SCRIPTING
Scripting For The Appointment Coordinator
“Daily Front Desk Interaction”
Greeting The Patient:
As you know, you never have a second chance to make a good first impression. Greeting the patient is a powerful tool for making people feel important. There are two key things to remember in order to offer a powerful greeting to the patient.
· Remember to say their name
· Compliment the patient
“Hi Suzy, how are you today? Gee, that sure is a pretty sweater you have on today. That is definitely your color.”
“Hi Bobby, how are you today? I really appreciate you coming in on time today. You are here right on schedule.”
“Hello Mrs. Jones. It is great to see you again. I really like your new hair cut.”
“Hi Mr. Brown, Looks like you’re surviving the heat out there today. By the way, I sure do like that tie you’re wearing.”
Look for ways to compliment your patient and parents when they come in. Remember, call them by name and compliment them. That is the key to the effective patient greeting.
Wishing The Patient Farewell:
Wishing the patient farewell is an important step which is often overlooked in many practices. Remember, this will be the last thing on their mind as they leave your office. The scheduling coordinator who creates an enthusiastic farewell is one who will be remembered in a positive light by the patient.
“Mrs. Roberts, we will look forward to seeing you again on August 3rd at 10:00am at our (name appt location). We have reserved a 15-minute appointment for you. I hope you and your family have a great time on your vacation. By the way, send us a post card if you have a chance. (Also mention the monthly contest we have going). Goodbye now and have a nice day.”
Greeting The New Patient:
“You must be Johnny. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you Johnny. My name is Barbara. Who did you bring with you today?”
At this point allow the patient to introduce the parent. This works well for children younger than 12. After age 12, simply introduce yourself to the person with the patient. “Thank you for bringing in your information. Please have a seat or feel free to play some games. Shirley, our Treatment Coordinator, will be with you in just a moment.”
If you have not mailed the forms in advance, make sure you have an attractive clipboard and pen ready. Hand the clipboard to the patient or the responsible party and say, “In order for Dr. Goldstein/Feinberg to answer all of your questions today, we need to get a little bit of information from you. Please take a few minutes to fill out both sides of our Health History Form. If you have questions at any point please ask me. I’ll be glad to help you.”
Wishing A New Patient Farewell:
“We really appreciate your choosing our office, Mrs. Green. It’s been a pleasure meeting you today. By the way, if you have any friends or co-workers who have been thinking about seeing an orthodontist, make sure you tell them about our office and the complimentary consultation. At this point, hand her a few business cards.
Asking For Payment:
When the patient or responsible party comes to the front desk, the Scheduling Coordinator needs to check the ledger card to determine if a payment is due on the account. If a payment is due, say: “Hi, Mrs. Blair. How are you today? I see a note here that Mary is doing great with her brushing. She even got some extra coupons today. Mary’s next appointment needs to be in approximately 8 weeks and there is a payment due on her account. Would you like to take care of that by check, cash or bank card?”
At this point the responsible party will probably ask you what is due. Simply say, “The amount due is $100.” Never ask, “Would you like to pay today?” Make sure you strike that from your vocabulary. If there is a question or a disagreement on the account, ideally you refer the responsible party to the Financial Coordinator and do not get into a lengthy, detailed discussion at the front desk regarding the payment arrangements. The Scheduling Coordinator works in conjunction with the Financial Coordinator to ask for payment however, it is not normally her place to get into lengthy discussions at the front desk.
Handling Insurance Questions At The Front Desk:
P: “Well, I have orthodontic insurance. How do you handle that?”
AC: “What we do is call your insurance company and verify your orthodontic benefits on your policy. When treatment starts, we will submit a claim on your behalf to the insurance company for their percentage and set up payment arrangements with you to cover the balance for which you are responsible. We will file all the claims for you. All you need to do is bring your insurance information with you to the first appointment or give it to me now so we can check for you in advance of your appointment.”
It is very important for the Scheduling Coordinator to completely understand the insurance procedure and how claims are filed in the office.
If a parent calls and ask, “Do you accept plan?” do not simply say “No”. Respond in a way to attempt to attract the person to your practice. “We do not participate in that particular plan, however, if the plan is a PPO plan they will pay us out of network benefits. Our doctor encourages you to come in for a complimentary exam. We have a top quality practice and many affordable options for payment. He recommends you at least review all of your options before making a lifetime investment in orthodontic treatment.”
Note: If the Scheduling Coordinator is not prepared to handle the insurance questions at the front desk, it is important for them to know how to put the patient or parent in touch with the person who can answer their questions. “Betty, our Insurance Coordinator is the person who can best help you. She will be in at 2:00 this afternoon. If you’ll give me your number and a good time to reach you, I’ll ask Betty to give you a call.” Let them know you’ll do whatever you can to help them even though you can not answer the question.
Asking For Referrals:
A professional Scheduling Coordinator makes a point to ask for referrals each and every day. When scheduling a patient, say to them, “Mary, we really love seeing patients just like you. If you have any friends who have been thinking about seeing an orthodontist, tell them we’d be happy to make them an appointment.”
If a patient or parent compliments your office, use that as a spring board to say, “Well thank you. We really appreciate your comment. We’re really proud of our office and the best complement you can give us is to refer your friends and relatives to our office.”
People Shopping For Fees:
One of the most frequently asked questions over the telephone is “how much do braces cost?” It is extremely important for the Scheduling Coordinator to discuss with the doctors how this question should be answered. It varies from practice to practice. In some areas it does work well to let them know the fee and the payment arrangements.
