When people call your office, I know your team find out their name then immediately ask if they are a New Patient or Existing patient.

“Hi John, how are you today? When was your last appointment with us?”

This is the best question to ask every caller to determine if they are a New Patient to your practice or an already existing patient.

It prompts a New Patient Caller to say, ‘No I have never been to your practice before.”

Or

“I was in to see you a few weeks back.” or something along those lines. This immediately alerts you to the fact they are an existing patient. I will tell you more about this in just a minute.

Do you know why this question is also so great?

Well, you immediately create familiarity. The caller believes you know them already….and of course you don’t!

Unless they have super-natural abilities and can recognise every patient who calls just by their voice, you can’t know if the caller is an existing patient or a New Patient.

Even though, did meet a wonderful front office coordinator who completely blew me away with her uncanny ability to recognise many of her patients immediately by their voices. If she is reading this blog, she will know it is her straight away!

When you find out the caller is an existing patient of yours what do you do next.

What would be the information you have right there that will help the phone conversation with your existing patient.

Yes.

Bring up their patient file and any other patient information.

You have at your fingertips, the following information on all of your existing patients who have had more than one appointment:

• patient profile with their personal data
• charting
• Clinical notes
• medical alerts and background
• treatment plans
• treatment completed
• accounts

So much information to help you right now in your phone conversation.

One of the ways to wow your patient is to know your patient.

When your patient has a question, you can refer to the already recorded information.

Let’s say one of your long term loyal referring patients (the type of patient we all long for and want) calls you because their temporary crown has broken or fallen off, you should do not need to ask which tooth it is. You can immediately look up the treatment just completed and presto there it is. You can tell your patient which tooth it is.

When you can immediately look up your patient’s information and chart, you will see where the patient is up to in their treatment.

Can you see how this avoids asking questions you already know the answers to.

You also look super professional and your patient will be silently impressed at how knowledgeable and helpful you have been.

The other great thing it does, it helps your patient feel even more confident in your dental practice and your dentist.

So, if you have not been looking up your existing patients information as soon as you find out who they are, then start.

This is another way to wow your patient and give them the service and care they will not receive elsewhere!

************************************************************************************************

ATTENTION: If you have been thinking for a long time that your phones are not being answered very well and you have just not got around to doing anything about it, then NOW is the time to do something!