The first week of the month, call patients who are due that month.  And follow along each week with the next group of patients.  Like I said, I do this Thursday mornings.  I like the morning because it does allow the rest of the day for patients to call back.  And it won’t take long to make these calls unless you have a lot of unscheduled patients.

Some experts say this is time-consuming.  And even go so far to say that it is a waste of manpower.  I totally disagree with that statement.  I believe it improves patient relationships.  But of course, it has to be done right.  Even if you are using automated systems!  And you want to use automated reminders.  We’ll get to that.

What we say and how we say it is everything.  Let’s say we reach our first patient on the phone. This patient is due this month.  We say, “Hi Mr. Jones.  This is April calling from Dr. Brown’s dental office.  I won’t keep you.  But I need to schedule your hygiene visit.  You are due for your hygiene appointment with us this month.    Would you prefer morning or afternoon?”

Unable to Schedule

The patient is unable to schedule at this time.  Mr. Jones reminds us that he is out of town on business.  And he isn’t sure when he will return.  It might be another 4-6 weeks.  We offer to call him in 6 weeks.  “Thank you, Mr. Jones.”  I will make a note now to call you again in 6 weeks.  Safe travels.  We’ll see you soon.”   Then just be sure to make a note in his chart that you will call again in 6 weeks.  And mark your calendar to do the same.

Calling Unscheduled Hygiene Patients And Leaving Messages

Now let’s make a call and leave a message.  The next call on our list goes to voicemail.  “Hi Jane.  This is April at Dr. Brown’s dental office.  Could you please call us here at 888-8888?  We need to schedule an appointment for you.  Thank you.”  And we leave it at that.  If Jane doesn’t call back, she will show up in our call list again next month.