Did you ever wonder
why treatment recommendations falls between the cracks? Is it because there isn’t effective follow-up? When a doctor reaches a diagnosis and prescribes treatment it is because the patient has a visible clinical condition that requires treatment. Dental office staff have said to me, “I don’t want to ‘pester’ the patient.
When I go to my physician and am told that I have a clinical condition that requires intervention, I don’t consider it being ‘pestered’, I thank my lucky stars that I have an astute care giver who recognized a condition that is treatable. I would also be very happy if my physician cared enough about me to have her staff contact me to make sure that I follow through with the treatment, even if it is for preventive care or physiotherapy for healing.
Why is it in dentistry that we seem to think if we call our patients to follow-up with the care that has been prescribed, that it would be considered ‘pestering’ our patients. If your patients don’t wish to hear from you, at least give them the opportunity to tell you so. If they say “don’t bug me” , then record it in their chart to discuss this again at their recall. Another suggestion is to have the patient sign a refusal of treatment form.
Active disease and active decay will not go away without professional intervention and your patient needs to know that. If you simply stop talking about the problem, that leads to suspicion and the patient wonders if they ever needed the treatment in the first place.
Following up with treatment recommendations on a regular, active and yes, persistent basis does the following:
1. Reduces no shows and short notice cancellations in the schedule
2. Let’s the patient know that you care about him/her
3. Helps protect you legally
If you are surprised by the third point, think about this – if you have diagnosed an existing condition in a patient’s mouth and the patient does not have it treated, and your office does not follow-up with the patient, if the condition gets worse, (because you know it’s not going to get better) it could end up being a condition that negatively affects his/her systemic health. If that should occur, who is responsible? Is it the patient who did not know the consequences of not completing treatment, or is it the doctor who diagnosed and prescribed care but did not want to ‘pester’ the patient.
Here are some tools to help you track unscheduled treatment and not allow anything to fall through the cracks.
Unscheduled Treatment Policy
The objective is to enter all future appointments in as planned treatment, including hygiene appointments. This helps to keep track of all unscheduled treatment. This process will help us to prevent future manual chart purges.
Run off list of active patients for each provider.
In the computer, look at the patient’s history.
- If the patient has been seen for an appointment within the past six months and has a scheduled appointment, do not call.
- Check to ensure that the next appointment is either scheduled or planned. If it is a hygiene appointment, check the status of the appointment state is either a perio appointment or recall. If recall, please check the recall frequency status.
- If the patient is overdue for an appointment, highlight their name and pull the chart. Call for a continuing care appointment.
- If the patient requires restorative work, show the chart to the doctor. Is there any other treatment that the patient requires? Enter the Treatment Plan into the computer.
- Call the patient to schedule the appointment.
Suggested verbiage – “Mrs. Smith, this is ____from Dr. Smith ‘s Office. Dr. Smith has reviewed your chart and asked me to call you to schedule your appointment for ..(insert whatever outstanding treatment).
If the patient cannot be reached by telephone, and more than one attempt has been made, enter the information into the patient record. Generate the appropriate Treatment Required Letter
Do not put the patient into inactive status unless they have specifically responded to the letter.
Treatment Required Letter
Dear ________
I have been reviewing your dental chart and you have not been in for your dental treatment that I prescribed for you. According to my records, you still require _______. Is there anything I can help you with?
It is important to me that you receive the dental care that was recommended to you to avoid further problems and possible discomfort. If you have any questions about your treatment, your insurance or if my team can assist you with financial arrangements that are comfortable for you, please feel free to give my office a call. If you prefer to speak to me directly, I will be happy to return your call. To postpone your dental treatment can make later correction more difficult and costly. If your hesitation is due to concerns regarding your treatment or the fee, please call our office and we will be more than happy to answer any of your questions. We do have financial options available upon request.
It is the goal of my team to continue to enhance the service to our patients, we are pleased to discuss any concerns or suggestions you may have regarding your relationship with us.
I look forward to hearing from you.
So, don’t worry about ‘pestering’ your patient. Dentistry is a service industry and you are doing your patients a “service” by helping them to follow through with the treatment that you have prescribed.
