Recare System | Dental Practice Solutions

Enhancing Dental Practice Productivity: The Key to Reactivating Patients

By: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

July 9, 2024

One of the most direct methods to enhance productivity within a dental practice is through the reactivation of overdue or inactive hygiene patients, effectively bringing them back into the fold of routine dental hygiene appointments.

At Dental Practice Solutions, we understand the immense value of reconnecting with patients who have previously engaged with your dental practice. These patients already have a rapport with your team and perceive your practice as their trusted dental provider. Moreover, many of them likely have pending treatment needs.

Reactivating these patients not only helps keep a productive schedule but also strengthens patient retention and improves overall practice efficiency.

Continue reading and learn how to enhance your dental practice productivity with the keys to reactivating patients.

Dental Practice Solutions encourages dental offices to have specific ways to bring overdue-unscheduled hygiene patients back to your office. Your reactivation system must be automated so it works behind the scenes while employees complete other productivity tasks.

Only when automated systems do not motivate patients to schedule should you begin making phone calls. And of course, if you have patients that insist you only contact them by a phone call, do use the phone to communicate with these patients. Today’s population uses millions of text messages to communicate, and 90% of text messages are seen quickly, and respond much faster than a phone call or voice message.

Dental Practice Solutions has a Practice Growth System that includes Patient Retention. This is a white glove system that provides dental practices around the world to not only attract more new patients but it can be used to reactivate overdue hygiene patients, plus it will help schedule more cosmetic cases.

Phone Calls to Overdue Hygiene Patients

Most phone calls in our world today never reach the patient. Seldom do people answer a phone call when they don’t recognize the phone number calling. Even when do leave a voice message, that message many times, goes without the patient returning your call……not always but most of them time; isn’t that correct?

A few tips when you do make a phone call to schedule overdue/inactive patients:

Note: Most of our clients use a customized dashboard and we train them how to very easily generate a list of overdue hygiene patients and we can categorize by the type of unscheduled treatment needed (ex: Implants or Restorative $500 or greater), as well as specific insurance types.

Step 1. Generate a list and save this list of overdue hygiene patients who have unscheduled Perio therapy.

Step 2. Generate a list of patients who have been in the office within the last 6-9 months and do not have a next hygiene appointment.

Step 3. Generate a list of patients who haven’t been in the office for a hygiene appointment for 9-18 months.

Step 4. Next, is a list of patients who have unscheduled restorative and already have a next hygiene appointment.

We are now half way through 2024 and it’s important for these patients with insurance benefits to use it or lose it! Now it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and get these patients back on the schedule.

Step 5. Have one team member lead your hygiene patient reactivation system. This team member will support cross-training of the other employees so they can also participate in reactivating overdue hygiene patients and patients with outstanding treatment.

If you have this process automated, it makes this system less time-consuming and simple for the other team members to initiate a text message or email if needed. Make sure you have a specific process which includes your text and email message content as well as when and how often you will text or email your patients before a phone call is initiated or a letter mailed. Mailing a letter is another topic for another day but some we train our clients to do and it has yielded great results!

Use “Engagement” which is connected to the KPI dashboard to set up the various categories of the patients mentioned above. This allows you to easily automate text messages to your patients.

Step 6. When sending text messages make them short, sweet, and to the point. No more than 2 sentences. Make sure your office name and phone number are included in the text message. If you have a scheduling link, include this and make it super simple for patients to get back on the schedule with a click of a button.

If you would like to learn more about this, plan to join our Hygiene Reactivation Power Hour where we walk you through this process and provide implementation tools. You will also have access to a free snapshot of your hygiene departments untapped potential. When we look at a dental practice, there is always over 100k that is sitting there waiting for you to tap into.

If you never look, you will never know!

When you register for the Power Hour you have access to try out this dental practice system and check out for yourself how this works. Less work, more productivity!

We recommend you always follow-up with patients within 48 hours if they leave your office without a next appointment. As the patient is rushing out your office door make sure you tell them you will be calling or texting them a scheduling link to get them back on the schedule!

Create urgency around preventive care and saving money. Whatever you know is a possible objection to scheduling care, speak to that potential objection!

Example: “Mrs. Jones, I know money is a concern and it can potentially cost more if you leave the tooth untreated. Is tomorrow at 10 AM a good time to call and get you scheduled?

No? Ok, how about I text you a link and when you click that link? Now you can choose a day and time that works best. Does that work for you if I text that link to you?

Awesome! We will see you soon and get that hole taken care of before it causes more problems and costs you. more money! See you soon.”

We cover all of this information during the dental power hour, plus, a lot more so please be sure you register.

If you miss the date for our Hygiene Reactivation Power Hour plan to book a workshop for your office to learn and implement this important information.

You can contact us here to book a discovery call to find out more about a workshop or more that we offer.

Keep your back door closed and an additional 100k+ to your practices’ bottom line!

Six Tips for Hygiene Patient Reactivation and Unscheduled Treatment

By: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

June 18, 2024

Reactivating hygiene patients and following up on unscheduled treatments can be challenging, but with the right strategies, you can effectively bring patients back into your practice.

