AGD Launches Smile Savers to Membership
New member benefit saves time, money, increases office efficiency
CHICAGO (July 8, 2009) – These days, many general dentists and their staff spend time marketing their practice, confirming appointments, looking for patient education materials or finding ways to keep their patients coming back. Add to that the duties of completing charts, managing the office and performing dental procedures, and the result is a staff that may be stretched thin. To help its members increase their office efficiency and to add more value to their membership, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) today launches a new member benefit, AGD Smile Savers, an automated tool that creates e-newsletters, appointment reminders, surveys and more, allowing dentists more effective communication with patients. Members and other attendees of AGD2009baltimore , the AGD’s Annual Meeting, will get a first glimpse of how the system works during exhibit hall demonstrations.
“We realize that, in the present economy, dentists everywhere are looking for ways to save money and increase patient retention,” says AGD President Paula S. Jones, DDS, FAGD. “We are delighted to give our AGD members more tools that will improve the quality of their practice and the services they provide.”
Dentists, in their role as small business owners, will maximize staff time and increase the level of attention given to their patients – for no cost. AGD members who integrate Smile Savers with their current office software will have the capabilities to communicate frequently and automatically. In addition to the cost savings, there are also time savings associated with this tool. The staff who manually confirms the appointments will save about two hours each day.
“This new benefit provides one turnkey solution to service practices of all sizes,” says AGD Secretary Linda Edgar, DDS, MEd, MAGD, who uses the tool in her practice. “It is now very convenient for patients to receive text messages and e-mail appointment reminders, allowing my staff to focus on other tasks around the office. They also send Happy Birthday messages, which our patients love, and the system allows patients to send comments about their appointments for feedback to the office.”
“We are very excited to launch this service to our members, because patient feedback from the dentists who are using it has been extremely positive,” says Carol Wooden, DDS, MAGD, spokesperson for the AGD. “They love it! We are thrilled to offer AGD members a technology that gets patients excited about coming to our office.”
Features of AGD Smile Savers include:
- Appointment Reminders – AGD Smile Savers automatically sends members’ patients customized appointment reminders by text and e-mail. No longer will the dentist’s staff spend valuable time and resources contacting patients to remind them of appointments. AGD Smile Savers sends customized appointment reminder text and e-mails prior to the appointment, reducing the chance of missed and forgotten appointments.
- Dormant Patient Reactivation – AGD Smile Savers reactivates patients who the office has not seen for 12 months. The aim is to re-introduce the practice and invite them back into the office. The system does an in-depth examination of the patient database to pinpoint dormant patients. Reactivation can add thousands of dollars every month to the practice. Best of all, the member does not have to do anything –AGD Smile Savers does the reactivation work.
- Newsletters – AGD Smile Savers has more than 100 ready to send newsletter articles available for members to choose from. All newsletters can be edited to meet the member’s needs. Members can even add their own articles. Newsletters are fast, easy and informative. They will increase new patient referrals, inform patients of what is happening in the practice and educate them on new services and technology available to them. Also, they portray a professional image of the practice as all newsletters will have the member’s name and logo.
- Surveys– AGD Smile Savers provides a consistent and effective way to survey patients without having to press a button. The survey enables members to measure the level of patient satisfaction in the practice.
- Microsite– MicroSite™ is a one-page micro Web site available to all registered users for free. With this system, a practice can display the details and testimonials without creating and maintaining its own Web site (it can also compliment an existing website). The microsite houses more than 50 links to various blogging and social networking sites, too.
About the AGD:
The AGD is a professional association of more than 35,000 general dentists dedicated to staying up-to-date in the profession through continuing education. Founded in 1952, the AGD has grown to become the world’s second largest dental association, which is the only association that exclusively represents the needs and interests of general dentists.
More than 786,000 persons are employed directly in the field of general dentistry. A general dentist is the primary care provider for patients of all ages and is responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, management and overall coordination of services related to patients’ oral health needs.