Case Study — OrthoSC
OrthoSC Increases Waitlist Conversions by 50%
How a leading South Carolina orthopedic practice increased waitlist conversions by 50% and achieved 67% provider utilization with Dash® by Relatient.
OrthoSC
6 locations · 80 providers · athenahealth
Specialty
Orthopaedics
Locations
6
Providers
80
EHR
athenahealth
Key Wins
50%
Increase in Waitlist Conversion
2.7%
No-Show Rate
67%
Provider Utilization
The Platform
What Is Relatient and the Dash® Platform?
Relatient is a patient engagement platform that helps healthcare organizations automate scheduling, streamline communication and reduce inbound call volume.
The Dash® platform combines intelligent scheduling, automated messaging and AI-powered voice technology to improve patient access and operational efficiency across every channel patients use to reach you.
Intelligent Scheduling
Rules-based engine across every channel.
Automated Messaging
Confirmations, reminders and recalls.
AI Voice Technology
Agentic Voice AI for inbound calls.
The Stakes
Why Patient Access Failures Hurt Growth
When patients can’t get an appointment quickly, the cost compounds — across revenue, retention and team capacity. The math behind broken access is unforgiving.
15–30%
of appointments go unfilled
Churn
Patients leave if access is delayed
Bottleneck
Call centers become a chokepoint
Burnout
Staff turnover and fatigue rise
01 — Context
The Goal
OrthoSC, an 80-provider orthopedic practice with six locations in northeastern South Carolina, needed to streamline access to care and enhance scheduling to improve efficiency and reduce time-consuming steps. As the practice expanded alongside the rapidly growing community, balancing 34 provider schedules – each with various locations, specialties, and hours – became increasingly
challenging for staff using existing tools. With a mission to offer
top tier bone, joint, and muscular care, OrthoSC sought to simplify a complex healthcare system and provide the Grand Strand community with better, more convenient access to care. Recognizing these needs, CEO Andrew Wade explored ways to optimize their care delivery pathway through advanced scheduling technology to ensure the practice could continue delivering efficient, high-quality care.
“
“I want to see healthcare be deliveredin a way that is more closely aligned to the way Amazon delivers boxes to myfront porch.
– Andrew Wade, Chief Executive Officer
The Challenge
- Inefficient scheduling with time-consuming steps
- Rapid expansion to meet community needs
- Multiple provider schedules each with unique rules, locations, specialties & hours
- Manual process often led to scheduling errors and poor patient experience
02 — Approach
The Solution
OrthoSC’s first improvement focused on streamlining access to care by removing
unnecessary, time-consuming steps. Previously, their scheduling
process was manual, relying on binders, sticky notes, historical knowledge,
and quick staff decisions to place patients with the right provider.
01
Intelligent Scheduling
OrthoSC replaced outdated methods with a rules-based system tailored to each provider’s requirements, such as insurance type, clinic hours, and appointment preferences.
- Simplified cancellations and rescheduling
- Optimized waitlist management
- Increased provider utilization
02
Patient Self-Scheduling
By streamlining the process, it improved their operational efficiency and reduced manual methods, eliminating the need for binders, long hold times, decreasing administrative workload.
- Introduced new channel for patient self-scheduling
- Eliminated scheduling errors and poor patient experience
- Phones relieved during peaks
03
Streamlined Process
Transformed patient access by embracing healthcare consumerism where quality, access, & costs are clear. Simplified cancellations & rescheduling, optimizing provider utilization.
- Boosted new patient acquisition.
- Increased patients on the waitlist by 39%
- Scaled 34 provider schedules, locations, specialties & hours
“
The Dash platform has been a game changer for our practice. We can schedule quickly, and with confidence, through a user-friendly system.”
– Nancy Holden, Call Center Director
03 — Outcome
The Relatient Difference
By implementing Dash Schedule, OrthoSC replaced outdated methods with a rules-based system tailored to each provider’s requirements, such as insurance type, clinic hours, and appointment preferences. The intelligent solution also simplified cancellations, rescheduling, and waitlist management, optimizing provider utilization. “The Dash platform has been a game changer for our practice. We can schedule quickly, and with confidence, through a user-friendly system. It even integrates with our practice management and EHR systems, so there’s no additional work to be done,” said Nancy Holden, OrthoSC Call Center Director.
In just one year, OrthoSC boosted new patient acquisition, increased patients on the waitlist by 39%, and saw a 50% rise in waitlist conversions, all while reducing scheduling errors and training time. OrthoSC’s experience shows that adopting technology is critical to streamlining operations and improving access to care.
“
It even integrates with our practice management and EHR systems, so there’s no additional work to be done.
– Nancy Holden, Call Center Director
Executive Summary
By optimizing appointment utilization and simplifying call center workflows, OrthoSC increased waitlist conversions by 50%, expanded waitlist participation by 39%, and improved provider utilization, all while reducing scheduling errors and staff onboarding time.
The result is a scalable patient access strategy that enables the organization to deliver timely care, support growth, and make the most of existing provider resources.
50K+
Providers
24/7
Access
1
Platform
