Sustainable Practices in Dental Public Health - Blsmeetings.net

Sustainable Practices in Dental Public HealthAugust 13, 2012

Common Reasons for Broken Appointment3No Show with no explanation providedIllnessNo transportationForgot appointment was scheduledUnsure of eligibility

Best Practices for Reducing Broken Appointments4Develop and implement broken appointment policy for ALL patients. Have them sign an agreementMaintain a list of patients that can come in on short notice to help fill broken appointmentsProvide extended hours or weekend hours to assist working parents to keep their dental appointmentsAt every appointment, confirm patients contact information including cell phone number and e-mail addressCall emergency patients at a later date to make a follow-up appointment. Many emergency patients will not keepfuture appointments if scheduled on the same day of the emergency treatment Confirm all appointments after hours when patients are likely to be home to answer the call. Use phone, text or e-mail at least one day before the appointment as remindersExplain the consequences to the patients oral health if they break or miss appointments or dont follow treatmentrecommendationsSend a reminder postcard for patients to schedule continuing care appointmentsSpeak directly to patients with a broken appointment history when confirming appointmentsKeep appointment wait times to a minimum. A shorter time between when the patient schedules an appointmentand the actual appointment date decreases the rate of broken appointments

5Tips to Assist Members in Remembering and Keeping Dental AppointmentsIf your dentist sent you a postcard, write the date and time on calendar right awayPut the card where you see it oftenUse only 1 calendar to keep track of all appointmentsFind a babysitter or a ride to the dentist ahead of time. Do not wait until the last minuteCall dentist at least 24 hours in advance of need to rescheduleFind a dentist that you like and trustIf the noises scare you, take music alongRelax. Breathe slowly in and out. Think of something you really likeAre you worried about pain? Dentists have a lot of new ways to make dental visits pain-freeTell the dentist if you are afraid. The dentist will help calm you

6Initiatives to Reduce Broken AppointmentsMember and Dental Provider OutreachProvider education via newsletters and face to facetrainingsBest practices for reducing broken appointmentsPromote importance of oral healthClient centered care, sensitive to cultural differencesMember education via newsletters and communitybased eventsTips to remember dental appointmentsReduce fears of visiting the dentistGive children a healthy start in lifeMember postcard mailings Dental office inform DentaQuest of missed appointments Tips from the dentist Your dentist told us you missed your appointmentMember outbound calls

7Outcomes, Metrics and Next StepsQuarterly and annual review of resultsTrack provider notification of missedappointmentsContact members via phone and logreasons for broken appointmentsCompare age groups, types of servicesscheduled, and existing patients vs. newpatientsAges 19 to 20 highest percentage ofbroken appointmentsNo consistency related to type of carescheduled, but oral surgery slightlyhigherExisting patients missed moreappointments compared to new patients

Questions:Michele BlackwellDirector of Client ServicesTHANK YOU

Obstacle for Access to Dental Care2Number one complaint received from dental offices regarding Medicaidpopulation is excessive broken appointments with no noticeDental offices begin to decrease acceptance of number of Medicaidpatients, accept only existing patients or terminate participationDental care not priority for membersInitiatives to decrease number of missed appointments

Common Reasons for Broken Appointment3No Show with no explanation providedIllnessNo transportationForgot appointment was scheduledUnsure of eligibility

Best Practices for Reducing Broken Appointments4Develop and implement broken appointment policy for ALL patients. Have them sign an agreementMaintain a list of patients that can come in on short notice to help fill broken appointmentsProvide extended hours or weekend hours to assist working parents to keep their dental appointmentsAt every appointment, confirm patients contact information including cell phone number and e-mail addressCall emergency patients at a later date to make a follow-up appointment. Many emergency patients will not keepfuture appointments if scheduled on the same day of the emergency treatment Confirm all appointments after hours when patients are likely to be home to answer the call. Use phone, text or e-mail at least one day before the appointment as remindersExplain the consequences to the patients oral health if they break or miss appointments or dont follow treatmentrecommendationsSend a reminder postcard for patients to schedule continuing care appointmentsSpeak directly to patients with a broken appointment history when confirming appointmentsKeep appointment wait times to a minimum. A shorter time between when the patient schedules an appointmentand the actual appointment date decreases the rate of broken appointments

5Tips to Assist Members in Remembering and Keeping Dental AppointmentsIf your dentist sent you a postcard, write the date and time on calendar right awayPut the card where you see it oftenUse only 1 calendar to keep track of all appointmentsFind a babysitter or a ride to the dentist ahead of time. Do not wait until the last minuteCall dentist at least 24 hours in advance of need to rescheduleFind a dentist that you like and trustIf the noises scare you, take music alongRelax. Breathe slowly in and out. Think of something you really likeAre you worried about pain? Dentists have a lot of new ways to make dental visits pain-freeTell the dentist if you are afraid. The dentist will help calm you

6Initiatives to Reduce Broken AppointmentsMember and Dental Provider OutreachProvider education via newsletters and face to facetrainingsBest practices for reducing broken appointmentsPromote importance of oral healthClient centered care, sensitive to cultural differencesMember education via newsletters and communitybased eventsTips to remember dental appointmentsReduce fears of visiting the dentistGive children a healthy start in lifeMember postcard mailings Dental office inform DentaQuest of missed appointments Tips from the dentist Your dentist told us you missed your appointmentMember outbound calls

7Outcomes, Metrics and Next StepsQuarterly and annual review of resultsTrack provider notification of missedappointmentsContact members via phone and logreasons for broken appointmentsCompare age groups, types of servicesscheduled, and existing patients vs. newpatientsAges 19 to 20 highest percentage ofbroken appointmentsNo consistency related to type of carescheduled, but oral surgery slightlyhigherExisting patients missed moreappointments compared to new patients

Questions:Michele BlackwellDirector of Client ServicesTHANK YOU