This states that as soon as a procedure becomes more involved than anticipated, it is the chair-side assistant's immediate responsibility to inform the front desk of the estimated additional time needed to complete the procedure. When operative becomes an endo. When a filling becomes a crown. When an extraction becomes retrieval of a root.

 

The front desk staff will then activate the needed protocol to adjust the schedule. Normally, we would place a call to the next patient and say, "Mrs. Smith, the doctor is running about 30 minutes behind. If that is too inconvenient we would like to give you the option to re-schedule."

 

More often than not, you won't reach the patient by phone. They will already be on the way to your office. The ball is now in the court of the front desk.

 

As soon as the patient arrives, inform them of your present schedule and give them the option to reschedule. Also, it's not a bad time for one of our previous articles, "I Know We Goofed."

 

 

Rationale

Want to tick off a patient? Keep changing their appointment times. Want to really tick them off? Let them sit in the reception room 20 minutes and then tell them you're running behind.

We all run late at times. Things "do" happen that we can't control. Patients don't want to hear that you're short an assistant or you had an emergency - especially if you have used that before. So minimize the damage. At least let them know you respect their time by giving them options. They'll forgive you once. Possibly twice. At all costs, you are never to move a patient's appointment time a third time!