Important!
Your Financial Coordinators/Treatment Coordinators will have the March end-month to handle tomorrow (the 31st), or Wednesday at the latest, since the end-month processing is date sensitive. You also have your auto-drafts, patient statements, and insurance continuation of claims to process. Please do not post payments received in April and then do the March end-month!
Patient Communications
As most of you know, my wife Betty has been a consultant specializing in training her clients on improving Case Acceptance, Treatment Coordinator training and Marketing for the past 26 years. She recently wrote a letter to all of her clients that I thought should be quite useful and beneficial to doctors who perhaps had not fully thought through how they can and should utilize key staff persons during this otherwise “non-productive” period. I asked for and received her permission to send her message to the doctors on our mail list. I hope you find the following useful.
To my clients:
I am telling Treatment Coordinators to still call Pending patients, Recalls, and unscheduled NP’s. Use the time to reach out to your unscheduled Recalls and Pending patients, as people are easy to reach on their cell phones at the moment, to both check in as well as to wish them well during this unfortunate time. Your call will be less about securing a start date and more about checking in and wishing them well (they will remember you for it). A sample of what you might say in a call:
“Hello Mrs. Smith,
This is (TC Name) calling from Dr. (Name’s) office. We are reaching out to all of our patients since the coronavirus is dominating the headlines. We want you to know that we are thinking of you and your family and we wish you well! We know that you (were in to see us last January about orthodontic treatment) or (you had previously scheduled an orthodontic evaluation a few months back) or (we didn’t get to see (Patient Name) at the last scheduled re-evaluation last month)… and while there is certainly a lot going on in the world right now, we wanted you to know we are thinking of all of our families and we are here for you in the future when you are ready to reconsider orthodontics. We can re-visit all the details at that time. Please keep in touch with us as we are here to help. Again, we wish your family well.”
Then if they volunteer timing, you can adjust your next call or make an appropriate remark and computer note. If they say they have started treatment elsewhere then you can respond, “We are glad you are being taken care of. May I ask what contributed to your decision to go with Dr. X (or with the other doctor)?” If they sound reluctant to share, you can also say, “In order to close our computer file, Dr. (Name) will want me to note where you are going and what contributed to your choice?” Note in their chart and keep a log of excuses.
In the unlikely event that a patient/parent is upset that you are calling them during a world pandemic, just respond with compassion by saying, “We are simply reaching out personally to all of our patients’ families as we reschedule active patients as well as all other patients of record to let them know we are thinking of them during this unfortunate time in the country. Please stay healthy – we wish you well.” Don’t take it personally if they are shocked you are calling and unless they have truly gone elsewhere or moved, do not inactivate them! Keep them on your list for next time.
How are you communicating with your active patients, your Recall patients, as well as your NP’s, Starts, and Recall Ready patients you have had to cancel?
Since there is yet to be a “green light” date for any state to re-open their practices, many practices have chosen to send a mass email update to all patients to reinforce good home dental hygiene, good brushing, and proper wear of their aligners to name a few items. Many are using the AAO link (also found directly on the www.aaoinfo.org website) and many other doctors are rewriting a version of their own recommendations on the topics. The point is to keep your patients close and to let them know you care about them. I am also suggesting that the TC’s in client offices prepare a list (action plan) for the New Patients, the Starts, and the Recall Ready patients who will need to be called first once a date to reopen gets planned so there can be production on the schedule day one. I have many Treatment Coordinators sending personal greeting cards mailed to the household for every NP and Start that had to be cancelled, with warm messages about how they will be called when a reopen date is known.
With many offices being closed to patients for potentially 3-6 weeks and some planning even longer based on their state rules, some have already began considering virtual appointments. Many doctors have added a page or two to their website dedicated to the subject of virtual appointments. You may have already done this, but some offices have mailed retainers to patients that couldn’t be delivered personally and then did a virtual/FaceTime insert with a clinical assistant at the doctor’s direction. Also, many are mailing additional aligner trays with a virtual/FaceTime appointment to handle instructions and check in (not for starts). Some offices are testing out virtual appointments for specific instances – recent exposure/ligate of a cuspid case, Class III elastic case in danger of over-correcting, coil spring for mid-line issues in the final stages, expanders ready to over correct, Herbst case issues, known poor OH bracket patients closely being followed, recent jaw surgical patients closely being followed, etc. Depending on how your computer system is set up, if you can save and date the patients’ selfie photos in their computer file then you will have a permanent record since saving photos and documentation is essential.
Due to the extended time away from seeing patients directly, many doctors are personally calling their patients and/or having their team personally call their patients to check in, reinforce brushing and compliance, as well as to discuss virtual appointment planning for the future.
It is time to think outside the box and be as prepared (and organized) as possible for what to do now and what to do when the time comes that you do reopen. It is your decision, within the strictures of your state, how you proceed with calls to patients, virtual appointments, staff utilization, what visits you believe are essential, and how you choose to communicate with your patients.
Again, I know this is a tough time for many, but rather than worry over what cannot be controlled, let’s look together at what you can do during this time. The response to reaching out personally to check on families has been overwhelmingly positive so far and will end up being quite profitable as well!
Stay well,
Betty
