Member resources for enhanced practice profitability and performance.
SEGMENT:
MARKETING
Executive Summary
RECALLS: INTERNAL MARKETING
Pre-appointing scheduling is the key to successful recall rates. Using a script will make the conversation run smoothly.
1. Provide an appointment card in the exam room. The doctor says: “I want to see 2. 3. 4. 5.
you in one year.” “I am going to reserve an appointment for you.” “We will confirm in plenty of time to change it if needed.” “Okay?” Make the appointment for 12 months and one week from the date of the current appointment to make sure that insurance coverage is available.
Member resources for enhanced practice profitability and performance.
SEGMENT:
MARKETING Recall Best Practices
The first step in improving recall rate is to measure it. Many electronic health record (EHR) software programs can report the recall rate but for most EHR software there will be some calculations required. Recall rate is calculated by measuring how many patients were seen during one month, seen again before or during that next month the following year, and then seen after 15 months, 18 months, and two years. For example, if a doctor saw a patient in August last year, determining whether the patient returned to the practice by the end of September, December, March, and August the following year is important. The recall rate should be higher at each interval. It is imperative that the recall rate is tracked. The EHR company should be able to provide help with calculations. Year-out scheduling (pre-appointing) is the best and most important way to increase the recall rate. Scheduling patients one year in advance is the fastest way to grow the patient base. Pre-appointing the patient base instead of relying on postcards, emails, and wishful thinking to fill the appointment book can increase the frequency of eye exams. By pre-appointing the same patient that would have seen you three times in six years would now have an eye exam five to six times in those same six years. Pre-appointing is not time-consuming. The doctor or the staff can easily make the appointment for the next year. It takes seconds to click to one year + one week (for insurance purposes, add the extra week) and create an appointment. Write the appointment on a recall card and give it to the patient. Using a separate billing code for the year out appointments so that they are easy to identify the following year will help identify which patients are ‘year-out’ appointments. The doctor can make the year out appointment in the exam room but it can also easily be made at the check-out station with minimal training. There will always be cancellations and reschedules with any appointment system. Tracking same day cancel rate percentages and same day reschedule percentages is highly recommended so that the scheduling and reminder process can be tweaked if percentages are too high. A good cancellation rate is less than five percent and a good reschedule rate is less than eight percent. The best practices can be as low as one to two percent for same day cancellation rate and less than five percent for same day reschedule rate. With a good EHR system, it is easy for the doctor or the staff to pre-appoint the patient. Here are some script tips on making year out pre-appointed scheduling work. • • • • •
Provide an appointment card in the exam room. The doctor says: “I want to see you in one year.” “I am going to reserve an appointment for you.” “We will confirm in plenty of time to change it if needed.” “Okay?” Make the appointment for 12 months and one week from the date of the current appointment to make sure that insurance coverage is available.
Member resources for enhanced practice profitability and performance.
SEGMENT:
MARKETING
Conclusion
Remember these three key words: 1. Reserve 2. Confirm 3. Okay? Recalls are the most effective and least expensive form of marketing in an optometric office. Tracking recall rate, no-show rate, and same-day cancel rate are the first steps in making an optometric office grow and flourish.
