1. Appointment Management Systems
Chapter 11
Appointment Management Systems
Copyright © 2011, 2006 Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier. All rights reserved.

2. An organized system of appointment control
Maximizes productivity
Reduces staff tension
Maintains concern for the patients’ needs

3. Maximizing Productivity
Patients generate revenue; therefore, a patient should be treated in every chair in the office all day long.
If there is an empty chair, then there is no production and no revenue, but the overhead continues.

4. Reducing Tension and Respecting Patients
Poor management of appointments results in tension among staff members and can turn the reception room into a waiting room of discontented patients.

5. The appointment book/system is the control center of the office.
The practice should be controlled through the appointment system, not by it.

6. Appointment Management
Manual
This system is quickly diminishing from the modern dental office.
Electronic
Most popular system used today

7. Selection of a Traditional Book
Most efficient format is the week-at-a- glance style.
Spiral binding most durable
Multiple columns
Dates are an option; may vary by practice
Units of time may vary.

8. Traditional Appointment Book

9. Electronic Scheduling Features
Autoscheduler
Allows the administrative assistant to find an opening in a matter of seconds
Can search on specific days, during specific hours, and with selected providers
Daily appointment screen
Shows treatment rooms in column format
This screen also has multiple views.

10. Daily Appointment Screen

11. Electronic Scheduling Features – cont’d
Patient information window
Shows many types of information, such as demographical, financial, insurance, recall, and appointments

12. Patient Information Screen

13. Electronic Scheduling Features
Locate appointment
Allows assistant to search to see if a patient has an existing appointment

14. Electronic Scheduling Features
Goal tracking
Provides a variety of analyses for the practice

15. Electronic Scheduling Features
Short call list
Tracks appointments that were cancelled and not rescheduled, patients who want to come in earlier, and patients who want to be called if there is a cancellation.

16. Short Call List

17. Advantages of an Electronic Appointment System
Treatment rooms can be color coded.
Production goals can aid in appointment scheduling.
Production data are visible daily.
Data entries are easier to read.
Autoscheduling eliminates paging through the book.
Various screen viewing modes are available.

18. Advantages of an Electronic Appointment System
Cross-reference saves time and motion.
Patient data are more likely to be accurate.
Searching for appropriate appointment openings is easier.
Procedures can be posted to several different records from one entry.
Patient follow-up is easier.
No manual record filing is necessary.

19. Appointment Book Matrix
A matrix is an outline of the appointment book.
It should be completed before using a new appointment book or electronic system.

20. Appointment Book Matrix
Elements of a matrix include:
Holidays
Vacation days
Lunch hours
School calendar
Staff meetings
Professional meetings
Buffer periods

21. Buffer Periods
This is a small amount of time set aside to absorb the hectic workload of the day or to allow for emergencies.
Generally, a 1-unit increment of time set aside in the morning and again in the afternoon allows time for unexpected emergencies or buffers an already hectic day.

22. Buffer Periods
The buffer period should not be inserted during the busiest periods of the day.
A dentist should always be prepared to see patients of record for emergencies or make provision for such coverage in his or her absence.

23. Emergency Patients Should be seen during buffer periods
Determine if it is a true emergency by questions:
What type of discomfort are you experiencing?
Where is the discomfort?
Is it a sharp or dull pain?
Is it sensitive to hot, cold, or pressure?
How long has this been bothering you?

24. Children may be more active and alert in the early morning.
Young Children
Very young children should be scheduled so as not to interfere with their routine naps.
Children may be more active and alert in the early morning.
Seek the caregiver’s advice on the time when the child can best be attentive to such treatment, if it is not an emergency.

25. Older Adults May require special attention Avoid traffic rush times
Determine whether they will need to be escorted by someone else
Avoid drawing attention to their age

26. Doctor’s Biological Clock
Generally best to schedule the most complex procedures during the time of day that the doctor has peak energy.

27. Scheduling for Productivity
The dentist should focus on procedures that are most profitable and delegate routine tasks whenever legally possible. Keep “power blocks” of time reserved for the most complex and productive procedures.

28. Extended Office Hours
Some offices may extend hours beyond the typical 5:00 day.
These hours may include early morning, evening time, or weekend days.
This time should be reserved for working persons who need to come later in the day.

29. Management of Prime Time
Prime time is the busiest time in the dental office, most frequently requested by patients.
This varies by community.
Reserve this time for those patients who must come at a later or prime time.

30. Habitually Late Patients
Only a small number of patients may fall in this category.
Stress the importance of the time reserved for the patient
As a last resort, you might try scheduling the person for an earlier time on the appointment card than is recorded in the book (be careful about this when making a confirmation call!)

31. Series of Appointments
When a patient needs to return to the office for several appointments, it is wise to schedule them on the same day and time of the week to avoid confusion.

32. Patient Who Arrives on the Wrong Day
The error may be the patient’s or the staff person’s.
Never be defensive!
Try to modify the schedule if it is your error.
Try to reschedule if it is the patient’s error.

33. An office policy must be established about walk-in patients.
Drop-Ins
An office policy must be established about walk-in patients.
Some offices accept walk-in patients routinely and can compensate for this with multiple staff persons.
If walk-ins are not accepted, then try to accommodate the patient as soon as possible in the schedule and explain the office policy to the patient.

34. Broken Appointments
When an emergency arises, a patient may need to cancel an appointment, but consistently broken appointments become a liability to the dentist.
Explain the office policy to the patient and inform him or her of the importance of keeping appointments.

35. Broken appointments should be noted in the patient’s record.
If the broken appointments persist, the dentist needs to take a proactive role by explaining that the lack of cooperation is not acceptable.
Broken appointments should be noted in the patient’s record.

36. Dovetailing
Minor types of treatment can be easily scheduled concurrently with other treatment.
Denture adjustments, suture removal, healing check, restoration polish, or dressing changes
In an expanded-duties practice, many of these procedures are done by a qualified staff member and must be dovetailed into that person’s schedule.

37. Establishing an Appointment Time
It is best to offer a patient two appointment times, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, rather than ask the patient what time is best for him or her.
This avoids telling a patient “That time is not available” when he or she asks for a specific time.

38. Confirming Appointments
Dentistry through the years has adopted the policy of confirming appointments.
If the office would like to reduce the amount of confirmations, ask the patient if he or she needs a courtesy confirmation call or notice.

39. Traditional Appointment Book
An entry in the traditional appointment book must be made in pencil.
It must be accurate, complete, and legible.

40. Appointment Information for a Traditional Appointment Book
Patient's full name, with cross-reference in case of duplication of names
Home and business telephone numbers to confirm the appointment or to reach the patient in case of an emergency
Treatment to be done
Age of patient (if a child)
Length of the appointment, indicated with an arrow
Special notations (e.g., new patient, premedication required, case at the laboratory)

41. Symbols Commonly Used in the Appointment Book
If using a manual system, a pre- established list of symbols for common treatments and units of time needed to complete treatment should be provided to the administrative assistant for reference.

42. Appointment Information for an Electronic System
Appointments entered in a computerized schedule are easily moved from time to time by clicking and dragging the appointment to a new time.

43. Appointment Cards
Written notification of the patient’s future appointment/s
Complete data in ink
Card may be plain or colored
May be for a single or multiple appointments
Computerized scheduling prints an appointment card for the patient.

44. Appointment Card Examples

45. Daily Appointment Schedule
May be accessed in the electronic system automatically
May be distributed to various areas of the office but must not be in view of the public (so as to protect confidentiality)
Update routinely as the schedule changes throughout the day.