Want to get into the mind of a dental patient? Of course you do! Being able to exceed their expectations means knowing what they expect to begin with. You may have noticed that patients nowadays have become more critical of their dental experience. They don’t settle for anything less than the most technically advanced, competent, courteous dental office in town.
If your office is still in the routine of manual paperwork, and frequent turnover of staff, you’ll want to continue reading to learn how patients view their dental experience. Let’s walk through step-by step what the patient goes through and how it’s perceived.
Online Reputation
Where do patients go to find out more about your practice? Online of course! They’re scrolling through your Google reviews, website, and testimonials. If you’re lacking in these areas, there’s a huge chance patients may move on to considering your competitors. So, what can you do to make sure your online reputation is so stellar, that patients don’t feel the need to look any further?
Get a firm grip on your Google reviews with Reputation Management software. This tool gets patients to complete a review request at checkout time, and directs high ratings/positive reviews for posting on Google, while filtering low ratings/negative reviews internally for surveying and resolving concerns.
It works like a gem in doubling your 5-star reviews, and maintaining your online reputation.
Appointment Scheduling
So now that you’ve got the patient interested in your dental practice, how easy do you make it for them to book an appointment? Do they need to call the office and play the back-and-forth game of finding an opening that fits their schedule? Or can they book online at their convenience, and have all the available spots right there?
If your answer is the former – there’s a better alternative that makes the experience much more pleasant. It’s 24/7 access to online patient scheduling. With it, patients can use any device from any location to book a time that works for them. No phone calls needed! Awesome for patients and a load off juggling phone calls for your front office. A total win-win!
Intake Process
We’ve got the patient booked and now they’re wondering if they’ll need to bring all their documentation and fill out paper forms in your office. Have you looked into how many patients actually enjoy that manual process? Statistics show that online patient intake forms are preferred by a whopping 81% of patients. Think about it – that speaks loud and clear about how much patients dislike in-office paper forms.
What if you could give patients a seamless flow of completing online patient intake forms from their sofa, and enabling them to capture all required documents (ID, Insurance card, photo, medication list, previous dental records) for e-submission before the visit? It’s totally within your reach and has become an invaluable investment for thousands of dental practices across the nation.
The online forms integrate directly into your practice management system (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, Dolphin), meaning no more manual data entries, or scanning needed. It also means no more waiting room time for patients. Totally worth it!
Another logistical matter floating in the patient’s mind is their insurance coverage for the visit, and if they’ll need to pay anything out of pocket. Automated Insurance Verification software takes the stress out of it by giving your office fast and accurate eligibility reports that reduce the chance of claim delays or denials.
Chair Time
Once the patient is checked in and seated in the exam chair, ready to be seen, they’re sizing up your chairside manners, body language, level of confidence, meticulousness, and emotional intelligence. This time is usually the patient’s first face-to-face experience with the dentist.
As patients settle in to get their dental work done, they’ve now either developed a favorable or unfavorable impression of the dentist and staff. Dentists that exhibit knowledge, experience, and sound understanding, will rank much higher in the patient’s eyes.
Once chair time wraps up with a potential treatment plan, they’re ready to either move forward with it, or have questions. For patients that hold off on their treatment plan, patient care reminders are great for providing that extra push they need to get their unscheduled appointment booked instantly.
Checkout
Time to wrap up the patient’s visit and give them a chance to share their feedback. Both happy and unsatisfied patients want to have the opportunity to leave reviews of their experience. If you make it easy for them by sending automated text message requests for patient reviews/ratings, you’ll be able to capture responses more easily.
This type of reputation management tool empowers your office to double the amount of 5-star reviews from happy patients, and control negative reviews. Patients love it because they get to see real patient feedback.
Billing at checkout can be more amicable for patients if digitized to avoid paper invoices that get lost and forgotten about. Digital billing enables offices to text or email invoice links directly to patients for instant payment collection. It’s been the perfect solution for helping patients pay on time.
Conclusion
Getting into the mind of a dental patient means changing your perspective and looking through their lens. They’re evaluating your dental office’s online reputation, ease of appointment scheduling, convenience of the intake process, chair time experience, and checkout process?
The more accommodating and flexible the office is in meeting their needs with advanced time-saving technology, the better the patient experience will be. mConsent has successfully transformed the dental experience for 4 Million patients via paperless forms and dental solutions, and can transform yours too.
