I have been following and contributing to a group discussion on Linked In called “what’s your new patient routine?”
And I was impressed with one of the following contributions:
“I always go out to the reception area and greet the new patient. My assistant does a cone beam survey, we show the 3D images of the skull then do digital bite wings, intra-oral photos, phase contrast microscope image on computer to show any pathogenic bacteria, perio hard and soft tissue exam. We then educate them about any incompatible dental materials like amalgam and show them this video
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA The next question after I show them the cracks and decay around the edges of their amalgams is “how soon can we get started?”
This protocol seems to say “welcome to surgery”.
Is this what the patient wants? Not at all, according to our numerous and on-going surveys of patients in the waiting room. Logically, patients have a different agenda. They want to know their risks of disease and to participate in their diagnosis of these risks. They consistently vote shared diagnosis to be the most important service their dentist can provide.
Patients also report overwhelmingly they want more preventive care when they are at risk of dental disease. And they are willing to pay it, more eagerly than the procedures described in the above quotation.
New patients commonly come from referrals. In that regard, which of the following referrals cards would you respond to?
Source: Ross Perry
