7 Best Surgery Scheduling Software Of 2024

Introduction

Tired of delays, errors, cancellations of surgical procedures, and more because of manual scheduling? If yes, then it’s time for you to consider investing in one of the best surgery scheduling software. 

But what features should you look for in such software? How beneficial are these really? Keep on reading till the end to find out!

What is Surgery Scheduling Software?

Surgery scheduling software is a tool that allows healthcare facilities to schedule appointments for surgeries for different departments and doctors with ease. These tools help reduce no-shows and cancellations by utilizing surgical appointment reminders and collecting essential patient information before the procedure can begin via digital forms. It also helps in reducing paperwork so that the staff can focus on other matters related to patient care. Basically, such software helps in automating and simplifying scheduling-related tasks. 

7 Best Surgery Scheduling Software: A Quick Comparison

1. Emitrr
2. TigerConnect
3. PreferredMD
4. Weave
5. Doctible
6. Solutionreach
7. NexHealth

Key highlights: 

• As you can see, Emitrr is the most affordable option out of all and is also the only one that has a 5/5 star rating for its exceptional customer service. It also offers the best value for money.
• TigerConnect, PreferredMD, and NexHealth have somewhat similar ratings, but both lack transparent pricing.
• Weave, Doctible & Solutionreach are the most expensive options.
• Weave has a poor customer service rating, and Solutionreach has the lowest rating for all factors on the list. 

Benefits of Surgery Scheduling Software

Less paperwork errors & better staff productivity

There could be a lot of paperwork involved in surgical procedures, and handwritten forms are shown to have an error rate of 50%. And errors in patient forms can lead to delay of surgery or even cancellation. However, with surgery scheduling software, your staff can not only access patient information beforehand and be prepared in advance, but due to less paperwork, they can also reduce costly errors and focus on other aspects of patient care.

Reduce surgery delays & no-shows

The digital forms feature that surgery scheduling systems offer allows you to gather important patient information such as their medical insurance info, their blood type, etc., which can help you to be prepared for the surgical procedure in advance, reducing last-minute surgery delays. Additionally, the appointment reminder feature can help you in ensuring that the patient is notified about their upcoming procedure with you, reducing no-shows. 

Improved communication

One of the major reasons for operations delays is miscommunication. Surgery scheduling systems integrate useful communication tools that send notifications and real-time updates that can be shared amongst surgeons, nurses, administrative staff, etc., to ensure that everyone is on the same page and can respond to any delays or changes effectively.  

Increased patient satisfaction

Surgery scheduling software can make it easy for patients to share their medical history and preferred date or time slot for surgery. Additionally, features like appointment reminders, easy appointment cancellation or rescheduling processes, etc., can also make so many things convenient for patients. All these small things increase patient satisfaction and encourage the patient to leave positive reviews as well as choose your healthcare facility for the future as well. 

Reduced cost 

Appointment cancellations, no-shows, and not having access to patient information pre-surgery can cost a lot of money to hospitals. But with an appointment reminder tool, no-shows & cancellations can be reduced; with calendar management, you can ensure all slots of the doctors are booked, and via digital forms, you can gather all the necessary information that you must have before beginning the procedure. All these things help you in reducing costs and in boosting revenue for the healthcare facility.  