The majority of the offices I work with do not answer the question specifically. They simply say something like this: “Our fee schedule is set up according to the needs of the individual patient, Mrs. Green. We offer a free initial exam so you and your son can come in and Dr. Goldstein/Feinberg can assess his treatment needs and give you a fee. At that point we’ll explain the flexible payment arrangements our office offers. Would you like me to check the schedule for the next available new patient appointment time?
Does It Hurt To Have Braces?
This is a frequently asked question and sometimes it is asked on the telephone so the Scheduling Coordinator needs to be prepared to answer it. In our New Patient Coordinator course we talk about probing and asking questions in order to learn what the patient is thinking and feeling. When someone asks, “Does it hurt to have braces?” it is very important to respond in this manner. “We understand that this is a concern for many of our patients Mrs. Hudson, but I’m curious. Specifically, why do you ask that?”
At this point she will give you more information. There is obviously some history here. Someone may have told her that braces are painful. You need to have more information in order to answer this question. Once you understand where the question is coming from you can answer by explaining, “Patients may experience a little discomfort after the braces are adjusted, however we recommend Tylenol or Advil and the soreness usually subsides in about 24 hours.
The Referring Doctor Phone Call
The Scheduling Coordinator needs to be fully aware of the referring doctor’s names upon being hired. Make sure that if you haven’t already studied a list of the referring doctors’ names, you make this a high priority. When a referring doctor calls, the Scheduling Coordinator needs to have a tone of familiarity in her voice. This makes the referring doctor feel important.
Receiving referring doctor calls should go something like this:
SC: “Good morning, this is Viv at Dr. Starr’s office. How may I help you?”
DR: “Viv, this is Dr. Sarver. I’d like to speak to Dr. Starr please.”
SC: “Oh, Dr. Sarver, how are you today? Can I let the doctor know which patient you are calling about?
DR: “No, I just need to touch base with him on something regarding the dental society meeting.”
SC:“Let me check to see if the doctor is available, can I place you on hold?”
In this conversation use the doctor’s name. Keep your voice upbeat and enthusiastic. Make sure you make the doctor feel important. These are the keys to making this type of call work.
In the next example, let’s assume that Viv went to get Dr. Starr and he was in the middle of a bonding procedure and could not break away to answer the phone.
SC: “Dr. Sarver, Dr. Starr is in the middle of a bonding procedure and is not able to break away from the chair at this moment. Can he call you back in about five minutes or would another time be more convenient for you?”
DR: “Yes, please ask him to call me. I’ll still be available in five minutes.”
SC: “OK, great, Which number can you be best reached at?”
The following conversation is a situation that frequently happens and a well-trained coordinator does not make this mistake.
DR: “This is Dr. Sarver calling. I’d like to speak to Dr. Carson please.”
SC: “He is with a patient. Who did you say is calling?”
DR: “This is Dr. Sarver.”
SC: “What is this in reference to?”
DR: “I’m calling about a patient, Tommy Jones.”
SC: “OK, let me see if he can come to the phone.”
In this conversation the referring doctor definitely does not feel important. The scheduling coordinator was obviously unprepared to take this call. She is not familiar with the referring doctor’s name. She did not listen to his name when she took the call. Definitely, this call has a lot of room for improvement. If you want to better relationships with your referring doctors, this is not the way to do it. Make sure that all staff members who are answering the phone in the office are trained to handle the referring doctor call in a professional manner.
Personal Calls For The Doctor
I recommend the Scheduling Coordinator talk with the doctor regarding their philosophy on taking personal calls. Many doctors have a list of people who they will take personal calls from while seeing patients. As we all know, doctors and staff should limit personal calls during patient hours. If you make your patients your first priority during the patient hours, you will reap the benefits of a successful practice. If you spend your time on the telephone taking personal calls, it will cost you referrals. People are not ignorant. They know when they’ve been put second or third on the totem pole. I do recommend the doctor give you a list of people who may call that you are to put through immediately. Otherwise, the personal call would go as follows:
SC: “Good morning. This is Tracey at Dr. Cohen’s office. How may I help you?”
CL: “Yes, Tracey, I’d like to speak to Dr. Cohen please.”
SC: “Dr. Cohen is with a patient. May I tell him who is calling?”
CL: “Yes, this is Sam from over at the golf course.”
SC: “OK Sam. Let me check with Dr. Cohen. Can you hold for a moment please?”
CL: “Sure”
At this point, jot down on a piece of paper that Sam from the golf course is calling and show Dr. Cohen the note if he is involved in a patient procedure. I recommend not announcing phone calls in front of the patient in the chair. By writing the message down and showing it to the doctor, you do not alert the patient that a personal phone call is interrupting their treatment. Find out from Dr. Cohen if he’d like to take Sam’s call. In this case he did not take the call.
SC: “Sam, I spoke with Dr. Cohen. He is not able to leave his patient at this moment. He’d like to call you back in about 15 minutes. Would that be convenient for you?”
CL: “Yeah, that would be great.”
SC: “At what number can he reach you?”
SC: “Thank you for calling Sam. I will make sure that Dr ______gets the message.
Remember, this is not a referring doctor but every interaction with your office is important because you are building relationships with people who are potential referral sources for your office. It builds good will in the community when people are saying good things about your team. Make sure every caller is treated with respect and courtesy each and every day.