It is 2010, Start Your Year Off with a Bang
This savings will knock your socks off and get your team bringing in the new year with a bang.
When a staff member learns to become the patient's advocate, more new callers turn into appointments, treatment case acceptance goes up, daily collections go up, loyality to your practice goes up, patient satisfaction and referrals go up organically.
Bring in the new year with a bang, 15% off
my 2 visits, 12 months support in office trainings, that is a savings of $1418.00. Get your staff trained
to be the patient's advocate, your patients and staff will thank you. And so will your accountant.
Offer ends: January 31, 2010 midnight. |
Practice With Honor
Suzanne Robinson CC
928-710-0166
www.practicewithhonor.com
My 10 Top Practice Building Systems
1. New Patient Letters--I firmly believe in sending new patient welcome letters. They should be signed with the doctor's name, please do not use a rubber stamp.
2. Unscheduled Treatment Plans-- I like to follow up on unscheduled treatment by using my personalized letter that focuses on the initial patient concern, if any, and then the doctor's most urgent concerns. In the content of the letter, I thank them for coming in and also state their concerns and yours(doctors) if that tooth is not fixed within a timely manner. What are their risks? Consequences for waiting could be: financial---more treatment--loss of tooth--
Draft the letter in the doctor's voice, have him/her review and sign--I would be happy to email my letter to you. Just drop me an email at:
3. Hygiene Recall --Send monthly if your hygiene department is booked up at least a month in advance. If your hygiene department has holes in the schedule, pull your overdue recall report for the previous month and start calling. See tip #9 for another script. "Hi, Judy you (your family, son, daughter, you get the point) came up on my overdue recall list. You were due for a cleaning on(date), I know life can get hectic. Let's get you scheduled to get you back on track. What day and time is good for you?"
Once that list is complete, go 60 days out and repeat the process. Then you can go 90 days and so forth. I actually use multiple scripts and can assist you if you choose.
4. Thank You for the Referral Cards--I recommend a hand written note, preferably by the dentist but if not, a staff member. End with thanks again for the referral and I look forward to seeing you at your next visit. If they have one scheduled, I prefer to have that date put in the card. It is just a little more personal.
5. Internal Marketing--Start with your existing patients. Ask them for referrals. Have your staff ask for referrals too. When a patient states to a team member," He/She is so good", the staff member needs to seize the moment and say something like, "Thanks Judy, we think so too. Would you do me a favor? Because we love having you in our practice we want more patients like you, would you refer your friends and family to Dr. _____? That is the highest compliment you could ever give him/her." Then give the patient a few cards. My clients around the country are seeing increased referrals because they are going back to the basics of just asking for a referral. Some doctors have needed a little coaching from me but they find their way through it and tell me it is making a difference in their new patient numbers. Patients want to make you happy and they feel very proud of themselves when at their next visit they can tell you they have referred someone. They want your praise and the atta boy, atta girl will give you miles of loyalty. So, don't rob your patient of their opportunity to show how much they care about your office, ask them for a referral.
6. Tips for Overdue Accounts--Insurance aging reports should be worked no less than once a week. Patient outstanding balances should be worked no less than 3 hours a week to keep you on people's minds. This depends of course on the size of your overdue accounts. If they are $50,000.00 plus, the time devoted should be at least 6 hours every week until those numbers drastically come down. The proper systems and scripts are critical to keeping that patient in the practice and/or not speaking ill of you in the local community. Be helpful, compassionate but set good boundaries and know this isn't personal. Events happen that prevent people from keeping their financial commitments. Or it could be that a sound financial commitment was never achieved. In any event, the old saying you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar is spot on.
7. Review your End of Month Reports--Knowing where you are is critical to planning where you are going and how to get there. Every month you should be reviewing your month end reports.
8. Statements --Statistics show that most people have their extra cash in the middle of the month. That is the best time to ask for payment from a statement. Sending out your statement on the 7th or 8th of the month increases your return on that investment of time and money.
9. Filling an Empty Schedule--Pull an overdue recall list for hygiene back from the previous month and start making calls if there are hygiene openings. I usually say something like this: "Hi Mary, this is Sue from Dr. XYZ's office and this is a courtesy call regarding your overdue cleaning. Since I have you on the phone would you like to make that appointment? Great, do you have a particular day or time of day that you prefer? Ok, I happen to have an opening tomorrow at that time. Will that work for you?" Train your staff to listen to the patient's response to the questions. This will allow the staff to respond appropriately and genuinely. I see many staff members just going through the motions because they were asked to do this job. Your staff member should get in the mindset of assisting that patient to keep moving forward with their oral health. Some staff members may cringe when given this task. You need an enthusiastic individual that can move that patient forward using a genuine belief they are helping someone.
With the doctor's schedule there are many factors that come into play with an empty schedule. Some doctors are hesitant to treatment plan quadrant dentistry and comprehensive dentistry for various reasons. The doctor should let a competent team member talk with the patient in a private area about the finances and create, what I call a treatment action plan. This team member ideally should have a clinical background. When the patient has questions this team member would be able to support your treatment plan clinically. For example, they would be able to discuss with the patient the risks of waiting on treatment.
Creating a treatment action plan is key to moving a patient forward with treatment. Most patients I have worked with over 26 years like a phased out treatment plan. Always start with the patient's concerns or discomfort. This may not be what is the most urgent. However, all the patient knows is this is what prompted their visit. You can include the most urgent in the phase one action plan. I have multiple scripts for this process.
10. Quick Call List--Creating a quick call list for the doctor's and hygiene schedule is crucial for those times when a patient calls in sick. Ask a patient, when they make their appointment, if they would like to be called in sooner if there is an opening. Then ask the patient what is the best phone number to reach them during the day. Also ask how much lead time they need to make it to the office. Ask them if there are day and time restrictions to making an appointment. For example: some patients have to have first thing in the morning. Some patients do not want to be contacted at work. This is valuable information to gather ahead of time as it will reduce wasted time calling patients that could never take that day or time.
Your success is my success,
Suzanne
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