The Voice and Face of Your Office:
Top Tools for Patient compliance
We all know the old business adage that it’s easier to keep an old customer than to get a new one. It’s the same in your office. The key to a busy, healthy practice is patient compliance, meaning getting your patients to show up for their appointments! We tell our non-compliant patients, “I can’t help you if you’re not here.” If you’re having trouble keeping patients on top of their appointments, be sure to implement these useful tools.
Top Tools for Patient Compliance
- Schedule Out: At the beginning of each active care plan, the doctor should determine the expected number of visits the patient will need to achieve results. Then the front desk must schedule out ALL of the patient’s visits. Here’s what this does: a) Keeps your front desk from chasing patients to schedule more visits (and time having to remember/look up patient treatment plans) and b) Sets the expectation with your patient from the beginning that it will take X amount of time to heal. The patient is more likely to stay in care if they know from the beginning how long it will take.
- Text Reminders: Use a program that integrates with your EHR system to send automated text reminders. Patients will appreciate the reminders and be much less likely to forget their appointments. Plus, the staff doesn’t spend time calling each person the day before!
- Shift Huddle: Hold a Team Huddle before each shift. Pull up the schedule for the shift and designate one front desk staff person as the leader. You don’t need to discuss every patient that is coming in for care, but this will allow you to discuss any notes that any team member has about specific patients. It might be anything from “It’s Susie’s birthday today” to “Susie was out sick all last week and needs to make up her appointments.”
- React Quickly to No-Shows: The Front Desk should always call a patient within 15 minutes of a missed appointment. You are much more likely to schedule the patient for a make-up appointment either same day or within the week if you call as soon as they have missed their appointment. Set a grace period, and then call the patient as soon as that grace period is up…or better yet, text them! (See # 2)
- Make-Up Appointment Slip: Keep a pad of paper at each adjusting table where the doctor can write when they want the patient to make up their appointment(s). Then the doctor gives it to the patient, who gives it to the front desk. Bonus points if your notepad is on a bright color It’s almost like a “detention slip.” You can easily and inexpensively have these made at Vistaprint or another printing company. Ours look like this:
BONUS Scripting for calling a no-show patient:
Sally Front Desk: Hi Susie, this is Sally from ABC Chiropractic. We missed you for your appointment today at 11:30. I hope everything’s okay!
Susie: Oh no, I completely forgot!
Sally: I completely understand, Susie. It happens sometimes! Let’s get you scheduled for your make up-visit.
Leaving a Voicemail: Hi Susie, this is Sally from ABC Chiropractic. We missed you for your appointment today at 11:30. I hope everything is okay. We can still see you later today, or we can schedule a make-up* for another day. Please call or text us back and let us know which works better for you.
*Notice how we use “make-up” appointment, not “reschedule”? This is on purpose!
Get a deeper dive into these methods for patient compliance at the Chiropractic Business Club’s upcoming Startup Seminar!
Susie: Oh no, I completely forgot!
Sally: I completely understand, Susie. It happens sometimes! Let’s get you scheduled for your make up-visit.
Leaving a Voicemail: Hi Susie, this is Sally from ABC Chiropractic. We missed you for your appointment today at 11:30. I hope everything is okay. We can still see you later today, or we can schedule a make-up* for another day. Please call or text us back and let us know which works better for you.
*Notice how we use “make-up” appointment, not “reschedule”? This is on purpose!
Get a deeper dive into these methods for patient compliance at the Chiropractic Business Club’s upcoming Startup Seminar!
Join Dr. Alex Vidan, Dr. Beau Pierce, and their team of professionals who will help you get your patients in the door and stay in the door, plus tons of other topics to help you create a successful business.
Bring your team for free!
Bring your team for free!
