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Dealing with Appointment Cancellations

PRACTICE CONUNDRUM: I am concerned that our percentage of cancelled and no show appointments are increasing. My appointment coordinator complains that confirming appointments is becoming more and more difficult as she has to leave messages on voice mail instead of talking to the patient personally.

There is no denying the fact that our patients lead busy lives juggling both a career and their personal time. Because many families have both parents working there is no one home to answer the phone to take your confirmation calls. Consequently dental staff is obligated to leave phone messages in the hopes that the patient will receive the courtesy confirmation and show up for their appointment.

There is also no denying that today’s advanced technology offer us some new ways to communicate with our patients. One such tool is the voice mail that so many of our patients have answering their phones. Voice mail allows longer messages that enable you to leave more detailed instructions. When confirming appointments with your patients you may want to encourage your appointment coordinator to implement the following Top Eight tips to getting the most out of voice mail messaging.

• Determine the outcome you want from your call. Write out what you want to accomplish and say at this call and be prepared to say it with a smile on your face.

• Create a sense of urgency. Make your message stand out from others and help your patient understand that this is an important appointment to keep.

• Make your message concise and to the point. By scripting your message and being prepared you can say a lot in a short period of time.

• Call early or late and vary your calling times. You may get lucky and be able to contact the patient before or after their work hours.

• W.I.F.M. (What’s In It For Me). Include a patient benefit into your message. It will give them a reason to show up or at the very least a reason to call you back.

• Use humor in your voice mail. This is another way to stand out from the other calls they are receiving. While maintaining dental health is serious business a lighthearted phrase like “don’t floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep” will make your message more memorable.

• Give clear and easy to understand instructions. Know yourself exactly what you want the patient to do and be certain you are clear on your explanation. Avoid any confusion. Example, if your office offers early morning and evening appointments indicate if the appointment is a.m. or p.m. and specifically what insurance form they need to bring.

• Be persistent. Voice mail is here to stay and the successful dental team will need to develop strategies to cope with ever increasing patient time constraints.

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Author: Dr. Arndt is a Dental Coach. He works with dental professionals who truly want to think, act and behave like a Chief Executive Officer. What that means for them is that they gain control over their practice as opposed to the practice controlling them. The result is that they lead more, manage less and they are more profitable in less time. As a businessman and entrepreneur, he blends 20 years of clinical dental practice, five years of executive corporate experience in the financial planning and investment management industry with his graduate business training and hands-on experience. He delivers his highly personalized Coaching to doctors throughout the United States utilizing scheduled telephone calls, e-mail and fax. To learn more about his telephone Coaching techniques, his group TeleClasses or to subscribe to his newsletter, contact Coach Ron at http://www.drarndt.com 

Dr. Ron is the only Master Certified Dental Coach (MCC) on the planet. He has blended 20 years of clinical dental practice with executive roles in financial planning and investment management along his graduate business training to provide his clients with the tools, support, and accountability to accomplish more. About Dr. Ron, "I count you as one of life’s best finds", says Dr. Gary Imm of Reisterstown, Maryland. He has authored many articles; manuals; ThinBooks ^tm; TeleClasses and if you visit http://www.drarndt.com you can receive one of his FREE reports, "9 Painful Mistakes Dentists Make in the Hiring Process"

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3 Responses to “Dealing with Appointment Cancellations”

1. Sioux Reid Says:
   May 8th, 2006 at 9:01 pm

   We also put a letter next to the Patient’s name on the day sheet to indicate how they were contacted. A means we spoke directly to the Patient, B means we spoke to a Family member, C we left a message on their phone, D we couldn’t contact them and E phone number no longer correct or connected. It gives you an idea of the reliability of the confirmation.
   A method learnt years ago but unfortunately I cannot credit the instigator as I can’t remember where we got the system from.
   Sioux Reid,
   Australia

2. Coach Ron Says:
   May 12th, 2006 at 9:12 am

   Sioux Reid, thanks for this idea. I will share this with my clients. Brilliant!
   Dr. Ron

3. Fred S. Hecht Says:
   October 31st, 2006 at 5:04 pm

   If i get the most positive response,can I become a uncertified coach. The answer is EMAIL Fred use it to confirm

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