As you start to “floss” your patients files take note of the amount of emails and cell phone numbers you have on file. How are you using this valuable information? Sending emails and text messages to patients has grown rapidly in the past few years due to the low cost and efficiencies in converting patients into appointments. However, on average, dental practices are missing more than half of their patients’ emails and cell phone numbers. Gathering this important information and updating patients’ files is the first step.

•Deactivate or archive patients who moved.
•Ask patients for their email and cell phone number.
•Ask how new patients heard about your dental practice.
•Run a report from software showing who is active with no recent recare.
•Run a report with last visit in 2008 or greater and change those patients’ status to inactive.
•If you are using a reminder-only software (email/text message those with scheduled appointments), there is a large percentage of patients falling through the cracks. Make spring the time to refresh your recall program.

Dental Recall In office/phone script

Here is an example script your staff can use to request information when the patient is in the office or on the phone: “What’s the best email to use for you? I noticed that we don’t yet have your cell phone number or email address on file. If you would, please allow me to add these to your file, doing so allows us to end you convenient appointment reminders, as well as special promotions we run in office.”

Overcoming objections

Periodically, you may need to overcome a patient’s objection to storing their email address and cell phone. Here is a possible script for overcoming objections: “Of course we will never use your information improperly or sell it to 3rd party companies. Everything we do is 100% HIPAA compliant.”
practicemojo sample

What to do with the new information

Once you have updated your patient files you need to learn to utilize those emails and cell phone numbers. PracticeMojo Automated Recall and Marketing utilizes over 40 years of expertise in dental marketing to send timely emails and text messages to recall and reactivate your lapsed patient base. But what are you to do if you can’t get their email or cell phone number? PracticeMojo also utilizes timely postcard reminders to convert and schedule those customers whose email or cell phone number you may not have.

Likewise, PracticeMojo confirms all appointments with their Automated Appointment Reminder software. No patients fall through the cracks and you enjoy a full schedule of production; that’s why they call it
ReachAll Dental Recall.