You just hung up with a patient who called at the last minute to cancel her appointment.
Yesterday, your first patient never showed up – and never had the courtesy to call and cancel. Even though she apologized when the Scheduling Coordinator finally talked to her, it’s frustrating. She’s done it before.
And it’s only Wednesday.
How many more no-shows are you going to have to deal with this week? Is this really “business as usual” in your practice?
While “stuff happens” to everybody and you’ll never eliminate broken appointments completely, you can put systems in place to drastically reduce the number of no shows you experience.
Here are four strategies you can implement right now to help you increase your profitability, reduce your frustration, and help people keep their appointments with you.
1. Create a sense of urgency about treatment and care.
Many patients put off getting care or keeping their dental appointments because they aren’t aware that delaying treatment has consequences.In your initial visits with your patients, emphasize the importance of the oral-systemic relationship to their health. Help them clearly see the consequences of delaying treatment.
If you and your hygienist work together to educate your patients about why they need treatment and the problems they might encounter if they don’t pursue it, your patients will be more likely to schedule and keep appointments.
2. Emphasize the value of the appointment.
In your chairside chats with patients, thoroughly explain their condition and use all of your available technology (videos, radiographs, images, and brochures) to educate them about what’s going on in their mouth.Emphasize value continuously with newsletters containing information about your practice, your services, and ways you can help patients experience better health. Include educational materials or brochures when you mail invoices. This continuous reinforcement helps patients see the value of ongoing dental care, helps them keep it top of mind, and makes it more likely they will prioritize keeping their appointments.
After each visit, summarize what you have done, and how you have progressed through the treatment plan so far. Review the hygiene evaluation, provide home care instructions, recommend follow-up treatment, and list all of the free products (and estimated costs) you are sending home with them. A simple template is easy to design, and providing this information helps patients see the value of the time they’re spending in the chair.
3. Set up a reminder system.
Everybody is busy – including your patients. They have jobs, kids, personal responsibilities, and shifting priorities just like you. Often if they don’t get timely reminders about appointments, an appointment with you might just slip through the cracks – especially if they scheduled the appointment months ago.At the time of scheduling, ask patients how they want you to confirm or remind of their appointment. Whether by mail, phone call, text message, or email, use their preferred method to communicate the upcoming appointment. That gives them the chance to cancel and reschedule a few days in advance, rather than a few hours in advance or skip the appointment completely. When you confirm a few days out, if cancellations happen you can then fill open slots more easily.
4. Establish a cancellation policy – and stick to it.
If your practice doesn’t have a cancellation policy, create one.Inform your new patients about your cancellation policy immediately, asking them to cancel at least 48 hours in advance so you can schedule waiting patients into that time. If you have existing patients who are casual about cancelling appointments at the last minute or not showing up at all, inform them of your new policy and emphasize how last-minute cancellations and no-shows affect not only your practice’s schedule, but the scheduling and treatment of other patients.
Reinforce the scheduling policy every time you set an appointment, so that patients will think twice before cancelling.
Cancellations and no-shows can not only be frustrating to you and your team, they can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue every year. Focus on helping patients understand their treatment, see the value of the services you provide, and understand the consequences of postponing treatment to reduce the number of cancellations and no shows you have to deal with.
That will help you boost your productivity and your bottom line.
We’d love to share more ideas about how you can boost your productivity, increase your profitability, and achieve the goals you’d like to achieve with your practice.
Contact P&S Coaching Coaching today to schedule a complimentary consultation and discover how we can help.
