Are You Weathering the Storm?

Each day we hear more and more bad news about the economy. Everyone is tense and afraid of what the next day will bring. Dentistry is definitely not immune from all of this negativity. The steps that a practice takes today during the "tough" times, will often reflect in the good times. The old saying "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" is so true in today's economy. This article and others that follow will help position dental teams to be ready for the recovery and beyond.

Many practices are experiencing an increase in patient no-shows or cancellations with less than 24 hours notice. When patients are nervous about paying for everyday necessities, dental care often gets put on the back burner. Everyone's productivity and morale declines when times are tough.

One way to help increase patient commitment is to show that you care about the patient as a person and educate the patient regarding the value of your services. If a patient cancels with less than 24 hour notice or fails to keep an appointment, the clinician with whom the patient was scheduled contacts the patient. A phone call is the most personal way to do this. If the patient is scheduled with the doctor the doctor should personally call the patient. If you are the hygienist or Storm

assistant and the patient is scheduled with you, you should make the call. These calls should be made during the patient's scheduled appointment time and should convey a sense of concern. For example, Mrs. Smith cancelled her restorative appointment scheduled for 1pm the morning of the appointment with Dr. Jones. Dr. Jones should call the patient around 1pm, expressing concern that everything is okay with her. If Dr. Jones gets Mrs. Smith on the phone, all the better; however if an answering machine or another person answers, leave a thoughtful message, and then follow-up with a handwritten note. How many of us receive handwritten notes today? They are few and far between and when we receive one, it makes us feel special. You want your patient to feel special. The note doesn't have to be long, just express genuine concern for the patient and remind her/him to call to reschedule. It will reinforce that your services are important, but that the patient is more important. By putting the patient first, she or he will feel that you are looking out for their interests, not necessarily yours and thus may be more willing to follow through with recommendations. Financing is always an issue, even in good times, so have viable financial options available for your patients. We will discuss those in a later article.

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