Aspire2d's Basics Series: How to manage a late patient

In this series we'll offer up practical and effective techniques to improve and develop all the basics involved in the A-Z of a purposeful, productive dental practice focused on creating the ultimate customer service culture.

Dentists are notorious for running late, aren't they? If the dentist (therapist or hygienist too) isn't treatment planning and /or allocating sufficient time appropriately, you will run over time. This is a real headache for the support team, especially the front desk.  In practices where this problem is not resolved, you can inadvertently train your patients to come late.

This is probably what's running through some of your patient's mind before an appointment...

"Why should I bother to come on time when I know I'm going to have to wait?"

"Oh no, I'm running late, that's ok, they're probably running late anyway"

You may think that this isn't much of a problem. Maybe it all evens out in the end. Patients arriving late could even be welcome by your team... less guilt perhaps?

It's a vicious cycle. Running late costs your practice. Whether it's your team or the patient, every tick of the clock costs you dollars and stress. Financially speaking, you lose with extra payments of overtime when the team has to work into break, lunch and after hours. If patients get fed up waiting, they'll reschedule and you've just lost a whole appointment's fee - which you will not recoup. The team loses too. The stress, anger, frustration is unnecessary. It's counter productive and upsets the morale and culture of the practice. But, that's another blog altogether!

Let's imagine you do run on time 99% of the time (we all know there are emergencies and the unexpected that crop up time to time).

Your team is a fine-tuned machine and you finish each appointment with sufficient time to spare to complete admin and changeover. The next patient is on the chair on or before their appointment time. Woo hoo, aren't you terrific! Patients really appreciate that you RESPECT their time. You're not stressed, the patient is happy and the appointment gets off on the right foot.

Now let's imagine your next patient has not yet arrived. That's strange, all your patients come on time, if not early. What do you do?

Your team needs to have a plan.

The FDC must call the patient within 5 minutes of their appointment time. No later. If the FDC is still with a patient at the desk, the dental assistant makes the call. Communicate with each other (even if it's a note) so you all know who is taking action.

Why within 5 minutes?

The sooner you speak with the patient, the better chance you have to use most or some of that appointment time in a productive way. If the patient is running a bit late or has forgotten but can be there shortly, you can salvage the appointment. You will have time to either do some of the treatment or contact the next patients to move them down in the schedule if need be. The point is, you have options.

By having a protocol for managing late patients, you will be making informed decisions that the whole team understand and agree with. It's not a selfish or emotional response. It's a game-plan you are all aware of and can adjust to.

Train your patients to come on time.

Simple communication at different points helps to make this easy and less-officious. It's nicer to have a conversation about it rather than getting stroppy and upsetting a patient. Remember what's good for the goose... You can't get upset by a late patient if you kept them waiting last time.

The verbal skills are important. Speak in the present tense in a positive manner. We want to stress the facts that their Dentist is ready and waiting and we presume they are on their way.

• “Hello….., this is….. calling from ……..  Dr …. is expecting you. How far away are you?”

• Leaving a message: “Hello….., this is….. calling from ……..  Dr … is expecting you. Please give us a call back to let us know you’re on you way as soon as you get this message”

• "You're just around the corner? Fantastic, see you soon!"

• "You can be here in 10 minutes? Please come straight down and I'll let Dr ... know".

This next part is critical in the training of your late patient. You want them to feel the urgency of the situation.

Do not let them sit down in the patient lounge.

Take them IMMEDIATELY into the clinical room.

Even better, have the Dentist waiting at the desk to greet them.

This is why it needs to be a team game-plan. It would look silly if you urged them to come in quickly only to have them wait to go in.

• When patient arrives: “Hello ….., thank you for getting here so quickly.  Please come straight through, Dr ….. is ready for you”

The clincher in this situation is to thank them for coming in so quickly. Positive reinforcement will work better than a team who are in a huff. That will only make the patient feel worse and they may resent you.

NEVER say “That’s OK” or “We were running late anyway”.  This reinforces the unwanted behaviour and undoes your sense of urgency.

One final opportunity to train the patient.

On patient exit when confirming next appointment, counsel patient on arriving on time: “If you think you’re going to run a bit late, please give us a quick call to let us know.  We won’t have to worry about you and we’ll let you know if you have to rush in.”

With chronically late patients, the FDC can work with them to find more suitable appointment times or discuss a mutually agreeable solution. The dentist is in a good position to have a respectful word with the patient about how their lateness effects their ability to provide a quality service to all their clients. We want to avoid charging patients, instead work on communication and respecting time.

Prevention is better than cure so find ways to communicate your expectations to patients in a friendly manner when they first attend your practice such as in your welcome pack.