Make the call for recall!

“Call me, don’t be afraid, you can call me, call me and I will be there” The lyrics to a popular old song come to mind when I think of having to call patients to get them to come in for their necessary teeth cleaning and professional examination.

Let’s face it most people are so busy they don’t have time to schedule appointments for important healthcare maintenance unless a big motivator like pain or bleeding gums and bad breath force the call.

Numbers don’t lie and according to top dental consultants an increase of 20 to 30% of total revenues is achieved just by picking up the phone and calling unscheduled and overdue patients needing check-ups and teeth cleanings.

Reactivate inactive patients.  Inactive does not mean “don’t call.” Practices should also reach out to recent inactive patients (those who haven’t been seen in 18 months or longer). Many of these patients may have missed an appointment and just fallen into the cracks of your office system. Send out a letter about restarting care, then follow up with a phone call. Many practices have had excellent results bringing inactive patients back into the practice with this strategy.