Being held at:
The Best Western Russell Hotel & Conference Centre,
136 Boxley Road ,
Maidstone, Kent,
ME14 2AE

Time 6:30pm and finishing at approximately 8:30pm / on 20th June.

The event is free to attend with complimentary refreshments available. We have limited spaces so please contact Natalie on 0845 345 5767 or email localusergroup@soeuk.com to book your places today.

Brian Weatherly, Managing Director of Software of Excellence commented;

“We believe customer service, both for existing and potential customers to be one of our key priorities.  Software of Excellence has continually strived to improve our levels of service and support.  The results of this survey are a reflection of our ongoing investment in product,  people, processes and technology, and we are delighted with the results. “

For more information on Software of Excellence and EXACT™ practice management system call 0845 345 5767 or visit www.soeidental.com

We are delighted that Richard Grant has agreed to host the next meeting on the 24 May and plan to start at 6:30pm with a welcome and introduction by Richard and then we will cover the following topics:

EXACT Update

Patient Education and Treatment Plan Acceptance

THRIVE Business Services

Q&A Session

Free Support for 6 months

Additional Modules

Starting at 6:30pm and finishing at approximately 8:30pm the meeting will be held at:

The Village Hotel, West Street, West Allotment, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE27 0RA

The event is completely free to attend with complimentary refreshments available. We have limited spaces so please contact Natalie Emerick on 0845 345 5767 or email localusergroup@soeuk.com as soon as possible to book your places.

“We’ve been using EXACT(tm) for 10 years now and we continue to attend these Users Days as they help to keep up with the demands of technology. We attended this particular User Day to see the latest features of EXACT(tm) version 10 and what they can offer our busy practice.”

Karen Tobias – Cambray Dental, Gloucestershire.

THRIVE uses the following 10 Key Performance Indicators to benchmark the efficiency of a practice:

1.      Chair Time Utilisation
2.      Failed To Attend (FTA)
3.      Top 10 Invoiced Treatments
4.      Referral Sources
5.      Gross Earnings Per Hour
6.      Forward Cover On Appointment Book
7.      New Patient vs Existing Patient Mix
8.      Recall Effectiveness
9.      Payment Plans
10.     Patient Debt

By using our experience and analytical skills to extract and analyse the everyday business data held within EXACT(TM) our consultants are able to benchmark individual practice performance and deliver findings in an easy-to-understand, graphical format.

THRIVE delivers an invaluable, instantly actionable insight into what a practice is doing well and where there are service and profit shortfalls, focusing on achieving rapid results that go right to the heart of practice efficiency. This makes the THRIVE programme perfect for busy Practice Managers and Principals who want expert support to improve business profitability.

With over 60 practices already taking part, the THRIVE programme is already delivering some startling results. THRIVE Product Manager Andrew Hepburn has worked with many of the practices:

“We have been extremely pleased with the initial results and so have the practices who are on the THRIVE Programme. We have worked with NHS, private and mixed practices and THRIVE has provided information that has helped increase recall success rates, improve treatment plan acceptance and provided an interesting insight into the operation of each and every business. THRIVE is having a real impact on practice efficiency and delivering  a significant return on investment, in terms of attracting new patients, maximising retention, loyalty and value and increasing productivity.”

THRIVE is currently undergoing a nationwide roll-out. For more information or to join the THRIVE programme please click here.

www.thrivewithsoe.co.uk

Recall List 1

A recall system is the heart of patient retention in every dental practice, and yet very few practices run a really good, effective system; so why is that?  I’d propose the main reason is that many practices naturally accumulate a good and reasonably loyal database of patients, so the practice remains busy even when their recall system is not optimal. In one extreme case I watched a practice principal placing hundreds of prepared recall cards into storage boxes; the dentist was already booked solidly three weeks in advance and he felt unable to manage his workload.  As our economy slows down many patients are now slower to respond to their hygiene or dental recall so this is a really good time to be tuning up your recall system, if only for peace of mind.  When a practice does slowdown, typically the hygienist’s book is the first to experience gaps, followed by associates.

Recall List 2

There are 6 parts to an effective recall system:

1. Accountability and Review

Make sure one person clearly understands that they are accountable for this critical activity.  Ask them to produce a monthly report showing each of the last 6 months. For each month show how many patients were due for recall and how many have yet to make an appointment.  Then have each provider sit with the person and discuss their individual data.  Some providers, particularly hygienists, might have a greater need for focus on their recalls compared to other providers.

2. Recall Messages

Recalls messages should be carefully worded to show that you care for the health, well being, and appearance of your patients.  Reminding a patient of the benefits of regular dental or hygiene visits is going to be more effective than simply saying ‘this is a reminder’.  To really maximise effectiveness consider appealing to patients’ individual motivators. You can do this using a ‘Smile Assessment’.  After consultation, assign each patient a category that best describes their motivators.  For example, ‘Minimise Cost’, ‘Focused on Appearance’, ‘Perio Concerns’. Then customise a message for each patient category, e.g.: ‘In order to minimise your dental costs regular hygiene check ups are essential…’ or ‘In order to keep your smile as natural and beautiful as possible…’, or ‘I know you are concerned about your periodontal health…’.

Consider including a brief comment about new services you provide, such as a new orthodontic system or tooth whitening. Such messages must not cloud or replace your primary message, which is your concern for your patient.

3. Follow up

I’d suggest each month:
Send a recall for patients due next month, and,
Send a first follow up to patients due this month who haven’t booked an appointment, and,
Send a final follow up for patients due last month who still aren’t booked. Ideally this would be a phone call.

It’s important that your patients feel respected, so careful wording and sufficient elapsed time between follow ups are both important.  Also use different words at each follow up, and a different media, since different media suite different people.

4. Media

Try using a range of media, ideally based on the patient’s preference; this is particularly important for email.  For office based workers, email can be very effective, but some patients rarely check email.  If you did use email for a patient’s recall, remind them with a letter, post card, or SMS, and finally with a phone call.

5. SMS

SMS delivers the highest recall success rates, and you will receive replies within minutes.  It’s also cheaper than letters or phone calls.  The reason for its success is that most people carry a phone on them, and your number is placed directly on their handset; they just need to press dial to speak to you.  It is vital when using SMS that you can easily see who didn’t get the SMS so you can use another media to contact them.  SMS recalls are ideal to fill your appointment book at short notice.

6. Educate and Set Expectations

Not all patients will understand why hygiene visits are important so it’s critical to take a few moments explaining this.  Allow some time in every hygiene session to discuss what you will be focusing on in the next session and when that session needs to be. Try to ensure every patient leaving the practice is committed to their next hygiene visit.

In Summary:

Have one person clearly accountable for recalls.
Have a simple monthly report for each provider showing key effectiveness data.  If there is a concern hold a regular practice meeting to brain storm. Agree and record corrective actions.
Think about the words and messages you send out.  They must be personal, motivational and effective.
Have a system to follow up recalls if an appointment remains un-booked. Attempt to recall a patient at least three times.
Use a range of media i.e. Postcards, letters, emails, SMS, phone calls.
If you don’t use SMS for recalls, try it. SMS is the most effective recall media.
Ensure every provider helps every patient understand the value of their next visit, and the timeliness of that visit.

You might expect that any modern computer system would automate everything I’ve described in this article, but this is far from the case.  I enclose a picture of the Software of Excellence Recall Manager, which does facilitate everything discussed here.