Looking to boost your appointment confirmation rates? RevenueWell Appointment Confirmations and Reminders are powerful in getting patients to prioritize dental care and confirm their appointments. Practices using this feature see a better patient response rate, fewer no shows and cancellations, and more satisfied patients. Here are a handful of expert tips on how to leverage Appointment Confirmations to guarantee patients show up to their next appointment:
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Encourage every patient to schedule their next visit.
The best way to prepare patients for their next appointment is to schedule it before they leave your office. Scheduling weeks or months in advance allows patients to plan around their appointments and increases the likelihood of a successful confirmation when the time comes. Booking in person is convenient for patients and allows you to share the benefits of consistent dental care and inform them about confirmations and reminders they will receive later.
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Update patient information and preferences.
Every patient should have a phone number, email, and address on file so you can communicate through text, calls, emails, and postcards for appointment confirmations. Check in with patients during their visit to discover their preferred communication methods, then modify their preferences and information in their patient profile. RevenueWell makes it easy to make modifications by editing information from the Appointments or Patients tab. Managing these preferences will increase patient engagement and overall satisfaction with your practice.
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Activate multiple Appointment Confirmation attempts.
For most patients, one reminder about an upcoming appointment is not enough. The Appointment Confirmation feature includes five optional attempts to remind patients to confirm an upcoming visit. Each attempt can be individually activated and customized for messaging, delivery method, and schedule to fit your practice needs. It is recommended to use four to five of these attempts to maximize the opportunity for getting patients to commit to their appointments. Configure the details to fit your preferences and activate more attempts to see an increase in your confirmation rates.
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Create an effective schedule for Appointment Confirmations and Reminders.
There is no one-size-fits-all schedule for confirmations and reminders, but starting to send reminders 2-3 weeks out is a great place to start. You want to find a balance of reaching patients when their appointment is not too close or too far away. Since you know your patients best, adjust the schedule for each attempt in the settings and utilize the Advanced Settings to manage send-out schedules based on your practice hours. We recommend this schedule for Appointment Confirmations:- Send the first attempt 14 days before an appointment.
- Send the second attempt 7 days before an appointment.
- Send the third attempt 2 days before an appointment.
- Send the last attempt 2 hours before an appointment.
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Include your appointment cancellation and rescheduling policies.
Appointment confirmation messages provide an opportunity to educate patients on the risks of missing or canceling an appointment and allow patients to reschedule. If patients know they will be penalized for missing an appointment, they will be motivated to confirm or reschedule in advance, allowing your office to adjust and preserve productivity. Easily add this information to Appointment Confirmation templates by selecting ‘Edit Message.’ Make sure your policies are clear and easy for patients to understand.
A Closer Look at Appointment Activity
- Patients Seen: Total number of completed patient appointments last week
- Future Appts Made: Total number of appointments scheduled last week
- New Patients: Total number of new patients created in the PMS last week
- Scheduled This Week: Total number of appointments for each day this week
- Confirmed This Week: Total number of confirmed appointments this week
*This data is curated from information in your practice management system (PMS) and RevenueWell account.
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