In Curve Hero, how to find the number of patients acquired since the COVID-19 disruption

Editor's note: This is a continuation of a yearlong series that is designed to help dentists and team members understand their practice management software better. Today, we are providing you with a tip from Tracey Thompson, a product trainer at Curve Dental. Later this month, we will post questions and answers from experts in Dentrix and Eaglesoft.

Q: How can I find how many new patients I have acquired since reopening my doors after we were closed due to COVID-19?

Tracey Thompson.

A: That's a great question. I believe that coming back to work after the pandemic is exciting. It is even more exciting if you are gaining new patients during this time, which will enable you to grow your production numbers and overall collections. As you look at your numbers and the calendar for 2020 getting shorter, if your new patient numbers are low, then it might be time to do some marketing to boost those new patient numbers.

Here are some simple ways to know how many new patients you have gained in recent weeks.

New patient by referral source dashboards: Reviewing the graphs provided by Curve Hero can give you a quick insight into how many new patients you have seen by month for the past six months.

Use the New Patients This Month Report: This report will show you the patients for whom you have created a profile. In Curve, you'll need to enter partial profile information to make an appointment for a new patient. Filtering this report will lead to a more accurate list of new patients who were actually seen.

Filtering the New Patients This Month Report: Doing this is extremely easy. First, add a column into the report for the "first appointment date." Next, delete the filter for "profile created date," then add a filter to change the date range for the time since you have come back to work. Finally, apply the filters. Once you have done this, you will be able to see how many new patients you have gained since reopening your doors.

Tracey Thompson has spent more than 20 years in the dental industry, including 10 years as a dental assistant and office manager before becoming a product trainer at Curve Dental in 2010. She teaches best practices to dental offices across North America using Curve Hero. Learn more about Curve Hero at www.curvedental.com.

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