The 6 Month Pre-Appoint Recare System.

  By Cindy McKane-Wagester, CEO of McKane & Associates
 
As noted in last week’s column, the patients who matter most to any practice are those who come back and do so on an ongoing basis. Most of these patients are seen by the hygienist. The most efficient way to encourage patient compliance and patient loyalty to the practice is the “6-Month Pre-Appoint System."  The system has several advantages:
 
1.    It helps your practice retain 85% (or more) of its patient base.

2.    It is a tangible measure of patient commitment to regular dental care.

3.    It guarantees continued growth in the practice at large and in the hygiene department.
 
The most effective way to implement this system follows: 

1.       Keep separate appointment books for the doctor and the hygienist(s).

2.       Let hygienists schedule recare appointments with their patients (whether for PMV or Perio).

3.       List all appointment schedules in 10-minute intervals. (This allows for more efficient and realistic scheduling of time than the usual 45-minute blocks). 

4.       Each patient receives an appointment 6 months from his or her current appointment date.

5.       The patient self-addresses an eye-catching appointment reminder postcard (with day, date, time). 

6.       File the card in a file box divided monthly and weekly (e.g., January 1-7, January 7-14, January 15-21, January 22-31, etc.).

7.       Mail the card 2 to 2½ weeks prior to the appointment.

8.       A confirmation call should be made 2 days prior to the appointment.  This will allow enough time for the office to fill any changes that may occur in the schedule.

For further information about this topic and other articles related to dental practice teams and systems, contact Cindy McKane-Wagester at cmandassoc@aol.com. McKane & Associates, now offers in-house assessments and training as well as telephone consultations on practice operations, systems management, marketing, scheduling, collections, case acceptance, and customer service. For additional information about these and other topics, see Cindy's column on Master Practice Team Building, which debuts in Dental Economics on July. The column is for dental teams rather than dentists and focuses on maximum team participation in the productivity and profitability of the practice.
 


INTEGRATED SHEET MUSIC FOR EACH MEMBER OF YOUR ORCHESTRATED PRACTICE - A comprehensive array of related strategies and techniques is presented in the Master Practice Procedures Manual that was introduced at the recent Crown Council Annual Event held in Las Vegas. For more information on Cindy’s Manual please contact Greg Sneyd at 800-449-6079 x701 or send an email to gregs@dentalsuccess.net. Please type “SOPs” in the Subject box and include your contact information in the body of your message.

For many more excellent ideas for your Marketing program consider enrolling in Cindy’s 12-Month Marketing Plan Coaching Program. For more information click here: http://www.thedentistryconsultants.com/coaching.htm or send an email to gregs@rmidentalsuccess.com and type “12-Month Coaching” in the Subject box along with your address, phone and fax number in your message. Or call 800-449-6079 x701. Or Fax this page to 801-293-8524 after completing the contact information below.
 
Name: ___________________________________________
 
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For a complete list of the products and services that are endorsed by RMI Dental Success and the Crown Council click here: www.rmidentalsuccess.com