We improve the confirmations and reminders your patients already receive, using changes tested in published trials, then measure the effect in your own practice.
Working with private dental practices across Lancashire.
Reminder: You have an appointment at Abbey Dental on Thursday at 10:30. Reply Y to confirm.
Hi Sarah, just confirming your appointment with Dr Patel this Thursday at 10:30am. If you can't make it, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer the appointment to another patient. Reply Y to confirm.
Small changes like this have reduced missed appointments in published NHS research. We work out which changes are appropriate for your practice.
A clear view of your day, including the gaps caused by no-shows and late cancellations.
empty slots
caused by no-showslate cancellation
could have been filledSmall changes to reminders and confirmations can help reduce these gaps.
Source: published randomised trial in an NHS trust. Full reference supplied on the call.
A small number of changes is usually enough to start testing, without touching your existing patient communications setup. Usually enough to start testing, without touching your existing patient communications setup.
No change of booking system requiredOur starting points come from PLOS ONE, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and Family Practice. PLOS ONE, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and Family Practice.
Full references availableThis happens in practices like yours, every week:
Most practices already have the tools they need to reduce missed appointments. The opportunity is usually in how those tools are being used. Most practices already have the tools they need. The opportunity is usually in how those tools are being used.
We review your confirmations, reminders, cancellation messages, reception scripts and waiting-room signage, then identify changes supported by published research and test them against your existing approach. We review your confirmations, reminders, cancellation messages, reception scripts and signage, then test changes supported by published research.
We work with the reminders, confirmations and booking process you already have. There's no app for your team to learn and no new patient journey to manage.
You don't need to build reports or spend hours working through your DNA data. We'll help you work out the numbers and identify where the biggest opportunities are.
We work with the systems and communications your practice already uses. There is nothing new for your team to install or learn. We work with the systems your practice already uses. Nothing new to install or learn.
Send us the messages your patients currently receive.
We'll review your confirmations, reminders and cancellation messages, look at where appointments are being lost, and recommend a handful of changes.
You keep using the same booking system. Your reception team keeps working in the same way.
We then look at whether fewer patients fail to attend.
That is much easier for a secretary to relay to the practice manager:
They basically look at all our texts and reminders, change the wording and see whether it reduces DNAs.
That sentence is essentially your product.
Three figures give you an indication of the value of the appointments currently being missed.
Missed appointments as a share of appointments booked.
Whatever you would normally attribute to an occupied slot.
Based on the same improvement seen in the NHS trial.
For illustration only. The recovery figure applies the same improvement seen in the NHS trial, where missed appointments fell from 11.1% to 8.4%. It is not a forecast for your practice, and actual results will vary. For illustration only. Not a forecast for your practice; actual results will vary.
Changing the wording of one appointment reminder reduced missed appointments from 11.1% to 8.4% in a published NHS trial.
A useful example of what a relatively small change can achieve, and why it is worth measuring the effect rather than relying on guesswork.
There is good published research into the effect that reminders and small changes in communication have on attendance. We use it to decide what is worth testing, rather than assuming the same approach works for every practice.
How changes to appointment-reminder wording affect attendance and missed-appointment rates.
How small, low-cost changes to routine NHS communications influence appointment attendance. How small, low-cost changes to routine NHS communications influence attendance.
How reminder changes perform in a real practice rather than under controlled conditions.
We begin by understanding how your practice handles appointments today: your missed-appointment rate, and what communications patients already receive.
From there we can decide together whether there is a worthwhile opportunity to improve it. If there isn't, we will tell you.
We begin by understanding how your practice handles appointments today, then decide together whether there is a worthwhile opportunity. If there isn't, we will tell you.
A short call is enough to look at your current missed-appointment rate, what you already do, and whether there is a sensible opportunity to improve it. If it's already good, we'll say so and leave you alone.
A short call is enough to look at your missed-appointment rate and whether there is a sensible opportunity to improve it. If it's already good, we'll say so and leave you alone.
Lancashire and the North West. Remote calls available nationwide.