Features to Look for in Surgery Scheduling Software

• Appointment slot based on surgery specialty: This feature lets you create appointment slots based on the type of surgery, for example, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, etc., and add surgery-specific doctors for appointments as well. 
• Appointment reminders: Send appointment reminders to patients via SMS a week, a few days, or on the same day in advance and confirm if the patient will show up or not. 
• HIPAA compliance: This is a must-have feature that you absolutely cannot ignore. HIPAA compliance ensures that patient communication is carried out in compliance with the rules set by the federal government and ensures that patient data is protected. 
• Digital forms: This feature lets you create a custom digital form with all the information that you may require before the patient gives you a visit. 
• EHR integration: Check if the surgery scheduling software can sync with your existing EHR software for uninterrupted surgical workflow.  
• 24×7 real-time scheduling capabilities: Allow patients to see available slots and doctors in real-time 24/7 to book appointments easily. 
• Appointment reschedule & cancelation: This feature allows you to share SMS with an option for patients to reschedule or cancel surgical appointments with a simple reply.  
• Secure messaging: See if the software you choose offers secure messaging with encryption and other security features to ensure privacy when sharing confidential patient information. 
• Two-way texting: Look for this feature to be able to communicate with your patients with ease. 
• Analytics & Insights: This feature gives you insight into the total appointments received and total appointments canceled or rescheduled, using which you can identify gaps and implement changes to improve the appointment rate. 
• Appointment notifications: This feature notifies you and your customers whenever a change is made in their appointment. 
• AI Integration: This is fairly a new feature, but AI or machine learning integration can help you optimize your schedule and plan any future surgeries by predicting delays or blockages even before they occur based on data from past operations.

7 Best Surgery Scheduling Software: Detailed Analysis

Emitrr

Emitrr is one of the best surgery scheduling software as it offers plenty of useful scheduling features such as calendar management, appointment reminders, two-way communication, and more. It can seamlessly integrate with your existing EMR/EHR/PMS software, is HIPAA compliant, and is quite affordable as well. You can even use Emitrr’s SMS capability to communicate with your team internally via SMS for surgery-related tasks or send updates or files to the patient’s family at once via group texting for sharing post-surgery updates.  

Emitrr Features

• Appointment slot based on surgery speciality 
• HIPAA compliance
• EHR/EMR integration
• Digital forms
• 24×7 real-time scheduling capabilities
• Appointment reschedule & cancelation 
• Appointment reminders
• Secure messaging
• Analytics & Insights
• Appointment notifications
• Two-way texting
• Personalization
• Website widget 
• Tools for internal team communication
• Calendar management 
• Filters for sorting appointments
• Ability to send and receive attachments
• Multi-location schedule management

Emitrr Integrations

Emitrr integrates with more than 1000 PMS/EHR/EMR tools including:

• Calendly
• AthenaHealth
• Curve Hero
• Dentrix Enterprise
• DrChrono
• Dentrix Ascend
• Dolphin
• Eaglesoft
• eClinicalWorks
• Orthotrac
• Practiceworks
• OpenDental
• Kareo
• Acuity Scheduling
• Zapier
• Mailchimp
• And more..

Emitrr Pros

• Intuitive interface
• Superior customer service
• Flexible pricing
• Wide range of features
• Easy to setup dashboard 
• Quick training 
• Seamless integration with EMR/EHR/PMS tools

Emitrr Cons

• No major issues with this software 

Emitrr Pricing

Emitrr’s pricing starts at just $149 a month and is one of the most affordable surgical scheduling solutions. The best part is for this price, Emitrr also gives you access to its additional features, such as file sharing, group texting, etc., which can be very useful for communicating with patients and their families before or after the operation.  

Emitrr Customer Support

• Capterra: 5/5
• G2: 4.7/5 

TigerConnect

TigerConnect is one of the most popular communication tools in the healthcare industry. The platform is known for its patient engagement tools but also offers plenty of patient scheduling features such as automated scheduling, centralized schedules, and more. The only problem with TigerConnect is its poor customer service and lack of transparency in pricing. Here are some more details on TigerConnect: 

TigerConnect Features

• Resident block schedules
• Automated scheduling
• View customizable daily, weekly, and monthly calendars
• Real time changes
• Merge schedules from other facilities and systems
• HIPAA compliant
• And more..

TigerConnect Integrations

N/A

TigerConnect Pros

• Easy to onboard new users
• Useful scheduling features 
• Secure messaging system

TigerConnect Cons

• Customer support is not the best
• Outdated system
• SMS issues
• Pricing is not transparent

TigerConnect Pricing

You will have to get in touch with TigerConnect for their pricing. 

