Keep current patients active
To maximize production opportunities, perform a chart audit and ensure that 98% of all current patients are scheduled. Most practices have anywhere between a 5% and 10% "cushion" of active patients who haven't been seen in the last nine months. Contact these patients as soon as possible. The majority of these patients will agree to an appointment once your team has communicated with them.
Reactivate inactive patients. Practices should also reach out to recent inactive patients (those who haven't been seen in 18 months or longer). Many of these patients may have missed an appointment and just fallen off the practice's radar screen. Send out a letter about restarting care, then follow up with a phone call. Many practices have had excellent results bringing inactive patients back into the practice with this strategy.
Don't let patients leave without scheduling the next appointment. Levin Group recommends having 98% of hygiene patients scheduled for their next appointment before they leave the office. Scripting can help front desk personnel move more patients into the hygiene schedule. If patients leave without an appointment, it requires more work to get them back on the schedule.
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