6 ways to reduce cancellations and broken dental appointments

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This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 13/12/2012 at 5:40 pm by DrAnil.

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12/12/2012 at 5:03 pm #11136

drsushant
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As everyone knows, downtime is the great destroyer of profit. When the doctor’s drill is silent, the doctor is temporarily unemployed!

Unfortunately, there are no surefire ways to completely eliminate late cancellations and no-shows. However, here are some strategies you can employ to keep downtime to a minimum:

1. Business assistants must be proactive in identifying patients with a history of disappointment or late cancellation. Nondependable patients must be dealt with differently than dependable patients.

2. It is unacceptable to leave reminder messages for any patient who has a history of cancellation/disappointment or new patients. You must speak to these patients directly, even if it requires a call after regular business hours.

3. Do not allow patients with questionable dependability to preschedule hygiene appointments six months into the future. Send these patients a reminder card when it is almost time for their visit with instructions to call the office for an appointment. These patients provide a ready source of patients who can fill openings in the immediate schedule.

4. Do not use the phrase “confirmation call.” Consider the appointment confirmed when the patient gives permission to be placed in the schedule. Calls made prior to the appointment are “courtesy reminder calls.”

5. During face-to-face contact, ask the patient if he or she would like a “courtesy reminder call.” If the patient says no, a reminder call is not needed. The business assistant can say, “Great; I’ll make a note of that. Thank you for being dependable.”

6. Build a database of patient email addresses and offer email or text message reminders. Always ask your patients’ permission before sending text messages, as some incur additional phone charges and may not wish to receive texts.

12/12/2012 at 5:14 pm #16249

Anonymous

Even an effective dental patient scheduling system will not maximize practice productivity if too many patients fail to keep their appointments. When a patient doesn’t show up or cancels at the last minute, your practice suffers from unproductive gaps and lost income that can never be replaced.

Although this problem is not new, it has grown in recent years due to the slow recovery of the economy. Fortunately, there are several techniques you can use to “retrain” patients, reducing the number of missed appointments and minimizing their impact on the practice schedule and revenue:

1. Build value for all appointments. If patients value dental appointments, they will be much more likely to keep them. There are several ways to build value with excellent scripting … from the very first conversation with a new patient … to the confirmation call 48 hours before the appointment … to the enthusiastic welcome when the patient arrives on time. Reinforce the importance of appointments by building value for the doctor and team, and for their clinical skills.

2. Initiate a six-month patient retraining system. The first time a patient fails to show, call immediately to inquire if everything is all right (the implication being that something must be very wrong for the patient to miss such a valuable appointment). Whatever the reason, be sympathetic but indicate that unfortunately there are no openings in the schedule for 10 to 12 weeks, but they will be put at the top of the short list in case something opens up. Let a few days go by before calling back to offer an opening that is at least 10 days away. This training may be sufficient.

3. Deal with a second failure to show in six months. If the first retraining technique does not prevent the patient from again breaking an appointment, move to the next level. Point out that practice policy is to charge for missed appointments, but that the doctor requested the fee be waived in this case.

4. Permanently short-list the chronic latecomer. If steps 2 and 3 do not correct the behavior, the patient will continue causing scheduling problems. Realistically, the way to avoid this is to only put the patient on a short list for last-minute openings.

Conclusion

To minimize costly gaps in the practice schedule and maintain practice productivity in this tight economy, you must create and follow a step-by-step system that trains patients to value their appointments and keep their commitments to the practice.

13/12/2012 at 5:40 pm #16255
DrAnil
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The holidays are fast approaching, and while many may stamp the coming months as “slow,” a dental practice can do a number of things to boost revenue during this time. Think of the next few months as a built in marketing plan to use to your advantage. This is a great time to bolster patient loyalty and, likewise, show your loyalty to them.
1. Plan to promote. The first thing you will want to do to gear up for the holiday season is to create a schedule. Sit down with your staff and make note of which holidays are coming up (i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day), and which procedures or products you are most concerned with promoting. After you have solidified a working schedule, you are ready for the creative part.
2. Make it relevant. Now it’s time to find interesting and relevant ways to engage your patients. Brainstorm newsletter ideas that tie into the holiday season. You can be as creative or as straightforward as you like. For instance, a December newsletter titled “Candy Cane Cleanup” —designed to educate dental patients on the top five most worrisome holiday treats for teeth — can be informative and relevant to patients. At the bottom of the newsletter, you can add a call-to-action button that allows patients to request an appointment. Contrarily, a more straightforward newsletter or social media post may include a New Year’s discount on teeth whitening when you refer a friend.
3. Be festive. If you use a patient engagement service, such as Smile Reminder, then you have access to a full suite of predesigned newsletters perfect for the holidays. As I alluded to above, it is okay to get spirited in your approach. Try a Holiday Card Smile Brightening Treatment or a Valentine’s Day BOGO special on facial aesthetic treatments.
4. Use social media. It isn’t only newsletters that can help boost activity during the holidays, but social media can also be a big player. Use the holidays to create interactive posts to keep your office in the thoughts of your patients. For example, do a countdown to a bright and healthy New Year’s smile, where for the weeks leading up to the holiday your office posts a daily tip for a bright smile. This is sure to be a fun and an engaging way to draw patient attention during the holidays.
5. Target effectively. Just as targeted outreach is effective all year, it is also doubly effective during the holidays. Choosing particular groups of patients to receive specific newsletters makes them feel special and shows you care. Consider a holiday “use It or loose It” reminder to those patients who take advantage of flex spending insurance dollars. Include a call-to-action to schedule appointments before the year ends. The more specific and targeted you can be, the more likely you are to bolster your bottom line.
By following these quick and easy steps, your office is sure to be well on its way to a happy (and lucrative) holiday season!
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