uniformity in communication. This is especially beneficial for maintaining a professional and cohesive brand image.

THE CONS

Limited Personalisation:

Chatbots may lack the personal touch that comes with human interaction. Patients seeking a more personalised experience might find automated systems less satisfying, particularly when dealing with complex or sensitive inquiries.

Complex Query Handling:

While chatbots are excellent for routine queries, they may struggle with complex or nuanced questions. Human intervention may be required for cases that demand a deeper understanding or a customized approach

Risk of Miscommunication:

There’s a potential for miscommunication or misinterpretation with automated systems. Patients may feel frustrated if the chatbot fails to grasp the context or provide accurate information, leading to a negative experience.

Technology Dependence:

Relying solely on automated systems may make dental practices vulnerable to technological glitches or outages. A technical issue could disrupt patient communication and appointment scheduling, impacting overall efficiency.

Lack of Emotional Intelligence:

Chatbots lack emotional intelligence and empathy, which are crucial in healthcare interactions. Dealing with patients’ concerns or anxieties may require the human touch for a more compassionate response.

And, exploring the flip-side of a few of the pros listed above…

Efficient Appointment Scheduling:

In busy specialist practices doing complex procedures, careful diary management is often required when booking treatments; even receptionists and patient coordinators can get it wrong, so are online booking systems more suited to practices doing route, general dentistry rather than full mouth restorations?

Quick Information Retrieval:

Should chatbots do what the website is meant to do – provide access to required information quickly and easily? Do chatbots repeat this process?  If a prospective patient has already gone through his process, do they want to repeat it?  Well-designed chatbots give an option at the outset to either leave a message, request a callback or phone the practice, when hopefully, they will not get introduced to another call-handling bot that repeats the whole process!

The use of chatbots and automated enquiry handling has its advantages and disadvantages and, in my view, comes with a WARNING!

Striking the right balance between technological efficiency and human interaction is vital and so too is ensuring the best ‘patient experience’ and ‘patient journey’.

By leveraging these tools thoughtfully, it is possible that some dental practices can enhance operational efficiency and deliver satisfaction. HOWEVER, I WOULD ADVISE PROCEEDING WHITH EXTREME CAUTION!

WHY?

Dentists provide the most up close and personal, invasive service outside hospitals; they’re not selling insurance, finance or trainers!

Doctors’ Surgeries might get away with it because their patients do not have a choice; they can’t go elsewhere.

Dental patients have a choice, especially those looking to join a new practice or get specialist treatment such as implants.

It is well documented that in sales, the quality of the initial interaction, even in the first few seconds or minutes, decides the outcome, especially if annoying automation is the portent of things to come!

AND FINALLY

The practice where an experienced, friendly and helpful person following intelligent well, thought-through call handling protocols answers the phone, even if they risk saying, ”Can I call you back in a few minutes?” is likely to be the overall winner in the long run despite the extra cost!