Here are Six Tips for Hygiene Patient Reactivation and Unscheduled Treatment to help you improve your patient outreach and increase patient engagement.

Let’s explore these actionable steps to ensure your patient engagement and follow-ups are successful.

1. Cultivate a Positive Mindset

Summer is upon us. That means patients are on vacation, holidays are near and patients may think they are too busy to schedule a dental appointment.

But wait! Let’s check our mindset and get over any negative thoughts such as, “no one wants to come in” or that “it’s the 4th of July and no one wants to come in!”

Approaching calls with these negative assumptions makes it harder to achieve your goal of getting patients back into the office. Take a deep breath. Create positive thoughts as you make phone calls to patients. Your mindset is crucial for successful patient reactivation and all patient engagement.

2. Evaluate Your Outreach Efforts

Keep track of how many calls, emails, texts, and letters your employees are sending to existing patients. Review the volume and effectiveness of these outreach efforts and your patient engagement system. If outreach is high but responses are low, consider the message being conveyed and the manner in which the team members are attempting to engage with patients. A team member who sounds bored or disinterested will not engage patients effectively. Patient engagement can be a boring task. Automate as much of this as possible.

We suggest automating short and sweet text messages. We teach clients to use a specific rhythm to send message and how often to send these messages.

3. Personalize Your Message

Using a script can be helpful, but it’s important that it doesn’t sound robotic. Patients can tell when someone is reading from a script versus speaking genuinely. Train your team to use scripts as guidelines, allowing them to personalize their messages and sound more natural.

Utilize a specific template for various types of text messages when reactivating overdue hygiene patients.

Example: Text 1 is sent to patients today.

Text 2 is sent in 5 days when there is no response to text message 1.

After a 3rd text without a response we do suggest a phone call be made.

Most patients are not as likely to quickly respond to your phone message so make it short and sweet. Basically let patients know, “It’s time! Please give us a call about your dental appointment.”

Be prepared to have patients respond, “I don’t have an appointment.” With your patient on the phone you need to click on their electronic chart, look at their necessary unscheduled treatment for restorative and/or hygiene care. You must speak with words that create urgency to schedule.

Example: “Doctor asked me to call. She is concerned this tooth is going to cause you pain.”

Talk about putting a halt to “inflammation”, “lose a tooth”, “more cost for a tooth that has a hole”, etc. Use words that paint a picture and create urgency.

4. Train and Practice

Team training is imperative if you wish to continue growth and your current level of success. Practice makes perfect and it’s crucial for the team members who are making calls practice to make patient calls effective. Ensure your employees feel confident sending text messages and emails each week, month, etc, by providing regular training and role-playing different scenarios.

Pair less experienced team members with seasoned team members to practice handling various phone situations, starting with simple scenarios and progressing to more complex ones.

Use an expert coach, a trainer to make sure this practice occurs and it can make it more fun to work with an expert who routinely works with teams on these skills. Schedule a half-day workshop or a few hours of ZOOM coaching with an expert who can offer expert guidance.

5. Clarify Your Purpose

Beyond getting patients back on the schedule, the purpose of keeping your patients on the schedule is to ensure optimal oral health leading to a longer-healthier life. Demonstrate genuine care for the patient’s well-being and you will significantly impact the outcome of your patient engagement and the amount of scheduled patient appointments which will decrease the time spent on reactivation of unscheduled patients.

Understand what your patient values and always make everything you say and do benefit the patient.

6. Vary Call Times and Use Multiple Communication Channels

If you’re having trouble reaching a patient by phone, try calling at different times of the day. You never know when a patient might be available.

We recommend that you 1st send a text message and if there is no response after a 2nd text message that week, make a phone call to your patient. Patients in todays world respond to a text message much faster than a voice message.

If you must leave a voice message make it short and sweet with a phone number to call back your office about their dental appointment. Do not leave long-winded voicemail messages.

Always follow up at least 48 hours when a patient leaves without scheduling for restorative care or a next hygiene appointment. When patients do not respond to your text messages or phone calls use a patient engagement system to email your patients. Most patient engagement systems will have specific templates with informative videos about your patient’s specific care needed.

Always personalize your text messages and emails. These emails and text messages can be automated when you use robust dental office patient engagement solutions.

Need a patient engagement solution?

We are happy offer a few great suggestions to get this system automated and working effectively.

Let us know!

Summary

These tips should help improve your patient reactivation and even reduce the need to chase patients to get them back on your schedule.

For further assistance, consider registering for one of our Summer 2024 Dentist Power Hours when we are discussing patient reactivation and retention.

Are you wondering if you have untapped potential? Tired of working so hard?

Consider booking a no-cost opportunity ZOOM call here.

Or contact us at: 623-252-1941.

Developing a Comprehensive Dental Recare System for Improved Patient Retention

By: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

June 7, 2023

Patient retention is a crucial aspect of every successful dental practice. Building long-term relationships with dental patients not only ensures their oral health is well-maintained but also contributes to the overall growth and success of the dental practice. One effective strategy to achieve this is by developing a comprehensive dental Recare system.