TigerConnect Customer Support 

• Capterra: 4.5/5
• G2: 4.5/5

PreferredMD

PreferredMD is a popular surgical scheduling tool with robust features such as built-in medical credentialing, insurance benefits verification, and vendor management. It is commonly used by physician-owned surgical practices, ambulatory surgery centers, etc., and is fairly new in the market. However, PreferredMD charges extra cost for your preferred integration and also does not have transparent pricing. Here are some more details on the software: 

PreferredMD Features

• Digital forms
• Edit, and share surgical booking forms with facilities
• Customizable procedure templates to book surgeries faster
• Appointment widget
• Benefits verification services
• And more.. 

PreferredMD Integrations

N/A

PreferredMD Pros

• Offers some unique surgery scheduling related features
• Offers health insurance benefits verification feature

PreferredMD Cons

• Non-transparent pricing
• No information on integration available 
• Limited scheduling features
• Charges extra for integration 

PreferredMD Pricing

PreferredMD has not offered any information on their pricing. You will have to get in touch with them to know this. 

PreferredMD Customer Support 

• Capterra: 5/5
• G2: 4.5/5

Weave

Weave offers appointment scheduling features for plastic surgery centers and other kinds of healthcare professionals as well. The platform seamlessly integrates with different EHR/EMR tools and is known for its ease of use and useful scheduling features. However, Weave is one of the most expensive surgery scheduling tools, with pricing starting at $399 a month. Here are some more details on Weave:  

Weave Features

• Appointment writebacks
• PMS/EHR calendar sync
• Appointment customization
• Quick fill
• Appointment reminders
• And more..

Weave Integrations

Weave integrates with a number of EMR/EHR/PMS tools including:

• Eddson
• Nextech
• AdvancedMD
• Eaglesoft
• MindBody
• MacPractice
• DrChrono
• And more..

Weave Pros

• Intuitive interface 
• Helpful customer service
• Useful scheduling features

Weave Cons

• Technical glitches 
• Expensive
• Messaging issues

Weave Pricing

Weave is quite an expensive surgery scheduling system, and it charges a setup fee of $750 and has plans starting at $399 a month. 

Weave Customer Support 

• Capterra: 4.8/5
• G2: 4.5/5

Doctible 

Doctible is an all-in-one patient communication software that offers scheduling, patient engagement, and patient communication tools, among others. The software can be used by different healthcare professionals for scheduling surgeries, be it for dental, medical, orthodontics, etc. Doctible is HIPAA compliant, it’s very easy to use and offers excellent customer support. However, its biggest drawback is that it is quite expensive and lacks automation. 

Doctible Features 

• Digital forms
• Easy fills
• Appointment reminders
• Calendar management
• Smart scheduler
• Two-way texting
• And more..

Doctible Integrations

• Nextgen
• DrChrono
• Ortho2
• PracticeWorks
• MDLand
• Athenahealth
• EagleSoft
• And more..

Doctible Pros

• Very easy to use
• Excellent customer support
• Digital forms feature

Doctible Cons

• Expensive
• Lack of automation
• Poor integration

Doctible Pricing

Doctible offer three kinds of plans:

• Gold: $199/month
• Gold Plus: $299/month 
• Platinum: Custom

Doctible Customer Support 

• Capterra: 4.8/5
• G2: 4.5/5

Solutionreach 

Solutionreach is a well-known name in the healthcare industry as the software offers not only scheduling features but also communication tools to simplify patient communication before and after surgery or some other medical services. The software is liked by customers for its robust interface and useful features. However, the price tag and poor customer service are something most Solutionreach customers struggle with.  

Solutionreach Features

• Automated reminders & scheduling 
• Location management
• Customization
• HIPAA compliant
• Working hours display
• Autofill
• And more…

Solutionreach Integrations

• Eaglesoft 
• Nexhealth
• Denticon
• Fuse
• Opendental
• Curve Dental
• Dentrix
• And more..

