I am just calling to cancel my appointment,” says your patient.
“That’s okay. Thank you for letting us know,” says your team.
No cancellation is okay, but there are times when patients do need to cancel their appointments. There are many patients who make and confirm an appointment only to fall sick and have to cancel their appointment.
But are you in a habit, of not finding out the reason for their cancellation, accepting the cancellation and making it very easy for patients to do so?
I know it can seem a little awkward and sensitive when asking patients why they need to cancel their appointment. You still want to be understanding and empathetic if your patient calls to cancel their treatment and care.
So what is the best way to handle these cancellation calls and really help patients stay on track where possible.
A cancellation spells delayed treatment and care for your patient as well as a change in your appointment book that means less production for the day and maybe an appointment that is never filled.
My advice is to ask every patient who calls to cancel their appointment, the reason for their cancellation.
This is the BEST way to do it.
“Is everything okay?” “Your appointment for………….., with Dr ……… is very important.”
“Is there a reason why you need to cancel your treatment?”
Keep in mind that every appointment your patient has confirmed is the time that has been reserved for their dental treatment and care. It is not JUST an appointment time!
Ensure you discuss the treatment and care during your conversation with the patient and not just the appointment time.
During the cancellation call you want to stay focused on the urgency and importance of your patient’s treatment and care.
Look at the dentist’s clinical notes and refer to them as you speak with your patient. It is a much easier and effective conversation with your patient when you can refer to a higher authority, the dentist.
Once you know the cancellation reason, you can try to offer a solution so your patient can keep their appointment.
If there is no solution to offer, then reschedule the appointment immediately.
“Let’s confirm another appointment for you right now.”
Avoid asking the patient if they would like to make another appointment. This question can get a NO response.
You want to make sure the Cancellation Call ALWAYS has a next step for your patient.
The BEST next step is an appointment to continue treatment and care.
Maintain good habits during the Cancellation Call and give your patients the opportunity to KEEP their appointment by finding out the reason for the cancellation and offering a solution.
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T H E D E N T A L P H O N E E X C E L L E N C E O N L I N E M A S T E R C L A S S I S H E R E !
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I LISTENED TO YOU and finally my Master Class is here ONLINE just for YOU!
Your team do not need a day off work to attend this Master Class. YOUR TEAM can complete the Dental Phone Excellence Master Class right there in your practice at their own pace. The BEST part of my Master Class is that you have it FOREVER once you purchase the Master Class.
It’s time to say GOODBYE to New Patients calling your office and NO APPOINTMENT ever being made, people calling your office about the price and never making an appointment and your patients continually calling to cancel their appointment!
There are 7 Learning Modules in this Master Class
• Module 1: How to Effectively Communicate with Your Patients
• Module 2: The 8 Steps to the New Patient Call
• Module 3: How to Answer the Questions Callers Ask
• Module 4: Correct and Easy Appointment Scheduling
• Module 5: How to Prevent and Handle Cancellations
• Module 6: How to Follow Up Your Patients
• Module 7: Giving the Very Best Patient Experience
There are a total of 42 Learning Videos and my Checklists, Templates, Scripts and Flowcharts to help support your team’s learning.
This program has been designed to teach dental teams how to communicate more effectively with their patients and get better results.
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I look forward to seeing you all get the RESULTS you deserve and MORE!
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Call Tracking Excellence
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