PATIENT MANAGEMENT - Anticipating the Summer Orthodontic Rush

I hate disappointing patients! Their referrals are the life blood of the practice.  To plagiarize a similar saying:  Happy patients, happy (professional) life!

So as summer approaches, for me it’s a great opportunity, but also a time of stress.  The requests to get patients in or out of treatment before school starts builds to a crescendo in August when some patients invariably end up disappointed.

When we were small, this summer rush wasn’t a problem. We were glad to fill the schedule in any way we could.  But as we became busier, it was an unpleasant time for everyone. We often ran behind as we tried to force extra patients into the late summer schedule.

After several years, we finally decided not to accept this late summer crunch as inevitable but adapt to it.

We asked, how could we maximize the summer opportunity and keep everyone happy? How could we get the greatest number of patients in & out of treatment before school started (and still be sane by September)?

Here’s what we did:

Strategy #1 – We added additional Starts and Debond slots in July & early August

We adapted to the summer routine of our patients.  The demand for afternoon appointments went down since they’d much rather be at the pool than in our office!

So, in July & August before the first day of school, we added an additional afternoon Start appointment once or twice each week immediately after lunch.  The parent would spend the first few minutes signing the financial arrangements while I saw the archwire adjustments in the bay.  Then, once I checked the adjustments, I was available to bond the patient.

Having this time available also helped with same day Starts. Late morning New Patients who wanted to start immediately would “grab some lunch” and return when we reopened in the afternoon. 

When the demand was LOW:

We added 1 or 2 additional starts per week – preferably on Tuesday and/or Wednesday (we took Friday off).

We determined that:

• Monday was the least favorable day to add an extra Start. If someone cancelled their appointment over the weekend, it was hard to fill the slot.
• Unless we needed it, Thursday was the second least favorable day. If a bracket came off in the first 24 hours, then we wouldn’t have to respond to it over the following weekend.

When the demand was HIGHER

We also added a “Start/Debond Morning” in mid-August (and eventually, late-July)

Here’s how it worked:

Patients often wait until after July 4^th to call for a New Patient exam.  And nearly everyone who calls in July fully expects to start treatment before school starts in the fall. By late July, when demand was high, our Start slots were already filled for the remaining few weeks in August. At the same time, requests started to come in to “get my braces off before school starts”.

So, we added a “Start/Debond Morning” in which the normal schedule was cleared before lunch. 

1. 2/3rds of chairs were blocked for Starts, staggered every 30 minutes. We could see at least 2 starts per column with some debonds interspersed
2. the other 1/3 of the columns were blocked with strategically placed Debonds

The best time for this was Wednesday morning of the second to last week before school starts.  We avoided the last week because it was usually slammed with extra appointments already.

Strategy #2 – We planned our vacations around the patients’ summer schedule

Although most of you may have discovered this tactic already, it still bears mentioning.

When we had no children or before our kids started school, we took:

• the last week of public school in the spring or the “end of grade testing” week. (Patients schedule it but often don’t come.)
• the July 4^th week (also a popular vacation time for families), and
• the first week of school in the fall. (Few patients want to come in these times anyway.)

When our kids were school age, we took:

• the first week after school is out in June (many patients did also),
• the July 4^th week, and
• the fall school break but never in August because patients would complain for the reasons listed above.

As a result, we were able to increase production significantly and accommodate nearly every family who had the start of school as their deadline.  Happy patients, happy life!

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For those of you still growing your practice, I know you’d love to have this “problem”!   Don’t worry, your time will come.

For those with busy practices, you may have experienced this “problem” last year.  But remember, success (like this) is NOT a “problem”.  Not having enough patients is a problem. 

Having too many patients requires a decision!  You can either adapt to it or be overwhelmed by it.  Choose adaptation.

Have a great Summer!