by Michael Mosley
Big or small, all practices can benefit from more attention spent on patient recare. While recare is one of the simplest, most cost effective ways to increase the bottom line, most practices fail to implement a recare program consistently and effectively. Moreover, in failing to implement an effective recare program, practices stand to lose patients and revenue. To better evaluate your practice’s current recare system, ask the following three questions:1. Who are you reaching out to? While it is important to follow through with active patients, it is equally important to communicate with patients who have been dormant for several years. Oftentimes, when a patient neglects to revisit, it is simply a result of forgetfulness. By simply re-engaging with these “lost” patients, you are reminding them to reschedule — it can be as simple as that!2. In what way are you reaching out to them? If you are still manually sifting through patient files and calling and/or sending appointment reminders by mail, then it is time for an upgrade. Not only is this traditional method incredibly time-consuming and expensive, it also lacks efficiency. Mailers frequently go unnoticed, phone calls are missed, and files are lost. Implementing a patient engagement service like Smile Reminder, which has generated over $100 million for practices nationwide through its recare program, can not only do the job faster, but also much more effectively. With the majority of people now relying on smart phones and computers for news and information, it is much more effective to contact them digitally. A worthy patient engagement service will automatically find overdue patients and send them a friendly text message or email reminder to which the patient can easily reply to schedule an appointment. 3. How often are you reaching out to patients? If your practice is not communicating with patients every six months, you are losing business. Automated services will sift through patient records and automatically send a text message and/or email reminders every six months. Furthermore, these services allow your practice to track the efficiency of your reminders, so you are able to see first-hand how patients are responding. Waiting several years before reconnecting with patients means they may seek care elsewhere. This is a simple and effective way to show patients they are not forgotten and to prove you care. While a cutting-edge whitening treatment or breakthrough dental procedure may garner moderate attention for a short time, dental practices need not look any further than their own files when seeking new ways to drive profits. Recare done right is fast, easy, and lucrative for a practice, not to mention great for the patients, too.As director of marketing at Smile Reminder, Michael Mosley is keeper of the Smile Reminder brand. His responsibilities include brand awareness, brand messaging, lead generation, and sales enablement. During Michael’s tenure, Smile Reminder has experienced remarkable growth from both within existing vertical markets and focused market expansion efforts. A graduate of the Business School at Arizona State University, Mosley's most important focus is his family and helping others find the same joy he has experienced through child adoption.