The medical scheduling software market is expected to reach US$ 927.09 million by 2028 from US$ 435.24 million in 2022; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% from 2022 to 2028.
Rising adoption of patient-centric approach by healthcare providers, surge in use of smart devices for monitoring health, and shortage of nursing staff and doctors are among the key forces driving the market. However, security and privacy issues are hindering the medical scheduling software market growth.
Medical scheduling software allows patients to schedule their appointments through online when they are away from the hospitals or clinics. The practice employs the comprehensive system with an integrated patient portal and scheduling software. Common features of a medical scheduling software include, patient registration, appointment reminder services, customizable settings, and patient tracking. The economic and efficient handling of the software has led to increased preference of the software.
A patient-centric approach is an idea in healthcare systems that can establish a partnership among patients and their families and healthcare practitioners to align decisions with patients' needs and preferences. Improved knowledge and understanding among patients of their health, well-being, and healthcare choices are leading to enhanced care and reduced levels of illness. This improved knowledge can also enhance care after discharge and reduce hospital visits, readmissions, and secondary consults. By engaging and collaborating with patients in decision-making, health providers can make more suitable decisions regarding a patient's health. Increased competitive advantage as more hospitals competes for patients based on both qualities of care and cost. Better quality of life for patients leads to an increase in the satisfaction of both doctor and patient.
In recent years, the patient-centric approach has been predominant in the healthcare industry. Technological innovations and software development are crucial to the growth of the healthcare industry. These technological developments support medical and administrative services that dramatically enhance and ease healthcare processes, communications, and workflow. Patient-centric healthcare raises patient satisfaction levels, which creates benefits for healthcare providers and practices.in terms of the quality of care and cost structure. Thus, the rising adoption of a patient-centric approach by healthcare providers is driving the growth of the medical scheduling software market.
Software Insights
Based on software, the global medical scheduling software market is segmented into web-based software and installed software. The web-based software segment held the largest market share in 2022 and is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 13.7% during the forecast period (2022-2028). Web-based scheduling software has recently been utilized on a large scale across healthcare facilities. A web-based application enables individuals to book their appointments and reservations online conveniently and securely with the help of a web-connected device, such as a laptop, computer, smartphone, or tablet. Once a date has been finalized, the system automatically confirms the booking and records it without any intervention from the staff. Thus, aforementioned factors are promoting the medical scheduling software market growth.
Other than scheduling an appointment, web-based software also offers additional features such as automated e-mail and text message reminders, recording and record-keeping capabilities, as well as reminders that are sent to the patient after the time of the scheduled appointment has expired. Other facilities provided by web-based software that make it highly acceptable in healthcare facilities include scheduling patient appointments, booking vaccine and vaccination clinics, and scheduling on-site seminars, events, and activities. Since staff is not needed to confirm an appointment, web-based software reduces the time needed to get an appointment booked. Due to the factors mentioned above and the benefits offered by web-based software, the demand for the segment is expected to increase significantly during the forecast period. Thus, aforementioned factors are promoting the segment growth which in turn promote the growth of medical scheduling software market.
End User Insights
Based on end user, the global medical scheduling software market is divided into hospitals, clinics, and others. The hospitals segment held the largest share of the medical scheduling software market in 2022 and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Patients mainly prefer hospitals to seek treatment from various medical specialties such as cardiology, pediatric, pulmonary, psychiatric, and internal medicine. Hospitals are the primary points for patients for diagnostics, treatment, and other health care services. Many patients are admitted for surgical procedures, while several walks in for diagnostics. Most hospital patients are already suffering from various infectious and chronic diseases. Hospitals are primary healthcare centers for the people, which is likely to propel the market growth for the segment.
Additionally, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, and chronic diseases fuels the demand for medical scheduling software to manage hospital patient visits. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, responsible for 17.9 million deaths yearly. Further, according to the WHO, cancer is one of the common causes of death globally, and it is predicted that the number of new cases will significantly increase by 2030. Approximately 400,000 children develop cancer annually. Thus, the rise in cancer, increase in the number of hospitals, and rise in surgical procedures for various CVDs across the globe increases the need for technology for efficient management of patient flow, which is anticipated to drive the demand for the hospitals segment in the medical scheduling software market during the forecast period.
In the US healthcare system, the three most used medical scheduling techniques for inpatient and outpatient services are block scheduling, modified block scheduling, and individual scheduling. In block scheduling, patients are scheduled within specific times throughout the day, such as morning or evening, and then seen on a first-come, first-served basis within that time frame. Modified block scheduling assigns fewer patients to smaller segments of time throughout the day, such as hourly. In the US, individual scheduling is one of the most used medical scheduling techniques, where the patient is given a specific time for health consultation or check-up. Thus, this promotes the medical scheduling software market growth.
Most of the hospitals and clinics in the US are experiencing financial and operational stress. Medical scheduling software is primarily associated with hospitals, clinics, and ambulatory surgical centers, especially with back-ups, overcrowding in emergency departments, and inefficient scheduling in surgical departments. Efficient patient scheduling management remains an urgent issue for most hospitals and clinics. Due to improper medical scheduling, the patient experiences delay in delivering quality care in public and private healthcare systems. According to the 2022 survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times and Medicare and Medicaid Acceptance Rates, it takes an average of 26 days to schedule a first-time appointment with a physician, which is an 8 percent increase since 2017, when the average wait time was ~24 days. This leads to prolonged wait times, scheduling difficulties, and an imbalance of supply and demand in the public and private healthcare sectors. Medical scheduling software enables hospitals and clinics to track patients from arrival to departure and receive real-time updates on co-pays and cancellations. This reduces the no-shows by 30 percent with appointment reminder calls. This enhances the entire treatment procedure and improves communication with the patient. Also, the rapid adoption of healthcare IT in the US is anticipated to drive the growth of the medical scheduling software market in the future years.