Solutionreach Pros

• User friendly interface
• Voice reminders
• Useful post op communication tools

Solutionreach Cons

• Poor customer service
• Many technical issues
• Expensive

Solutionreach Pricing

The pricing of Solutionreach starts at $329 a month. 

Solutionreach Customer Support 

• Capterra: 3.8/5
• G2: 4.3/5

NexHealth

NexHealth is essentially a patient experience software, but it offers scheduling features that directly sync into your health record system. Using it, patients can view their calendars, see the real-time availability of surgeons, and make appointments with a simple click. NexHealth’s useful scheduling features and seamless integration is often appreciated by customers. However, its limited support hours and technical glitches in scheduling can create problems sometimes. 

NexHealth Features

• Online booking
• Scheduling widget
• Waitlist booking
• Digital forms
• Automated appointment reminders
• Appointment customization
• And more..

NexHealth Integrations

• Ooma
• Doctible
• Opencare
• Dandy
• DearDoc
• Swell
• Apex Dental
• And more..

NexHealth Pros

• Ease of scheduling and patient communication
• Digital forms
• Online payment feature 

NexHealth Cons

• Limited support hours
• Pricing is not transparent
• Technical glitches with scheduler 

NexHealth Pricing

NexHealth has not revealed their pricing. You will have to get in touch with the company to know more about this. 

NexHealth Customer Support

• Capterra: 4.8/5
• G2: 4.8/5

Use Cases of Surgery Scheduling Software

Here are some common use cases of surgery scheduling apps or software:

• Move away from paper-based surgical scheduling process
• Reduce physician stress and paperwork fatigue
• Avoid double operating room bookings
• Give your operation staff time to focus on patient care
• Reopen canceled slots for other surgical patients
• Ensure your block time is not underutilized or overbooked
• And more!

Why Emitrr is the best Surgery Scheduling Software?

After comparing some of the best options in the industry, we can say that Emitrr is the best option for surgical scheduling. Here’s why we think that:

Affordable

Among the seven options listed in this guide, Emitrr is the most affordable scheduling software. Doctible, Weave, and Solutionreach are very expensive and charge add-ons for every little thing. The rest of them do not even have a transparent pricing structure. The best part is that Emitrr not only offers scheduling features for $149 a month but also additional features, such as group texting, file sharing, etc., to ensure you get the best value for your money. 

Post-op features

Unlike most other surgery scheduling systems, Emitrr offers two important post-operation features:

1. Group texting: A very essential thing to avoid surgery delays or to avoid surgery cancelation is to ensure that the patient is fully informed and prepared for the surgery. If the patient or their families have not followed the pre-operative instructions correctly or are not sure about the surgery procedure, then that can lead to delays or cancellations. Thankfully, Emitrr offers both one-on-one and group SMS texting capabilities, using which you can send any instructions or updates to the patient and their family at once. 
2. File sharing: Surgeries can be really stressful, and to improve patient experience at this stage, you can use Emitrr’s file sharing feature to share any kind of files or reports with your patients. This quick access helps the family focus on the patient and reduces their need to visit the hospital again and again post-surgery.   

Appointment slot based on surgery type 

Using Emitrr, you can create different appointment slots based on the type of surgery; for example, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, etc. You can even showcase which doctor or surgeon is available for which procedure so that the patient can make a clear appointment choice. 

Automated reminders for surgical bookings

Emitrr allows you to send customized automated reminders via SMS to your patients and even set the cadence and recurrence of those reminders. In those reminders, you can also send an option for the patient to confirm, cancel, or reschedule the appointment, ensuring you do not have last-minute surprises.   

FAQs

Conclusion

Scheduling is probably the first and most important step in ensuring a smooth surgical workflow, and not getting it right can lead to a massive loss of revenue. So, to always have your slots booked and patients satisfied, you must invest in surgery scheduling software like Emitrr.

Book a demo call with Emitrr now to see how incredibly easy this process can be.