Enhancing Efficiency and Communication in Your Office – Part 1

Modernized Scheduling and Reduce No-Shows in Your Office

The power of digital advancement has made things easier, faster, and more efficient. This is particularly true for healthcare practices where efficient scheduling can be a game changer. With this new technological landscape, optimizing your scheduling process is crucial. That’s where Dentech Communicator comes in.

This optimization begins with better patient scheduling. Research revealed that 42 percent of patients would prefer online appointment scheduling on their healthcare website, as compared to traditional phone call scheduling. Despite the demand, only 17 percent reported having this option currently available to them (Source: PatientPop). Dentech Communicator offers patients the flexibility to view and select from a range of available appointment times that suit their preferences, increasing the likelihood of compatibility with their schedules.

Dentech Communicator also plays a pivotal role in reducing missed appointments. Research indicates that about 50% of no-shows occur because patients simply forget their scheduled date (Source: EnveraHealth). To combat this, Dentech Communicator sends automated SMS and email reminders directly to patients, ensuring that appointment slots remain occupied. Beyond scheduling, the anxiety of the unknown can also deter patients. However, with Dentech’s patient communication app, pre-op and post-op instructions can be set up to automatically be dispatched to patients. Additionally, the TRUE 2-way texting feature enables patients to address any concerns directly from their mobile phones. Overall, these features significantly enhance the chances of patients adhering to their appointments.

Improving Scheduling Efficiency – It’s All About The Details

In the fast-paced world of dental practice, every minute counts. The efficiency of your scheduling can significantly impact your productivity, patient satisfaction, and overall office workflow. We’ll now explore two small but efficient ways you can optimize your scheduling process, ensuring you get the most out of every day.

1. Verify Your Procedure Times Even the most experienced dentists sometimes overlook the importance of tracking the duration of their procedures. We recommend taking a week to precisely time each of your procedures, then recording that data for more accurate scheduling. Doing this will allow you to fine-tune your schedule much more effectively.

2. Switch to 10-minute increments Many dental practices operate on 15-minute scheduling blocks. However, there’s an efficiency advantage to be gained by switching to 10-minute increments. Taking off 5 minutes from multiple appointments can save up to an hour each day. Dentech NextGen’s scheduler module allows you to easily make this switch, helping you get more out of your day.

Harness the Power of Provider Blueprinting

Provider blueprinting is a system that helps standardize the procedure codes used across your practice. For example, instead of having every dentist in your office using different codes or names for the same procedures, such as crowns or fillings, you can assign a universal code (like a “C” for crowns) to be used by everyone. Implementing this tool to your dental office’s arsenal will exponentially improve your office’s communication.

Dentech NextGen’s Provider Blueprinting feature allows you to customize and standardize your procedure codes, improving the overall workflow and better managing patient expectations. You can access and modify your blueprint codes under Maintenance, then “Scheduling,” and finally, “Blueprinting.” Even better, these blueprinting options are directly accessible when creating a new appointment in the scheduler.

Dentech NexGen is designed to adapt to your practice’s needs, making your dental office run smoother than ever. Harness the power of Dentech NextGen and see your practice’s efficiency and productivity skyrocket!