Appointments that run late are a common problem for most dental offices. Let me share a few scenarios, one of which I’m sure you can relate to.
Scenario 1: Your doctor loves his career and strives to provide high-quality care to all of his patients.
The result is that many times he ends up talking about any subject other than dentistry and now he is late for his next appointment. Your schedule says that you’re closed at 5 pm but you’re lucky if you get to leave by 6 or 6:30 (many times later).
Scenario 2: Late arrivals and no-shows are a frequent occurrence in your practice.
Your doctor thinks he can multitask and run errands or leave the office. You tell him before he leaves he has an appointment at a particular time. This is the one patient that shows up on time and your doctor is a 30-minute drive away.
Scenario 3: A new patient schedules an appointment for her 4 kids that are all between the ages of 3 and 6 for the same day.
You ask her to come in 20-30 minutes early so she can fill out the patient registration forms. Not only does she show up 10 minutes late with all of her “lovely little ones” in tow but now all of your appointments are offset because you have to enter the registration forms and insurance information into the software. Now your entire schedule is offset because you’re trying to manage your time as efficiently as you can, but you’re still behind schedule. Sound familiar? There are many other reasons why doctors can run behind schedule like emergencies, surgical procedures not going smoothly, etc. You can’t control emergencies. But, with time management tools offered by Practice-Web, you can better manage your doctor and your schedules to run an efficient, productive, and profitable practice.
For our beloved doctor in Scenario 1, you should use the waiting room feature in your appointment module.
When the patient arrives click on Checked-In under the appointment status column. The software will then track how long the patient has been waiting in your reception area. This information can also be seen from the back office so if the assistant notices that a patient has been waiting too long they can then do whatever is necessary to help move the doctor along. Even if that means politely interrupting the doctor’s conversation about golf and letting the patient know the doctor is needed elsewhere.
For the office that has an issue with Scenario 2, I would recommend using the Dentist Portal.
With the PW Dentist Portal, the doctor can see his appointments scheduled by any date and he can also see the procedures that the appointment is scheduled for as well as the confirmation status of the appointment.
With this amazing service, your doctor can enjoy his freedom and still maintain a good reputation for being on time. 😉
If you find that Scenario 3 is a common occurrence in your practice then you are going to want to use the time asked to arrive feature as well as paperless patient registration options.
At the time you are scheduling the appointment you can type in how many minutes early you would like the family to arrive.
The early arrival time also displays on the appointment details
If you want to ensure that this family shows up early you can also send a custom text message as a reminder.
Once they come in for their appointment (no matter who the patient is) you can use The Paperless Dentist App from Enlive Dental or the Patient Kiosk feature in Practice-Web to have them register paperless.
You can also use Cloud Forms online patient registration to have them fill out the forms at home prior to their appointment. All of these paperless options integrate with Practice-Web so no matter which option you choose the data will import into your software. No printing, no scanning. If you aren’t wholeheartedly concerned about being paperless that’s okay. Just think of the time-saving benefits that these features will provide your office!
Practice-Web has many more features that can help your doctor and your office manage your time more efficiently. If you have any questions about the features mentioned in this article call our office 800-845-9379 opt 1 or visit our website for more information.
See you next time 😀