Bringing a new patient into the doorway is just the beginning of a successful dental office. It's also crucial to establish a connection that inspires them to keep coming back for regular check-ups, suggested treatments, and subsequent consultations. But with hundreds of patient records for a clinic, it can be problematic to remember each follow-up date and send out individual reminders.
This is where CRM automation can make a difference. With the tools offered by GoHighLevel, dental practices can organise patient data, plan communication, and carry out follow-up activities. The GHL Dental Snapshot by Pennine Technolabs provides a dental-focused foundation for bringing these activities together.
Here are seven ways dental clinics can use CRM automation to maintain stronger patient relationships and encourage repeat visits.
1. Keep Patient Records Organised With a Dental CRM
When previous conversations and an understanding of a patient's interaction history are not accessible to staff, patient retention becomes challenging. Key information can be scattered on appointment records, spreadsheets, emails, and in individual staff notes.
A Dental CRM unifies the information and communication history of contacts into a single organised location. Reception staff can see what has been done previously, have access to follow-up activity and can have an understanding of previous communication to be able to contact a person if needed without them needing to be contacted again.
For example, if a patient has asked for a recommended treatment but not proceeded with that, then staff can refer to the previous discussion rather than beginning anew. Similarly, someone who has not visited the clinic for several months can be identified for an appropriate follow-up.
The goal is to increase the level of informed communication. Only store relevant information, limit access based on staff roles, and follow relevant patient privacy requirements.
2. Create a Dental Recall System for Regular Visits
Some patients may not remember when to come back for their next dental visit. Others do not make routine visits due to time limitations and simply do not end up scheduling another visit. If there is no process, these patients could be inactive in the clinic's records.
A Dental recall system can organise reminders according to relevant follow-up dates. For example, a clinic could establish a procedure for recognizing patients who are scheduled for an appointment and send a friendly reminder message to them to schedule their upcoming appointment.
Reminders should not be sent to everyone at the same time, but instead should be according to the person's individual care plan and the dentist's recommendation.
A recall process may also be used to identify those patients who have not responded in reception teams. Staff have access to those records and may determine that there is a need for another appropriate contact.
This will help to streamline routine communication and provide a handy reminder for patients to remain engaged with their dentist.
3. Automate Post-Appointment Patient Follow-Ups
After an appointment, the relationship with a patient should not come to an end. The clinic may be required to provide general information, determine if the patient requires help, or remind them of the next steps during their consultation.
When the necessary triggers are set up, GoHighLevel workflows can be used to schedule post-appointment follow-ups. For instance, the system can send a suitable follow-up text or generate a task for reception staff after an appointment is set as "Completed".
There is such a thing as a standard visit, which can be as simple as thanking them, and a treatment consultation, which may need to remind the patient to call the clinic if they have any other questions.
These messages should be reviewed by the practice and should not be used as a replacement for the professional aftercare instructions. Don't send sensitive health information in regular text messages.
Having regular follow-up communication will give patients the sense that the clinic is accessible after the visit.
4. Follow Up on Pending Treatment Discussions
In some cases, patients may not decide upon a treatment at their first visit. They may seek additional time to reflect on the proposed treatment, to gain a greater understanding of the process, or to discuss the costs with them before treatment.
If the conversations are not followed up in an organised way, they can get lost in the midst of new enquiries and the day-to-day administrative workload.
Clinics can keep records of treatment conversations separately with a CRM pipeline. Contacts can move through stages such as consultation completed, treatment information shared, decision pending, and next appointment arranged.
Automated reminders can then alert the right team member to the need for a conversation. Reception staff can follow up with a helpful message to ensure that the patient has any questions or would like to call the clinic again.
The purpose is not to pressure patients into accepting treatment. It's to ensure that they can have access to information and support to make an informed choice.
5. Use Appointment Reminders to Reduce Missed Visits
Lack of appointments can interrupt a patient's treatment plan and affect the clinic's schedule in an unplanned way. Patients may not remember the appointment or not see a pop-up reminder for a previous appointment.
Dental practices can use CRM automation to customize appointment confirmations and reminders for them at appropriate times. GoHighLevel calendar scheduling and workflows can be set up to share the appointment date, time, and clinic information.
Advise patients to contact reception if they need to cancel their booking. If a person misses an appointment, a follow-up can be used to invite the person to reschedule.
The process should remain considerate. A reminder should help the patient to manage time; it's not supposed to make the patient feel uncomfortable to reschedule an appointment.
When appointment communication is consistent, it will be easier for clinics to ensure patients connect with their scheduled appointments.
6. Reconnect With Patients Who Have Become Inactive
Even after a positive experience, some patients stop visiting clinics. They may have moved, become busy, forgotten about a pending visit, or simply not thought about booking another appointment.
Clinics can use a patient reactivation workflow to ensure that these contacts are identified and appropriate communication is arranged. For instance, a practice might develop a segment of those who have not come in for a certain amount of time and ask if a reminder is appropriate.
For Dental Clinics & Agencies, Dental Snapshot on the GoHighLevel Marketplace is something that ought to be looked into for a Dental-focused CRM and automation system. It has assets available for review and customisation that support patient pipelines, follow-up activities, and communication needs.
Check contact information, patient preferences, and the relevance of the message before a reactivation campaign. Avoid contacting people who have opted out or sending reminders that are not appropriate to their circumstances.
7. Use AI Reception and Automation to Maintain Communication
The reception area may be too busy to answer all the calls and messages on the spot. Patients may not be able to get to the clinic and miss a chance to ask questions or schedule a visit.
An AI receptionist that has been programmed can assist with simple queries during hours outside of the designated reception time. If any of the GoHighLevel tools are activated, the dental AI receptionist or dental AI reception bot might be able to share information about the dental practice, gather contact information, and guide the patient to the next right thing to do.
This can be helpful to existing patients for accessing basic information or getting help scheduling an appointment. More complex questions, especially those involving symptoms, treatment, or clinical concerns, should always be directed to qualified staff.
Automating the reception team is not about taking away the person from the desk; it's about assisting them. Clinics should regularly audit AI responses, keep up to date with practice information, and ensure there is a clear route for patients to consult a person if required.
Building a More Consistent Patient Retention Process
Increasing patient retention doesn't have to be complicated or require sending lots of messages. It starts with understanding where communication is currently breaking down. There is the possibility of more effective recall reminders in some clinics, and the possibility of treatment follow-ups or reactivation workflows in other clinics.
The first step to automation is to sort out patient records, set up follow-up phases, and determine which routine interactions can be automated. Test each workflow before it is activated, and check if the messages are helpful and at the right time.
By generating a customised dental snapshot, a practice can get a more structured beginning for managing these activities via GoHighLevel. By integrating CRM automation with skilled employees and a patient-centric approach, clinics can foster a uniform patient journey, promoting continued engagement with the practice.
Top comments (0)