The Practicon Viewpoint by Ann Page Griffin

WHAT TO DO ABOUT INACTIVE PATIENTS?

All dental offices have patients who fail appointments and subsequently ignore repeated efforts by your staff to reschedule them. It is easy to simply forget about these patients in the busy flow of the office. Remember, however, if a patient disappears mid-sequence of treatment with incomplete restorative work, an appliance requiring periodic evaluation and eventual removal, or any other unfinished treatment, you could be accused of patient abandonment with all the legal ramifications that might follow.

Suggestion: establish a protocol for contacting these “lost” patients with one or two staff members responsible for the Recover and Reconnect plan. If no current team member can absorb the extra work task, consider hiring a part-time person to clear the backlog of inactive patients who have slipped through the cracks. Reclamation of inactive patients is well worth the investment of time and money it may require. After all, a reactivated patient is as valuable as a new patient; even more valuable if a claim of patient abandonment is avoided.

When a patient fails several appointments and moves into the “lost” category, contact him or her immediately via the patient’s preferred method of communication—phone, email, text, or postal mail—and then at least once a month for three months. Record all attempts to contact the inactive patient. If the patient refuses to re-appoint, record the reason (if one is given), and recognize that any dentist who can occasionally stand to see the back of a patient’s head without going berserk is a success.

As a final effort for those patients with incomplete treatment or an appliance in place, send a version of the following letter by registered mail, return receipt requested. Keep the post office receipt when the letter is mailed and the receipt returned when the letter is delivered as proof that every attempt was made to reschedule the patient, thereby negating any claim of abandonment.

Incidentally, recent marketing studies have shown that mailed hard-copy letters attract more attention and often bring better response than electronic communications. Enclosure of a stamped, addressed envelope helps ensure a response.

Letter to an Inactive Patient Still in Need of Treatment

[Substitute “your child” for “you” if addressing the letter to the parent of a child patient.]

Dear _____________,

We’ve missed you. Our records show that it has been _____ months since your last appointment. We hope that you are still receiving necessary care. When we last saw you, you needed treatment for ____________ [had an appliance that must be checked periodically and removed at the proper time].

As you know, regular dental care is a vital part of maintaining good oral health by preventing or treating dental disease. Left untreated, dental disease can negatively affect many other aspects of your overall health. Please contact our office today to schedule an appointment.

We also wonder if we should keep your patient records on active status. Please help us serve you better by checking the proper response below and returning this letter in the enclosed addressed, stamped envelope.

Sincerely,
Dr. John Davis

____________________________________________________________________

▢ Please contact me to set up an appointment. The most convenient way to reach me is:

▢ Email at ________________________
▢ Text at _________________________
▢ Telephone at ____________________

▢ I’ll call for an appointment

▢ Please remove my name from your active patient files and inactivate the chart.

Patient’s name: ________________________________________________________

Patient’s (Parent’s/Caregivers) signature: ____________________________________

Date: _____________________________