A full schedule is a great thing. But is it stressing out your team? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT’s director of education, to help you reframe your team’s mindset around having and managing a full schedule. To learn how to fill your schedule the right way and celebrate when it’s full, listen to Episode 950 of The Best Practices Show!
Learn More About Miranda:
Learn More About ACT Dental:
More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:
Episode Resources:
Main Takeaways:
Quotes:
“If you're doing a really good job building value and building loyalty with your patients, you're going to have a full schedule — and that is a great thing to celebrate. There's just somewhere in the mix where it starts to transition into feeling negative as soon as we have to let a patient know we can't accommodate them in some given period of time . . . In most cases, that's where it comes into play, is when that schedule is so full, especially hygiene, that we can't make it happen. But it's great news because that means people are valuing us, and they're pre-scheduled and pre-appointing for their next visit. It means they have loyalty to us, and they're tethered to the practice in a positive way. When we have a schedule that is full in this way, it gives us a bit of leverage. It allows for us to be able to decide and prioritize who is in our schedule instead of scrambling to fill chairs.” (2:49—3:59) -Miranda
“We have a system called the Patient ID System. We work with teams who have a full schedule around identifying characteristics or behaviors of certain patients that are positive or negative. So, those patients that show up on time, they're excited to see us, they value what we do, they pay their bill, they keep their appointments — we're going to classify those patients as A patients. The opposite of that would be our C patients. So, when we have this really full schedule, we're able to prioritize our A patients and our B patients and fill more of our day with those patients and keep the C patients a little further out, or on — I don't want to say on the back burner because we still care about them. But this is a different mentality of how we can start to build that schedule around the days that really serve our practice best.” (3:59—4:50) -Miranda
“What we will hear from our team is the feelings around frustration with the schedule, or being able to get people in, or our admin team might say that they're struggling to find times that the patients want. So, what we do if we're reacting to feelings is we start making reactionary decisions with the schedule, and we maybe break blocks that we're holding for specific types of appointments, or we think, ‘Oh. Well, we should open up and stay open until 7:00 because our admin team is struggling to get people in,’ or, ‘Maybe we need another hygienist because my hygienists are saying they're having a hard time scheduling people in six months.’ But if we stop and look at the data first, we think about the bigger picture, that having a really full schedule is a good thing . . . and if we don't have a full schedule, we aren't going to have a priority list. We're not going to be able to fill the short-notice changes. So, I think we have to take this concept of being booked out so far and shift our mindset a little bit and lean into, how can we reframe it not only in our own minds as team members, but also the way that we communicate it with our patients and really aligning around how we do that.” (6:09—7:23) -Miranda
“I've heard it at my own dental appointments before where you hear that phrase, “unfortunately”. We always say we want to eliminate “unfortunately” whenever we can when we're talking to patients. But say I'm sitting there, and we need to schedule my next visit, and we're waiting on the doctor to come in and do the exam. My hygienist says to me, ‘Oh, unfortunately, I don't have availability in October. Man. Okay, let's look. Oh, gosh. Okay, November. Yeah, I don't have anything in November either,’ and they're having this conversation with me as they're trying to schedule the visit. That feels really negative, like the schedule is a problem. I think if we can reframe the way that we communicate it with our patients and instead say, ‘Okay, we're going to go ahead and reserve your next visit. The soonest opportunity I have is on Tuesday, December 2nd, or Thursday, December 4th. Which one works better for you, patient?’ and we just schedule the patient.” (7:54—8:51) -Miranda
“Occasionally, that patient might recognize like, ‘Hold on. One, two, three, four, five, six. Wait, I think six months is October. I can't get in in six months.’ Okay. So, we can again frame that conversation in a positive way, or we can, ‘Oh, I know. I'm sorry. Our schedule is just so full,’ and mope and victimize with them around it. Or we can shift gears. We can relate, validate their question, ‘Patient, I totally understand. We are so lucky to have so many loyal patients just like you. So, yes, the first available is in December. However, we have this really awesome thing called a priority list. It sounds like you're eager to come in, so I could add you to that priority list if that works for you. We can put your preferences in there. That way, Susie up front can call you as soon as something comes available around the time that you'd like to come in, which is October. How does that sound?’ Now, we're still telling them we don't have the opportunity, and we can't move your appointment forward to October. But we have this really cool VIP list that we can add you to, and we're going to customize it to exactly what you want. You tell me what days and times you’d like to come in, I'm going to put that note in here, and we're going to make sure that we call you when it fits your schedule. So, now we're customizing and personalizing this experience, which is going to leave the patient feeling like it's a really positive thing instead of leaving with this feeling of negativity around, ‘Gosh, my dentist is so busy I can't even get in.’” (8:51—10:26) -Miranda
