By: Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, Publisher, DentalTown Magazine

It is very important in any business to have systems in place for accountability and logistics. You would never run a first class professional business without systems—it would be total chaos. The same should hold true for your dental practice. The key to running an organized efficient front office is to fully train your staff and give them systems to use that hold them accountable on a daily basis.

At my practice, Today’s Dental, every patient has a “Check In/Check Out” Slip attached to either a clipboard or their chart. The purpose of this slip is to remind our staff what procedures need to be done with each patient and to initial each step as it is done. We have been paperless with all new patients since June 2002, so we attach the slip to a clipboard along with any paperwork the patient needs to sign for that appointment. After the patient checks out, we scan all the paperwork into their digital chart. If your office is not yet paperless, just attach this slip to the front of the patient’s chart.

This slip is also used for notes regarding any problems encountered with the patient or any collection information/issues. The slips are saved in an envelope with our paper schedule so that the next day we can perform the daily audit. (In a future issue my Publisher’s Page will go over the procedures for the Daily Audit that we perform at Today’s Dental.)

Our SoftDent system does not save the daily schedule—this would take up valuable space on the server. It is important to keep a hard copy of the schedule to look back at for the next six months if needed.

Below is an example of our Check In/Check Out Slip we use for every patient that has an appointment in our office.

After going through the steps listed for checking in/out each patient, we also offer our new patients a copy of our financial policy. If a problem develops down the road with a patient’s account, we remind them of our Today’s Dental office policies and the copy we offered them at their first visit. An example that you can implement in your office is on the following page.

Thank you for choosing our office for your dental needs. We realize that every person’s financial situation is different. For this reason, we have worked hard to provide a variety of payment options to help you receive the dental care you need and deserve that allows you to enjoy a healthy, beautiful smile with respect to your budget. Dental treatment is an excellent investment in an individual’s medical and psychological care. We are always available to answer your questions or assist you in any way we can.

To maintain the practice operations and prevent potential misunderstandings, we ask patients to accept and adhere to the following financial arrangements regarding their dental treatment.

Optional Payment Terms:
Full Pay Cash Discount: We offer a 10% accounting courtesy for all treatment that is paid in full (cash or check) at the time of service. We will still file your insurance and payment will go directly to you the patient.

Full Pay DOS Cash Discount:
We offer a 5% accounting courtesy for all treatment for which your co-pay is paid in full (cash or check) at the time of service.

Major Service - Two Payment Option:
We offer a two-payment option for Crown, Bridge, and Denture treatment. We ask that you pay one-half of your co-payment at the first appointment and the second half at the seat date appointment.

Credit Card Payment Option:
We allow (with a signed agreement form and established payment history with our office), a Credit Card Payment Option, which allows you to make three equal installments by credit card. One-third payment is due at the first appointment, one-third is due thirty days later, and the remaining one-third is due sixty days from the initial appointment. Our office personnel will charge these payments to your credit card on the due dates.

Term Loan:
By arrangement with American General Dental Plan, we offer our patients, upon approval, an interest-free term loan (up to 6 months) with no down payment, no annual fee, and no prepayment penalty. Please ask for an application.

Payments are expected at the time services are rendered. We accept cash, checks (under $500.00), debit cards, and all major credit cards.

Broken appointments:
A specific amount of time is reserved especially for you and we strongly encourage all patients to keep their appointments. If you must change your appointment, we require at least 24 hours notice to avoid a $70.00 cancellation fee (emergencies are an exception).