At Dentaltown, we're lucky to meet people who do great things in the name of dentistry, and our recurring You Should Know feature introduces them to our readers. For this installment, we spoke to Amol Nirgudkar, founder and CEO of Patient Prism. Patient Prism is an advanced call-management software designed to identify potential patients who did not schedule and get them back into the practice through analyzing missed opportunities, marketing tracking, team coaching, and more—all within an hour.
What's your background in dentistry?
My first career was as a certified public accountant. I had 150 dental offices as clients and I wondered why some were doing very well and others were not. I bought into a small dental group to learn the business, and from there founded a dental marketing company, wrote a book on profitable niches in dentistry, and launched Patient Prism to solve a basic problem: How do you turn more callers into booked patients?
How did Patient Prism come about?
We started Patient Prism to answer three key questions that every dental practice owner has: Which marketing methods are driving new patient calls? How many of those calls lead to booked appointments? How are missed opportunities converted into booked appointments in the future?
It's easy to spend a lot of money to make the phone ring. Patient Prism lets dentists know if their efforts led to actual appointments.
New patients are at the heart of Patient Prism, but there are many services out there with the same goal. What sets your system apart?
For one, you don't have to listen to the call yourself. Nobody has the time! Instead, Patient Prism uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and call coaches to review every missed opportunity and sends an alert to the office within an hour. We detail where the call came from, what the caller wanted, why the appointment was not booked, and recommended actions that can be taken immediately to turn the missed opportunity into a booked appointment. Patient Prism also partnered with the best dental coaches in the country to create short videos addressing hundreds of situations and best practices, which Patient Prism offices get for free. It's like having your own personal learning management system and you can track which classes your team members have taken.
In addition, Patient Prism's reporting is first-class. Users can see when the highest call volume is so they can make sure they're staffed accordingly. Users can see the keywords and phrases spoken by the patient so they know exactly what their callers are asking about. Users can create reports showing the percentage of booked appointments from each type of marketing, the percentage of booked appointments for each type of service, the percentage of booked appointments handled by each office team member, the list goes on. Patient Prism team members have worked for small offices and for large DSOs, so they know what managers at all levels want to see.
What's one of the hardest changes for a practice to make—but one that often leads to the most success?
The front desk team should be considered the "managers of first impressions." How they answer the phone can make or break a dental office. Some people may not realize there is a different way to handle a call. We remind them that even professional athletes need to review plays daily to improve their skills and boost the number of wins. With Patient Prism, dental professionals are working with the best coaches in the business to improve their game.
What would you consider to be the best-kept secret of the company?
We have fun and we never lose sight of why we do what we do. We help dental offices create more revenue—but just as importantly, we help more people get the dental care they need. They've taken the time to call; now we help overcome their concerns so they actually book an appointment. That's a powerful motivator and one of the secrets of our success. It's not just about profits; it's about changing people's lives.
How can a practice begin working with you?
Dentists or practice managers can call 800-381-3638 or visit patientprism.com to schedule a demonstration. Typically, an office can be up and running on the system within two weeks of providing us with the information we need. It's a very easy process.