Failed and short-notice changed appointments are serious problems at any time during the year, but can really play havoc on the summer month's production, typically vacation months for doctors and team members.

Parents and patients don't intend to be less committed to their appointments, but during the "lazy days of summer" let's face it…if anyone makes them a better offer than going to the dentist, off they go, which means your scheduling coordinator works at top speed keeping the changes in the schedule filled. Not to mention the stress involved with the confirmed patient "no-shows."

First let's look at the major causes of broken appointments:

1. A lack of communication from the doctor and entire dental team to the patient regarding the importance of their next visit while they are sitting in the dental chair on their current appointment. If you have ever wondered why some practices have 3-4 times as many broken appointments as another practice, listen to the amount (or lack of) patient education regarding the next appointment in your own practice starting immediately.
If the office communication in your practice is 75% social and only 25% dental education, no wonder you have more than your share of open time which is totally non- productive. Reversing the conversations to 75% dental education and 25% social chitchat is key. All it takes is a 30 second eye to eye, heart to heart talk about the importance of keeping the next appointment, and VOILA….a reduction in over HALF the amount of wasted time. While socializing with patients may be fun…it should never be more than 25% of the conversation and at that, focused on the patient, not the dental team member.
2. A non-motivated team member is another serious reason for open chair time. Their attitude is: I'm going to make the same amount of money today no matter how many people show up, so why work so hard? If you don't already have an incentive bonus plan in place, I highly recommend one. Or the doctor could have a daily "bonus kitty" and drop a $10, $20 or $50 bill into the locked box or office safe for each day with zero to X number of open slots on the schedule. Each open slot costs the team their "fun-money" which is divided at the end of the month and pro-rated to part time team members. With an average of $30 per day times 16 days, this could be close to $500 per month!
3. Weak verbal skills and untrained scheduling coordinators determine why a large percentage of changed or failed appointments take place in a practice. There are three tones of voice that might be used when a patient calls to try and change or cancel their appointment: 1) happy, 2) neutral, 3) friendly disappointment. If employees like downtime, they will sound happy when an opening occurs. Because patients like to make the person taking the call happy, they will continue being a source of failed appointments because they know the team member actually seemed elated with the call.

If the patients receive a neutral or "vanilla" response such as "Oh, no problem at all Mrs. Webster, let's see when I get little Samantha back in, How about this coming Thursday at the same time?" Again, if it is easy to change or cancel appointments because the caller feels it's OK and no problem at all, look out…your practice will again have more than your share of broken and failed appointments. I have heard from some scheduling coordinators in my audiences that they spend a third of their time each day restructuring every day that falls apart!!

The only way to control wasted chair time, especially in the summer months, is to always sound friendly yet firm when someone calls to ruin your schedule. "Oh Mrs. Webster, I'm sure that the trip to the lake that Samantha has been invited to participate in is very important, but so is her appointment with us. I have reserved the doctor's entire late morning just for her bandings. As you know, it would be impossible for me to fill this amount of the doctor's time on short notice. Is there any way we can work around Samantha's invitation so that they may leave around noon instead of 10 AM?"

If and when your scheduling coordinator develops the skill of being very friendly yet disappointed when patients try to fail or postpone their appointments, patients and parents begin to realize the inconvenience of this act, especially the last minute changes. REMEMBER: An appointment will NEVER become more important to the patient than it appears to be to you.

A good "test" is to have the doctor go across the parking lot with a cell phone while covering the mouthpiece with a handkerchief to disguise his or her voice. Call the office and pretend to cancel the most productive appointment for today or tomorrow and see just how it is handled in your office!

You may also list on the back of your appointment cards: A broken appointment is a loss to three people:

1. The patient who missed the valuable time.
2. The patient who could have used the valuable time.
3. The dentist who was fully staffed and prepared for the appointment time.

Summer "play time" does not have to ruin your production. Be pro-active…play it cool by having each member of the team improve his or her verbal communication skills. And remember, the message has to be congruent and everyone has to be committed to the same goal. With verbal skills communication, "you are only as strong as your weakest link."

Linda Miles, CEO of Linda Miles and Associates, a premier speaking and consulting business in Virginia Beach, VA, has enjoyed twenty-five years of speaking success in all 50 states and on four continents. She is known for her instinctive understanding of the business side of dentistry. Linda is an expert in dental communication and highly respects dentists, dental staff and the patients they serve. Many of Linda's consulting clients rank in the top 5% of dental practices in North America.

She's a 20-year member of the National Speakers Association, a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, the Academy of Dental Management Consultants and the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration.