Know WHY New Patients Fail. Fix it and Enjoy FAR Higher New Patient Flow
We've already covered a number of reasons new patients routinely fail and how to effectively counteract them. Now it's time to tackle the number one reason so many new patients simply blow you off without so much as a call... New Patients, by Definition, Have NO PRE-EXISTING RELATIONSHIP
Sure it's a generalization to say that the most likely no-show or last minute cancel is going to be your new patient. But it's true. Yes, you'll likely have some number of existing patients who fail to show up as well. But the highest number remains the new patients in almost every practice.
As I mentioned in Part V (prior blog), you're pages on a web site, voices on the phone... but not "real people" to whom she feels she owes some level of respect. What if there were a simple low-energy zero-cost way to make yourself very real and human in your new patients' hearts and minds?
You walk on eggshells beating around the bush rather than speaking to her directly. There are systems and strategies you'd love to try in YOUR practice but you hesitate to ask for her help for fear of her knee-jerk emotion-sucking NEGATIVE ATTITUDE. Or maybe it's not that black and white. She has a positive attitude, patients love her, and she's been with you forever. Fact is she even says "yes" when you ask her to do stuff. But weeks or months later you realize that little or none of what you requested got done. 
Great question! This one comes up from time to time as doctors struggle with trying to set a consistent and fair protocol for who should, and who should not be paid Team Bonus when the goal is achieved. 1) Should you pay the bonus to the employee who was on vacation while the rest of the team achieved the goal?
I distinctly remember last week telling my wife, Elizabeth the Engineer, "We're almost in March... looks like we're going to get away without any significant snow this winter!" If you're in the Northeast and you were hit by the blizzard the wee morning hours yesterday, I guess you could blame it on me! Perhaps if I hadn't said anything there might not have been a storm?
Take 3 minutes and read this warning regarding "Appropriate Diagnosis and Treatment" of periodontal disease..."91% of Americans have Periodontal Disease" J Am Dent Assoc, Vol 138, No Suppl_1, 26S-33. So Why Don't All Dental Practices Diagnose and Treat FAR More Cases of Periodontal Disease?
