By Ross Vera, Consultant/Trainer
This week's tip is about hygiene patient reactivation.
Scenario:Dr. Smith, a new client, has 1,300 active patients. A procedure code analysis (via an annual prophy count of 1,800) reveals that they are efficiently treating about 900 patients. That means that 400 patients are available for dental hygiene visits.
Action:The team sets out to reactivate as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible. They run software reports and mine their charts, yielding a meticulous list of patients whose last hygiene appointments were missed or never made. The administrative people get busy, eager to fill their schedule. Fast-forward one week, and we find a discouraged team who left lots of messages but did not fill many appointments. What happened?
Analysis: The team proceeded with a good attitude, as well as with their usual approach to filling the hygiene schedule. Their approach is to try to fill openings during the following week, which happens to be a mismatch for the objective of this task. Here comes the tip. When your primary objective is to reactivate overdue hygiene patients, always attempt to fill the schedule two weeks to one month out. Remember, these are patients who are either busier or try to avoid dentistry more than the average patient.
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PAST TUESDAY TIPS:
- How do I get my team motivated to think like an owner and go the extra mile?
- Strategic performance – Staying on target!
- Are you treating team members like children when you reward them?
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It is no wonder that teams can struggle with reactivation. Offices need to give overdue patients enough time, flexibility, and emotional space for them to want to call back and jump into the schedule. If the primary objective is to fill openings in the near future, then hustle and play the numbers. If the objective is to reactivate patients, give them time and freedom of choice. This is an easily overlooked nuance that can make a significant difference!
Tuesday Tips from Pride Institute are provided weekly on their Facebook page, as well as in this column in DentistryIQ. To ensure you don’t miss any of Pride Institute’s proven methods to take your practice to the next level, visit www.prideinstitute.com and like them on Facebook.
