{"id":6903,"date":"2024-01-30T05:57:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T11:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pmaworks.com\/observations\/?p=6903"},"modified":"2024-03-26T06:19:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T11:19:53","slug":"optimizing-chiropractic-front-desk-procedures-for-patient-retention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pmaworks.com\/observations\/optimizing-chiropractic-front-desk-procedures-for-patient-retention\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimizing Chiropractic Front Desk Procedures for Patient Retention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"patient<\/p>\n

What kind of check-in and check-out procedures do you have?<\/p>\n

How you do these procedures can make an enormous difference in your patient retention, referrals and office visits.<\/p>\n

Your health care front desk needs to schedule patients and collect their payments, but when should they do this \u2013 when the patient checks in — or leaves?<\/p>\n

If your chiropractic practice is insurance-centric, the front desk can become an extension of the insurance department. When this is the case, collections and scheduling are often done first.<\/p>\n

I have seen this occur in many offices.<\/p>\n

I recently visited a practice office where patient retention had been declining. I noticed that the patients came in, stopped off at the front desk, made payments, and were confirmed for the next appointment. Then, they waited to see the doctor. After their adjustment and treatment, they often zoomed out of the office, headed to their next destination with an occasional “bye” from the front desk.<\/p>\n

I thought there were several weaknesses to this approach, but I wanted to see what other successful practices were doing. We asked other practice managers how they handled their check-ins and check-outs.<\/p>\n

Chiropractic Manager Surveys<\/p>\n

One manager from an established 2-doctor chiropractic office said:<\/p>\n

“We have a check-in\/check-out system but scheduling and payments are done together at check-out. This works better for our office flow. The patient walks in, heads right on back and grabs a table for their appt, unless they have an exam or something similar that we need to take them into a different room. Then when they check out, they schedule their next appt, or several future appts at once, and we collect payment if they owe anything.”<\/p>\n

Another manager of an office with multiple doctors said they preferred to collect patients’ payments and update their scheduling when the patient checked out.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You give them the feel that their care is more important than the money.<\/li>\n
  2. The last thing they hear when they leave the office is ” we’ll see you on such and such a day at such and such a time”! “And by the way bring your kids in.”<\/li>\n
  3. What happens if their services are more or less than what you collected for??? Now you have to alter their charges.<\/li>\n
  4. If you have pre-scheduled them and they need additional or less services you are now going to have to change the scheduling.<\/li>\n
  5. #3-4 causes confusion and messy records.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I think this only makes sense. Let’s zoom in:<\/p>\n

    The check-in<\/strong>. The front desk needs to be welcoming to your patients who endured challenges just to make it into your office that day. This is a win for everyone, and the initial greeting acknowledges the patient’s effort to make it in. Then, any and every barrier should be removed to get the patient back to see their doctor and provider on time.<\/p>\n

    The check-out.<\/strong> Here are a few vital transactions that can take place:<\/p>\n