Maximizing Treatment Plan Case Acceptance

Virtually all dental management professionals agree that the handling of a new patient visit is paramount to all dental success. For that reason, Dentistry Simplified, as well as many other professionals, agree that the assignment of your most knowledgeable staff member to the new patient experience is necessary. The results between practices who create this position and those who do not are quite clear: The time, focus, trust, preparation, emotional bonding, financial understanding, etc. that this person spends with the new patient is what makes all the difference.

To really ensure a patient—especially a new patient—is being given the ultimate New Patient Experience (and greatest chance of case acceptance) practices should assign one individual to figuratively, and literally, hand-hold the patient through all their contacts with the practice. This person is entitled, “The Patient Advocate.”

We use the term “Patient Advocate” instead of “Treatment Coordinator” for several reasons. First, “Treatment Coordinator” insinuates that there will be treatment; in fact, enough whereby it will need to be coordinated. That assumption is presumptuous and may damage the trust factor we are trying to instill. Second, “Patient Advocate” is a much more friendly term. The connotation is to assist the patient whether there be treatment or not.

As the name implies, the Advocate demonstrates care and concern for the patient, making sure the patient receives all the information, care and communication that will best result in case acceptance. This person is also going to go over the treatment fees at the end of the visit, so they need to be well-versed in all financial aspects: insurance, credit plans, etc. For this reason, the Advocate is typically the strongest front desk staff person. It also helps for this person to have at least basic understanding of clinical dentistry. If you have an individual in your practice who is empathic, patient, and is a good communicator, but lacks either the financial knowledge of the front desk or the dental clinical knowledge, they still may be an effective Patient Advocate with some additional skill training.

Patient Advocates are present in many hospitals where the patient may need someone looking out for all their interests, from clinical to financial. Their job is to make the patient feel good about everything—remove fear, instill trust, answer questions, and guide the patient to make the best decisions. The same objectives apply to the Dental Patient Advocate.

The new patient in your practice represents the future success of your practice. There is no other item (outside clinical care) that is more important, or necessitates more attention, than this visit. Your best resources, people, time, efforts, need to be present and giving at this time. The Patient Advocate ensures just that.

You may have to switch some staff’s duties around to avail someone to fill this role when it is needed. A smaller practice will, during the new patient’s visit, switch the front staff person with the back staff person. The back person therefore, will be answering the telephone while the front person—the Advocate—will be in the back with the patient, explaining aspects of the treatment plan with the dentist. Keeping the Advocate with the patient is key for many reasons we will detail. Some larger practices may have one person who only performs the Advocate role.

Dentist/Owner: Nurture Your Better Half to Connect with Patients

There is an important component in making the Patient Advocate position as effective as it can be in your practice: The dental owner. The owner must view this position as an incredible, irreplaceable resource for him/her self.

The Advocate is the dentist’s alter ego, but engaged in gaining the same objective as the dentist, in a supportive manner. As stated, patients (and any/all consumers) make purchases from an emotional agenda. The Advocate’s job is to learn each patient’s specific agenda, help the patient and dentist communicate clearly about the clinical needs and wants, and have the treatment plan satisfy the dentist’s need for appropriate treatment with the patient’s wants of their personal agenda. To this end, the dentist and advocate acknowledge and respect their specific contributions. The dentist must acknowledge information being given by the Advocate, and look for cues and directions as treatment is being planned. Smart dentists will surrender their ego for this activity, and understand that the Advocate is suggesting certain comments, approaches, etc. for a reason—to get case acceptance from the patient.

Smart Advocates understand their dentist, and perform their role with respect and deference to the dentist while still getting their message across. When performed correctly, the Dentist-Advocate combination is very powerful and results in the highest rate of case acceptance.

The Patient Advocate’s Job Continues Until the Patient Begins Treatment

The Advocate’s role with the new patient visit is only one of the Advocate tasks. There is an attached Patient Advocate Checklist, and a Patient Advocate Reminder List, that lists all the duties the Advocate will have in your practice.

You will see that the Advocate becomes the staff person that does not allow any unscheduled treatment to “fall through the cracks.”

For existing patients, the Advocate program can be utilized just as effectively as with new patients. This will be covered in detail in the Recall and Hygiene Section.

The Advocate’s Role in Three Different Stages

There are three basic stages to what the Advocate will perform:

1) The first stage includes making the initial contact, building a rapport with the patient, gaining their trust, and finding out who the patient is and what their concerns are.

2) The second stage involves assisting the dentist during the diagnosis, steering both the patient and dentist to a mutually advantageous clinical course of action and demonstrating to the patient the benefit from purchasing the care. The groundwork accomplished in Stage One allows the Advocate to match the clinical needs to the patient’s emotional agenda.

3) The third stage involves all the agreements, tracking, follow-up calls, letters, e-mails, etc., insurance and financial follow-through that keep the patient on track to have the treatment completed. In short, to get the patient scheduled for treatment.

There are many mini-objectives for the advocate, each of which must be accomplished to ensure the desired result.

The Sequential Stages of the Advocate’s Role: A step-by-step guide.
Stage One—From initial new patient telephone call up to the clinical diagnosis.

The first and foremost objective is to build Trust with the patient. Establishing Trust, especially with a new patient, is paramount. As stated in the previous section, one of the ways one builds trust is by listening, then emphatically stating an understanding and sincere desire for the patient to feel good about the entire experience.

The Advocate’s Role in The New Patient Telephone Call

The new patient telephone call is one of the most important moments for a dental practice. You have invested many resources, directly and indirectly, to get a prospective patient motivated to the point of calling your practice. You certainly want the very best first impression—the first telephone call—to represent your best chances to ensure the patient’s making the appointment. More so, you can begin to lay the foundation for trust, understanding, empathy, and an entire life-long relationship during this call. The patient should feel positive and impressed by the end of the call.

Because of the importance of the new patient telephone call, make certain that the person who will be that patient’s advocate is the one who handles the phone call. This is the beginning of a trusting relationship. Your advocate will ensure that occurs throughout the patient’s initial, and future, visits.

The new patient telephone call should result in basic information being gathered from the patient.

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