Emergencies Happen At The Worst Times
The heading for this posting is a bit ambiguous. By that I mean to whom is it the worst time, the patient or the dentist. Let me explain…
A week or so ago I was out of the office on a Friday, a typical day away, and my cell phone rang with a text message from a patient. Rather than calling the office where a Virtual Receptionist (VR) would have answered the phone, the patient had my emergency number, called it and the message came to my cell phone.
I tried calling the patient back but was unable to reach him. The message mentioned a specific tooth and a problem that had just reared its ugly head and needed immediate attention. The only real problem was that I was going to be our of reach for the next 12 hours and I just couldn’t reach the patient. So what to do?
First I opened my Denticon dental software program on my iPhone and found the patient’s record. I looked at x-rays taken using Entry just a week or so ago and was able to ascertain what I believed was the problem. I then called a Planet DDS Virtual Receptionist and asked her to continue to call the patient until she reached her and to give her a message from me.
My VR was able to reach the patient later on that day, set up an emergency visit, and, having access through the internet to my schedule, even booked a check up appointment for me for the following week. Problem solved! A happy patient and a relieved dentist.
Posted @ 10:45 am, November 21, 2008.
Saving Me Some Real Embassassment
I’m sure this has happened to just about every dentist at one time or another. You’re sitting in your favorite restaurant and you turn around and there is a patient of yours sitting in the next table. They haven’t noticed you yet but there is no doubt that at any moment they will see your smiling face and you’ll have to say hello.
The only problem is you can’t remember their name. They were in your office only a few days before but a total mental block has set in and there is nothing going on in that brain of yours. You go through the alphabet, you try calling your office manager but no answer and you’re now on your own.
Well, this happened to me just the other day. What saved me was Denticon, my web based practice management system with iPhone support. I saw the patient and knew they were in just a week or so ago. I logged onto Denticon using my iPhone (crouching low so no one saw me), opened my appointment scheduler, checked the last couple of days and sure enough Scott’s name was there.
After breathing a quick sigh of relief, I jumped up from under the table and immediately walked over to Scott’s table and greeted him with a huge hello.
Now this may seem like a relatively small matter to some but the fact that I was saved from a potentially embarassing situation was terrific. I was actually able to introduce my wife and son to Scott rather than faking it.
Dinner was great too……
Posted @ 11:30 am, November 6, 2008.
I Need To Cancel For Tomorrow at 8 A.M.
My Vitrual Receptionist just saved my day. About an hour ago a patient called thinking we were closed. She was going to cancel an appointment for tomorrow at 8 A.M. This was a three hour appointment to prepare a whole bunch of teeth.
Now, most of you reading this entry know that it is a lot easier to cancel an appointment, especially a long appointment the day before, on an answering machine. Most patients will try to call when they know the office is closed so that they do not have to be confronted by a disappointed staff member.
When this patient called our virtual receptionist, Janine, was able to convince this patient that it was in their best interest to keep this appointment saving our entire mornings productivity.
Thanks Janine.
Posted @ 11:05 am, October 27, 2008.
It’s Time to Think About Practice Efficiency
Do you really need to waste expensive employee time on such tasks as billing, sending out recalls and insurance?
My guess is that with this crazy economy looming over our heads that most practices are looking for ways to maximize the efficiency of their current staff. Is it necessary to hire additional employees with all of the additional HR costs involved (Social Security, Medical etc.) or does it make more sense to have a virtual employee take care of these tasks at far reduced costs?
Now is definitely the time to review staff responsibilites and their ability to handle these jobs in a timely manner. If you find a backlog in recall cards, bills or insurance forms, or all three, it may be time to look at the Virtual Services provided by Planet DDS.
Posted @ 12:40 pm, October 23, 2008.
“Can’t come in today…I’m sick!”
How often do we as dentists hear this from one or several dental employees? This kind of absence can wreck havoc in a busy dental office especially in these economic times where many offices are forced to cut staff in order to keep overhead to a minimum. Cutting staff means that either certain tasks just don’t get done or someone else has to work a bit harder and longer. Neither of these choices are ideal from a productivity standpoint.
Well, virtual services can make this pain go away in an instant.
If your front office employee calls in sick all you need to do is make a quick call to PlanetDDS and arrange to have your Virtual Receptionist, tied in with web-based dental software, stand in until your employee returns to his/her job. Your VR can answer calls, make appointments and much more, relieving the rest of your staff to do their jobs as usual. Your practice will never miss a step.
Posted @ 4:50 pm, October 20, 2008.
From Our Customers: President of Dental Spa Cosmetics
With the economic crisis at hand it has become critical to take a hard and long look at overhead. Spending our hard earned dollars on that which is important and productive and limiting that which is wasteful and frivolous. This last comment is as true for our personal lives as it is for our dental practices. As a practicing dentist I had to take a long look at making our current staff more productive than they were even before the economy changed. By outsourcing those tasks that are both mundane and repetitive I have freed up several staff members to do what is really important….personal patient care. New patients are the life blood of every practice. By allowing our staff to spend more time with patients rather than wasting their time sending out recall cards or monthly bills has already proven to be a tremendous adjunct to our practice.
Posted @ 2:35 pm, October 14, 2008.
From Our Customers: Dentist in Long Island, NY Using Virtual Receptionist
As a dentist who only practices three days a week (three 12 hour days) I now appreciate the importance of Virtual Services. For the past two months I have used PlanetDDS Online services on the days I am not in the office and have found it to be an extremely worthwhile addition to my practice. I now have a live person answering my phones, handling emergencies, re-scheduling appointments (so that my schedule is not totally destroyed when I return to work) and most importantly scheduling new patients.
One of the most critical aspects of virtual services is the personalized care given to my patients. When the phone is answered, it is just as if it was being done by my "real" staff. The patient never knows that a "virtual" receptionist is caring for their needs. This is particularly important with new patients who have finally decided to make that call and now get a professional person to talk with rather than a machine. It's hard to say how many new patient visits have been saved thanks to this new service but my feeling is that it will certainly prove to be invaluable as we move forward over the coming months.
Posted @ 9:45 am, October 7, 2008.
Planet DDS and Start Up Practices
The response to our new practice software and virtual receptionist offer has been overwhelming.
For $599/month, Planet DDS will supply our web-based software, Denticon, and a full time (5 days/week) virtual assistant who will
- Answer your phones
- Schedule appointments
- Get new patient information
- Check insurance eligibility and benefits
- Verify appointments
- Review and submit insurance claims
- Reconcile rejected claims
- Resubmit denied claims
- Trace old claims
- Input fee schedules
- Input insurance plan data
- Manage insurance company provider eligibility
- Patient billing
- Accounts receivable aging management
- Key metrics management
The idea is to offer a service that will provide a full time, experienced employee, who is managed by experienced managers, at a price that is less than even a part time employee. The goal is to take a huge headache away from the many that are already associated with a start up.
Posted by Bill Jackson@ 3:40 pm, September 26, 2008.