- Practices can successfully navigate the holiday rush by prioritizing clear communication with patients, including proactively sharing office closures, appointment availability, and emergency contact information.
- Effective staffing strategies are crucial, involving flexible scheduling, cross-training staff, and potentially hiring temporary workers to maintain service quality and patient care during peak periods.
- Leveraging technology such as telehealth services, remote monitoring systems, and automated administrative tools can help practices manage patient needs and back-end operations while allowing providers to take a well-deserved break during the holidays.
Overview
- Practices can successfully navigate the holiday rush by prioritizing clear communication with patients, including proactively sharing office closures, appointment availability, and emergency contact information.
- Effective staffing strategies are crucial, involving flexible scheduling, cross-training staff, and potentially hiring temporary workers to maintain service quality and patient care during peak periods.
- Leveraging technology such as telehealth services, remote monitoring systems, and automated administrative tools can help practices manage patient needs and back-end operations while allowing providers to take a well-deserved break during the holidays.
For many practice owners, the end-of-year holiday season signals some much needed time off to relax, connect with loved ones, and recharge. But there’s a lot to do before the holidays. And, from managing last-minute appointments and staff schedules to updating office hours and addressing back-end operation needs, year-end to-dos can seem daunting.
But there are things you can do to make the holiday rush less stressful and set your practice up for success. This guide covers helpful tips to get your practice ready for the holiday rush so you can unplug with confidence.
Clear communication
Communicating with patients early and often is a must during the holiday rush.
According to Tebra research,” 38% of patients want easier ways to contact a practice and 36% of patients want more communication between visits, plus a whopping 65% of surveyed patients said they would switch doctors to get access to these types of digital conveniences.
“38% of patients want easier ways to contact a practice and 36% of patients want more communication between visits”
Here are some helpful tips to ensure your patients don’t feel lost in the shuffle:
- Reach out and maintain open lines of communication with patients as early as possible about holiday schedules and closures, appointment availability, and wait times while encouraging early bookings to avoid delays and promoting online patient booking. Proactive communication helps patients plan their appointments around your availability.
- Use a patient tracking system to get insights on patient flow and urgency levels. If there’s a sudden influx of patients, for instance, the system will prompt you to make adjustments to prevent service delays or disruptions.
- Prioritize regular patients and patients with conditions that require a check in or a strict management timeline. Implement a waitlist system to fill any gaps and accommodate patients who need urgent care. If you need to adjust appointments to accommodate patients with more urgent needs, be transparent while assuring all patients that their health is your priority.
- Automate appointment reminders through email or text for scheduled visits and to inform patients of any changes in office hours or policies for the holiday season. Set up clear, temporary out-of-office phone and email messages that keep patients informed and reassured.
- Post closures prominently in your office, on your website, via email newsletters, and on your social media pages. Use a chatbot on your website that announces office closures, conveys important information to patients, and answers any questions or concerns, like how to reschedule an appointment or get prescription refills. Black out closure dates in your self-service appointment scheduling application and patient portal.
- Give patients clear instructions on how to contact your office in case of an emergency, especially if your office will be closed for the holidays. If you don’t offer after-hours or emergency care, provide patients with instructions for finding local urgent care or addressing common concerns.
- Provide patients with self-care resources to manage common holiday health issues, like colds, flu, or other common viruses. Encourage preventive care to reduce the need for in-person visits for minor illnesses.
Address staffing challenges
Proactively anticipate holiday staffing needs to adapt to changing patient volumes, deliver uninterrupted care, maintain quality service, and keep your team engaged and motivated.
Here are some ways to address potential staffing needs during the holidays:
- Analyze historical data on patient demand and staff absences around the holidays from previous years. This will help you predict potential increases in patient volume before the end of the year, ensure timely adjustments, and maintain adequate coverage and efficiency.
- Implement flexible scheduling to align with patient volumes through temporary shifts or shift rotation, on-call opportunities, and extended work hours with overtime. With technological tools like employee management and scheduling software, you can quickly identify and deploy qualified staff during peak periods and offer flexible shifts for staff members who may have holiday commitments — allowing them to take time off without leaving the practice short-handed.
- Cross-train staff so they’re equipped to perform diverse clinical and non-clinical tasks safely and efficiently. This ensures optimal staffing levels, uninterrupted patient care, and operational efficiency. For example, administrative staff can assist with basic patient care tasks, like rooming the patient or checking vitals on automated equipment, while a trained nurse can handle front-office tasks to alleviate the workload on a strained administrative team.
- Consider hiring temporary or per diem staff. This approach works especially well to fill hours during peak periods for non-clinical roles like reception or administrative support.
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Offer telehealth and remote monitoring systems
While it’s important to take a break during the holidays to unplug and help prevent physician burnout, there are less demanding ways to stay connected with your patients and practice.
- Offer telehealth as a quick and effective alternative to in-person visits, especially for urgent but non-life-threatening issues, follow-ups, or medication refills to manage demand and improve patient access to care. Ensure your patients know this option is available by sending out texts, emails, or notifications via your website and patient portal.
- Provide remote consultation services and train your staff how to manage these virtual appointments efficiently.
- Install and set up remote monitoring systems, like security cameras and patient management software, and mobile management apps to check in periodically, get updates and alerts, and stay informed with minimal intrusion and disruption during your time off.
Take time to set up these systems before closing your office for the holidays. Make sure you’re familiar with how they work and test remote access to confirm you can receive updates and alerts and intervene if necessary.t these systems up properly, ensure you’re familiar with their operations, and test remote access to confirm you can receive updates and alerts and intervene if necessary.
Create high-quality video visits, group appointments, dedicated provider URLs, virtual waiting rooms, and custom patient communications with Tebra’s HIPAA- and HITRUST-certified telehealth.
Address back-end operations
Paperwork, billing, administrative tasks, and other back-end operations are the backbone of your practice.
“In the week leading up to office closure, give your team time to handle administrative tasks for a smoother return when you reopen.”
In the week leading up to office closure, give your team time to handle administrative tasks for a smoother return when you reopen. These include:
- Submitting or resubmitting any outstanding claims.
- Documenting statuses and finalizing reports.
- Automating patient reminders, claim submissions, and payment posting.
- Setting up calendar reminders for tasks that may need immediate attention when you’re back.
- Reviewing and scheduling upcoming financial obligations, like payroll, rent, and utilities and ensuring funds are available to meet these commitments. This helps prevent any financial hiccups that could impact your practice operations.
With a little preparation and these helpful tips, you can provide a smoother, more manageable holiday rush for your patients and staff. Plus, you’ll gain the confidence and peace of mind you need to unplug and enjoy the holiday break.
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Learn how to create a seamless patient experience that increases loyalty and reduces churn, while providing personalized care that drives practice growth in Tebra’s free guide to optimizing your practice.
- Current Version – Nov 21, 2025Changes: Edits made to reflect the more recent and up-to-date information.
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