Whether it’s a patient who’s new to your practice, or an established patient with dental care needs, it can be a challenge to present care in a way that the patient understands, and results in them getting the care they need.
Sally McKenzie, founder and CEO of McKenzie Management, and contributing writer to Dr.Bicuspid.com outlined perfectly the 3 reasons you should only discuss essential treatment first. [Note: Free registration is required to read this material on DrBicuspid.com.]
She notes the characteristics of successful treatment plans as follows:
1. Patients are more likely to accept smaller treatment plans
2. Starting small is a great way to earn their trust
3. It shows you have their best interest at heart
2. Starting small is a great way to earn their trust
3. It shows you have their best interest at heart
Improving how you present treatment helps you build better relationships with your patients, which translates into increased case acceptance, and better patient loyalty. Tracking presentation performance (how treatment planned care becomes production/income) helps you grow your practice. Open Dental has several tools that help you prepare and present treatment plans, then track the results!
- Prioritize treatment so you can start with the most essential treatment. Set up your priorities in Setup > Definitions > Treat’Plan Priorities, then set the priority in the Treatment Plan module. See more on that here.
- In subsequent visits, create Planned Appointments in small groupings so your patient gets all the care they need but aren’t overwhelmed if a lot of care is needed.
- Track treatment plan presentation and acceptance with reports:
- Treatment Presentation Statistics Report
This report shows the total number of treatment plans in a date range, number of procedures in saved treatment plans, treatment planned procedures that have now been marked as scheduled or completed, and the gross and net totals for presented treatment plans and procedures. - Presented Treatment Production Report (Presented TreatPlan Production)
This report totals the production from completed procedures that are attached to saved Treatment Plans. It can produce a detailed report by procedure or total production amounts by treatment plan user or presenter.
- Treatment Presentation Statistics Report
Taking the steps recommended to start small and present essential treatment first can play an important role in building a strong, trust-based relationship with your patients that will take them through all the dental care they need.
If you or your staff needs help with any of the tools in Open Dental, you can call, chat or email – we’re here for you!
Categories: Growing Your Practice, Patient Communication, Patient Retention