Boost Production with a Pre-New Patient Exam Consult by your Front Desk Coordinator

30 years ago I was trained to present treatment plans to all new patients. As a senior dental nurse at the time, this was incredibly exciting and challenging.  Being responsible for case acceptance really gave me a huge sense of responsibility and job satisfaction.

Very few dentists hand over this type of responsibility to their support team. I had an extremely innovative and confident employer. He knew that the pre-exam and post-exam consults could be handed over to trained and competent staff which would add an additional 45 minutes to his schedule he could use for more productive treatment. 

Everyone won! ... the patients received an extraordinary experience, the dentist was more productive, the staff were engaged and motivated and the practice was pumping!

I advocate for the front desk (or dental nurses/treatment coordinators) to perform the pre and post exam consults as part of an exceptional new patient experience.

Here's the how and why...

1. Switching to 'discovery' mode

At the heart of these consults is quality communication including making time to listen, answer questions and offer solutions that fit the patient needs. The pre and post-exam consult is specifically choreographed so that the dentist and FDC can work with the patient to understand what's important to them, achieve their desires and link in the clinical needs.

During the pre-exam consult which leads into the examination, the FDC (following on from the NP phone call) continues with process of finding out more about the patient needs, motivators, expectations and concerns. Concerns and obstacles can be dealt with proactively so they don't interfere with the examination experience for the patient or treatment acceptance.

2. Working together: Co-diagnosis

When you're in discovery mode, you can identify how to link in potential treatment to the patient's motivations. By prompting the patient to talk about how the patient's dental issues are affecting them, they begin to consider a need for treatment in their own mind without the dentist or FDC offering any solution. (Imagine that!!)

We call this co-diagnosis. The dentist and patient go on a journey together to discover issues first and eventually evolve into forming a mutually agreed upon plan.

3. Avoid reactive and ugly behaviour.

In the past, with hesitant patients, it was expected that the FDC should be able to convince patients to go ahead with the treatment plan proposed by the dentist. Some practices pressured the FDC to not only schedule reluctant patients but also implement tactics to try and keep patients from cancelling (numerous confirmation calls and text messages or threatening with cancellation fees). As a consultant, I have witnessed this firsthand. The concern with these behaviours is that they are reactive - we're behaving just like our least desirable patient rather than our ideal.

4. Stop selling and trying to convince patients

Traditionally, dentists completed the exam and then told the patient what needs to be done. If the patient objected, it was time for more explanations, perhaps scare tactics and 'selling' techniques. The result were patients who felt they were being 'sold to' or given solutions to problems they didn't even know they had! Often the patient felt like they were being 'over-serviced'. If a patient didn't see the urgent need, it was difficult for the dentist to convince the patient otherwise. 

The pre-exam and post-exam consultations are real game changers for many practices. These two sit-down discussions with the FDC, dentist and NP increase patient satisfaction, treatment acceptance and boost production. Ultimately, when the FDC (DA pt TC) takes part in these consults, it frees up time for the dentists to be more productive!

Are you ready to create an amazing new patient experience by upskilling your front desk coordinator?

Upskill your FDC and your whole team with Aspire2d's Module 6 New Patient Experience Course.