Have you ever thought to yourself, “Wouldn’t it be cool if parents could self-schedule appointments?” If you’re part of a busy practice, you know how much time a simple feature like this could save.

Parents of your pediatric patients are busy people who like technology and the convenience it offers. In fact, they are accustomed to being an online consumer — when buying airline tickets, making restaurant reservations, ordering groceries, and purchasing all of their everyday goods and services.

The patient referral system is one of the most important pathways within pediatric healthcare. Ideally, it operates smoothly to ensure that all patients, regardless of socio-economic background, gender, or race, are able to take steps towards good health. 

The ever-changing landscape of healthcare means that primary care physicians face tough competition. Pediatricians recognize that on-demand care options like urgent care centers and retail clinics are taking pediatric patients away from their medical homes. However, research suggests that the greatest threat to traditional healthcare is direct-to-consumer telemedicine.

In the past, excellent patient care was enough to earn word of mouth referrals for pediatric practices. Aside from directory listings, most doctors didn't need to market their practices at all. Parents would simply ask their friends for a doctor recommendation or choose from an insurance company's list of providers.

Patient portals can provide tremendous enhancements for pediatric family engagement and satisfaction. On the other hand, online portals can also be one of those offerings that some parents argue are good in theory but not in practice. Busy parents may be thinking: do I really need another email or text reminder?