“We have to do better about customizing the interval of care for our patients. So, not everybody should be coming in every six months. Some of our patients should be coming in every three months, or four months, or six months. Some patients can come in every nine months. All of us have those patients. There aren't as many of them, but they come in, and we're done in about 20, 30 minutes with their appointment. They have fantastic home care, they have very low risk factors, they don't have a lot of dentistry that we're working around, and they don't accumulate a lot of bacteria. So, maybe they can come in at eight or nine months. I've seen patients on a six-week interval, people who are special needs, who have dexterity issues with complicated implant dentistry. I wasn't even waiting three months for those patients to come back in. Maybe we should have a whole other podcast on that. But when we really stop and think about, are we just scheduling them at six months because that's what we've always done, and really stopping and saying, this particular patient needs what, and at what interval of care, and then working that schedule from there. And then, if you do need to see them more often, you can always pre-schedule two or three appointments in advance if they are very eager or concerned about not being able to receive a visit in that same custom timeframe.” (14:26—15:50) -Miranda
“If we have that strong patient base sitting on a list, eager to come in, we're going to be able to fill those voids a lot faster. I mentioned earlier the Patient ID System. You can work your Patient ID System into this process. So, you might have rules within your Patient ID System that C patients don't go on the priority list. Maybe the only patients that we invite onto our VIP or priority list are the patients that we've identified as A and B patients, and our C patients don't get invited onto that VIP list because they've showed us through their behaviors in the past that they don't value our care. So, again, when we look at the language around it, number one is making sure that we use elevated language when we introduce this concept to our patients, calling it that priority list, offering it as an opportunity for them to be a part of this really cool system that we have for patients just like them who value what we do, and then using that list as our primary way of filling those short-notice changes in the schedule, and knowing that that sounds different when we're talking to patients.” (20:07—21:15) -Miranda
“I get where hygienists and admin team members are coming from when they struggle to implement blocks when they already have such a full schedule, because it will inevitably push their existing patients out even just a little bit further. But we will lean into that priority list for those existing patients, and these blocks are going to allow us the opportunity to have space in the schedule and the availability for the patients who really need it, for treating their active disease. So, if you start right now, blocking that time, you're going to be setting the practice up for long term success, consistent production, and smoother workflow. Again, if you have somebody who has moderate periodontal disease and you can't find time in your schedule for six, seven, or eight months for them to come in for that treatment, that's a bigger problem than scheduling a healthy patient at nine months instead of six and putting them on a priority list.” (31:30—32:26) -Miranda
“Honoring the blocks will be the hill that I die on. I can't imagine working in a practice that doesn't have block scheduling, if I'm totally honest. I've lived so much life in practices that have really well-organized block scheduling that seeing what it looks like when there isn't — I don't think I could do it. That would probably be a question I'd ask the practice if I were interviewing as a hygienist, because if you don't honor the blocks, you're shooting yourself in the foot.” (33:58—34:29) -Miranda
“I would argue that our periodontal patients need us a little bit more — and more often — than our healthy patients. So, we are putting at risk our patients who have health issues for our preventative prophy patients. I know that sounds a little wonky, but if you think about it that way, these people who need this therapy, if we don't honor those blocks, we're sacrificing and allowing their health to continue to worsen for the sake of being able to get in our healthy patients at six months and a day. So, honoring those blocks — we have to look at the blocks that are in the schedule and pretend as if they don't exist. They are not open time because they are filled in the future with our perio patients, or they are filled in the future with our new patients, or those initial re-eval patients. So, honoring the blocks is really key.” (35:14—36:04) -Miranda
“It is really important to honor the blocks and know that, yes, that might mean our existing patients are scheduled at eight or nine months instead of six. But we do have a priority list for those patients who do need to come in sooner, and we have a way now of discussing it with them that feels really positive and optimistic. If we all align around that and shift our mindset a little bit, we all win in the long run.” (37:57—38:21) -Miranda
“A full schedule is a good thing. Reframing our mindset around that and how we discuss it with our patients — just knowing that it's a sign that we have a really strong practice that's in demand with loyal patients, people who really value what we do, that is a really good thing. And now, we have the ability to leverage and customize this power in a priority list, of creating this VIP experience that we can customize and build in exactly what the patient is looking for into that. Let them know that, ‘We're doing this specifically for you because you care so much about your health, and we want to help you to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.’” (41:01— 41:40) -Miranda
Snippets:
0:00 Introduction.
0:37 Why this is an important topic.
7:46 Shift your mindset.
14:13 Customize the interval of care for patients.
15:51 The power of a priority list.
17:08 Don't schedule from your “mud” list.
22:43 Customize your text templates.
25:27 Align your team and practice verbal skills.
29:14 Utilize block scheduling.
33:40 Honor the blocks!
38:42 Final thoughts.
42:24 ACT’s BPA.
Miranda Beeson, MS, BSDH Bio:
Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.
Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach.