THE TOP TEN PATIENT
Submitted by Brenda Bertram on
By Brenda Bertram - Practice Management Consultant IDI
If you could categorize your patients you’d likely find they’re divided into three groups. The majority (about 80%) of patients in most practices want to be healthy and know they need your help. They make (and keep) appointments, and settle their account responsibly. Having an excellent team and solid systems designed to serve this group, like recare systems, systems for confirming appointments, and case management, will ensure you have a smooth-running practice.
The more efficient and effective your systems are for managing the majority of your patients, the more you’ll notice the exceptions. There are exception patients every practice deals with like the chronic no-shows, the patient with an unpaid account, those always overdue for recare, or patients who habitually avoid accepting recommended care. About 10% of your patients fall into this category but seem to preoccupy a disproportionate amount of your team’s time and resources. These “ten-percenter” exceptions force you to step outside your established routines to deal with them one-on-one.
But there is another kind of exception – the category that’s easy to miss because they are not often on your radar. You have to look for them. Just as an uncut gem can remain overlooked by an untrained eye, an exceptional patient can get lost in your practice. The “Top 10” patient is someone with exceptional care possibilities looking for an exceptional solution to their dental concerns. They just might now know they need exceptional help; and maybe you’re not telling them what those exceptional choices might look like because you’re afraid they’ll say, “NO!”
Every patient has the potential to be an exceptional patient at some point in their dental journey. It may take awhile—it can take 10 years or more—but one day something in their life will change. Just as a great artist can “bring out” the best in a raw stone, a great dentist and team can motivate patients to be exceptional, and embrace ideal solutions to their dental needs.
The question is, when the “Top 10” patient sits in your chair, or walks through the door, will you notice? Or will that patient get lost in the systems targeted for the greater majority? Think about how your team’s patient interactions might change if they started to think about EVERY patient as a “Top 10” exception. This concept would alter the records you take, how you diagnose, how you develop your treatment plans, and how you present treatment.
If you’re expecting every patient to be an exceptional exception you’ve got to be willing to accept “NO” in some cases. This is where your investment in building great teams and solid efficient systems for retention pays off by protecting their potential future value in the safety- net of regular recare. They’re never lost, they’re always scheduled to return; who knows what event in their lives will change or shift, so today’s “NO” becomes a “YES”.
You’ll always have the three categories of patient, including ten-percenters, because life and patients can’t be 100% every time. So start looking at your patient categories in a new way. Just be willing to accept that if you choose to be prepared for them, you will “discover” more Top 10 category patients more often. When they say ,“YES”, it will transform your practice.
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