What do you do when a patient misses an appointment? Do you simply continue on with your day and hope the patient will call to reschedule when they have time? Or, do you have a system in place to reach out to and reschedule that patient?
Implementing a recall program gives you this system and opportunity, and helps to prevent patients from falling out of care.
A recall program is the process of regular follow up and rescheduling of missed appointments. Missed appointments mean less practice volume and lower patient retention, which can affect your bottom line. You should attempt to reschedule 75% within the same week in order to keep patients healthy and happy, and your visits maximized.
A successful recall program begins as soon as a patient is 15 minutes late for an appointment. Your ultimate goal is to reach the patient, remind them of their appointment, have them come into the office, or reschedule a make-up appointment during the same week.
Missed appointments are a fact of life, but if you implement the correct processes, patients are back and on their way to becoming a happy, healthy, referring patients!
This is a proven program for greater retention in your practice. Get started today!
- Implement a recall log to act as a communication hub for your recall program.
- Use proactive scripting for calls to the patient and for common reasons the patient may miss the appointment, for instance, the patient is sick, on vacation, or busy with work.
- Use a customized recall letter highlighting the benefit of the patient’s treatment plan.
- Implement a follow-up system for patients who are unable to reschedule an immediate appointment.
- Date - February 28, 2019