In this blog, we will explore the importance of a Recare system, its benefits, and some key steps to establish an efficient and effective Recare system.

Importance of a Dental Recare System:

A dental Recare system refers to a structured process through which dental practices contact (various contact methods outside of phone calls) and schedule routine dental hygiene appointments for their patients. This system is a proactive approach to maintain patient engagement and prevent patients from falling off the radar.

By implementing a Recare system, dental practices can stay connected with their patients, demonstrate their commitment to their oral health, help put a halt to (oral and systemic) diseases, abnormalities and ultimately enhance patient retention rates.

Benefits of a Dental Recare System:

Improved Patient Retention

A well-executed Recare system significantly improves patient retention. By actively reaching out to patients for regular appointments, dental practices can demonstrate their commitment to their patients’ oral health. This personalized approach creates a sense of care and concern, making patients more likely to remain loyal to the practice.

Enhanced Oral Health Outcomes

Routine dental hygiene – preventive care appointments are essential for maintaining optimal oral health. A Recare system ensures that patients are reminded and encouraged to schedule these crucial visits, leading to optimal oral health in the long run this will support living a longer, healthier life.

When identifying any issues before they become a serious problem for the patient’s health, dentists can provide timely care, preventing minor problems from escalating into more significant oral health concerns.

Efficient Practice Management

Implementing a Recare system streamlines the future success of a dental practice. By automating appointment reminders and scheduling, dental practices can minimize no-shows and cancellations, leading to a more efficient and productive practice. It allows dental professionals to allocate their time and resources effectively, ensuring a smooth workflow and improved patient experience.

Developing a Comprehensive Dental Recall System:

Define Recall Intervals

Establishing appropriate preventative care intervals is a crucial first step. This involves assessing factors such as the patient’s oral health status, risk factors, and overall dental and total health history. By tailoring Recare intervals to individual patients’ needs, dental practices can provide personalized care and maintain regular contact.

Utilize Technology

Leveraging technology is key to an effective recall system. Use practice management software or customer relationship management (CRM) tools to automate appointment reminders via email, text messages, or phone calls. This reduces the administrative burden and ensures timely communication with patients.

One patient engagement system our clients have had great success keeping patients on their schedule is called NexHealth. If you are not familiar with NexHealth please contact us and we can set up a no-cost demo.

Team Training

Properly train your team about the importance and implementation of the Recare system. They should be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to communicate effectively with patients, answer their queries, and assist them in scheduling appointments.

A well-informed and supportive staff enhances patient satisfaction and reinforces the recall system’s effectiveness.

This system goes beyond calling to tell a patient, “You need a cleaning.”

Monitor and Analyze Results

Continuously monitor the effectiveness of your Recare system. Track patient response rates, appointment retention, last minute cancellations and overall patient retention.

Analyze this data regularly to identify any areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to your recall strategy.

WIIFM/Patient Rewards

For many years patients have responded well to keeping pre-scheduled appointments when they know there is something “in it for them.” It’s the WIIFM syndrome. Is this human nature? I don’t know but I do know that it has worked for many years to keep patients on your schedule!

Consider offering free whitening as a reward to patients who do keep their dental appointments, patients who follow your “Change of Appointment” Procedure.

How Does This Work?

All new patients and whenever a patient updates their health history they get a Smile Evaluation to complete.
- This takes no more than 60 seconds for your patient to complete.
- Now you know what your patient “wants” and people are more likely to “Pay” for what “they” want vs. what you tell them they “need.”
The hygienist or doctor (New patients) will review the Smile Evaluation after the patients completes this.
Most patients will respond they want whiter teeth. Others want Invisalign, etc., etc.
This opens the door for a conversation and a chance for you to enroll patients into your “THE CLUB” (Free teeth whitening) and/or maybe Invisalign, Veneers, etc., etc.
Patients pay a nominal fee to enroll in THE CLUB which gives them a Whitening kit and when they complete their enrollment form (now they know what is expected to join THE CLUB and receive a whitening pen at hygiene appts).
When patients keep their appointments or call within your “Change of Appointment” Guidelines, they get a Free Whitening Pen at each hygiene appointment.
You buy the whitening products wholesale from Dental Practice Solutions
Learn more about The Club and all the systems you receive to enroll patients into The Club plus reduce last minute cancellations and grow New Patient numbers!
Click the link below to learn more about THE CLUB.

Conclusion:

Implementing a comprehensive dental Recare system is crucial for improving patient retention rates and optimizing oral health outcomes. By proactively engaging with patients, dental practices can establish stronger relationships, enhance patient satisfaction, and streamline practice management. Investing in technology, staff training, and regular monitoring will ensure the recall system’s effectiveness and contribute to the long-term success of the dental practice.

Remember, maintaining a healthy Recare system is not just about reminders—it’s about showing patients that their oral health matters and that their dental practice is committed to their well-being.

Learn More About THE CLUB Here

If you wish to chat about your dental hygiene department or this blog please schedule a coffee (tea or ____) chat here.