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Archive for March, 2012

Late Patient Strategies

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

From time to time all practices will run into the problem of what to do when patients are late for their appointments. Obviously, if it’s an unavoidable situation it will be handled with tact and grace, however, some patients are habitually late and it is important to make a point of it but still in a kind and thoughtful manner.

When the patient comes in late greet them with concern, “, I’m so glad you’re here, your appointment was ten minutes ago, we were getting worried. Is everything alright?” There are three possible options at this point; reschedule the patient, do the treatment or an abbreviated version thereof. “I’m not sure that is going to be able to do your treatment today. Let me go back and find out; I’ll be right back.”

Using this strategy and these verbal skills, allows the practice to make a point to the patient in a non-blameful way.

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Postop Calls count even more nowadays.

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Post-op Calls:
Yup, this really is still number one when it comes to PR and what has an impact on patients. This is the single most important thing a doctor can do to make his/her patients feel really special. Sometimes these calls are delegated to another staff member but, beware, they lose about 90% of their effectiveness and impact when not done by the doctor.

Some guidelines to follow are that the calls should be made at the end of the day before the doctor goes home or from a mobile phone on the way home. Most of the calls will go to voicemail and it’s very rare that a patient keeps you talking even if you reach them. Doctors should call at least 50% of their patients. Preferably everyone who receives anesthetic will be called and this includes the hygienist calling their scaling and root planing patients.

Keep the verbiage simple: “Fred, this is Dr. Smith calling, I’m calling to check in with you to make sure you’re feeling comfortable after your procedure today, (pause—wait for a response). Great. Fred thanks for coming in, we really appreciate patients like you and we look forward to seeing you next time.”

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