No-shows account for big losses according to Dental Consultant

Losing revenue in a dental office is a problem and downtime is one of the biggest culprits. Day in and day out, canceled appointments, no-show appointments and broken appointments are the problem of dental staff more than any other problem. The aggravation of this problem knows no ends. A survey completed recently by a Dental Consultant showed that on an average scale, one out of every ten patients is a no-show. The damage this high percentage does to the bottom line not only reduces profitability, but also shows a possible issue in management of the dental office. Having a full schedule with no breaks and no bleeps accounts for better manpower management as well as an overall higher bottom line. Doing some simple math can show just how backbreaking missing appointments can be. Assuming the loss of one to two patients per day in the dental office, ranging anywhere from $150 to $700 or even more if the procedure calls for it. If two hundred working days take place through the calendar year the total lost for that year can possibly range from $30,000 all the way up to the very top of the range at $140,000 per year. The amount you can be losing from these missing appointments is very substantial. These numbers could be even higher if the office is bigger than average. Dental offices across the nation could be increasing their bottom line by properly and efficiently taking control of the no-show appointment problem. Though it is not possible to remove all missed appointments from the books due to actual emergencies and calamities befalling some of the patients, it is possible to eliminate a large portion of the failed bookings and right the ship. With proper instruction and operating procedure, any office can take this leak out of their arsenal and increase productivity and efficiency and decrease the no-show, canceled or broken appointment problem in more than half.

Patients must know the value of the treatment they are receiving. Whether this is a cleaning or a preventative care exam, the patient must want the treatment for their own good. The patient should be educated on how the exam or cleaning can save them money and pain in the future by maintaining a healthy mouth now. By using an analogy the patient might be able to better see that their body, much like a house, must have regular maintenance done to it. Like your mouth, your house must be cleaned out and patched up sometimes. If you were to have a small hole in your roof, after the regular beating of the sun and the weather, the hold could become bigger. Once the hole is big enough to allow water in, the frame of the house might become rotten do to mold and water. The insulation might become worthless due to exposure to the elements. Animals might get into the hole and take roost. Much like this hole in your roof, you might get a hole in your tooth. That hole might turn into your entire tooth become rotten. That rotten tooth might infect your jaw, which might set your entire system off, giving you a fever and affecting your entire body. Instill in your staff the ability to use these spoken truths to your patient base to understand the importance of maintenance and preventative work to avoid emergencies in the future. A Dental Consultant will tell you to patients must understand this importance. Unless pain is unbearable, patients might not understand the need for something that they don’t see the benefit of because they weren’t hurting beforehand. Staff must also accept the task of making callbacks to ensure patients are committed to their appointment. By making callbacks, staffs ensure the patient is dedicated to their appointment.

Patients can be more involved in their own education of the procedures and treatments available to them through the use of technological assistance. Whether the technology is an intra-oral camera or an interactive digital video disc, patients can learn more by becoming involved. When shown what a dentist sees, the patient is able to see things from their perspective and start to understand why a treatment or service is recommended and how that treatment or service might better serve the patients oral health. A Dental Consultant will tell you this perspective gained by the patient will help with them accepting that they need and what more treatments and services. Patients can be properly convinced of a diagnosis by presenting them with medical facts and evidence. Cost of services should be laid out plainly and clearly so a patient can make an educated and wise fiscal decision concerning their oral health.

The management of a dental business can be one of its biggest problems according to a Dental Consultant. If a dentist is too wrapped up In the needs of the patients and someone is not available to handle the business side, to include the management of personnel and the scheduling of patients, things can get out of hand and the good dentistry will be lost because of a mismanaged business. A proper and trained staff must be in place to handle the running of the day to day business and decisions that must be made to ensure the success of the dental practice. A dentist is trained to take care of the oral health of their patients. Leaving the rest of the business to those trained to so is a smart move.