On May 26, the Chief Medical Officer of Health issued a new Directive#2. The new directive permits Health Care Providers, including dentists, to gradually restart in-person care including deferred, non-essential, and elective services, on top of emergency and urgent care. This is provided that dental offices have appropriate hazard controls and sufficient PPE. You can find more information about re-opening in the RCDSO Guidance.
As many offices are now ramping up and preparing for their re-opening, they have also contacted us for advice on getting in touch with their patients the most efficiently.
Here are some practical ways you can use Paradigm Clinical and Paradigm Mobile to contact your patients and let them know that the office has been re-opened. You can also use this opportunity to inform them of new check-in procedures in place to keep the office safe:
Newsletter Module
If you want to reach out to your patients with details regarding your re-opening, sending a bulk email would be the best solution. Since there is no word limit, you can include as much information as needed to have all your patients on the same page.
Using our Newsletter Module is a quick and easy way to complete this task. You can run a list of patients and let it handle sending out your email to each and every patient you’ve included. You can even send out emails to patients who have had their appointments cancelled during the COVID-19 period. This gives them priority to re-book before opening your appointment book to all your patients.
Although dental offices are permitted to re-open, patients are still wary of COVID-19 transmission. In your email, you can include the following to help ease their mind:
- Words of reassurance
- What your team is doing to keep the office safe (new procedures, equipment)
- What patients should expect and bring for their appointment
- Procedures that cannot be done currently
- New operating hours
My Contact Pro
Text messaging is quick and effective, as the messages are to-the-point and easy for patients to read right away.
You can use My Contact Pro to rebook patients efficiently and accurately. Run a list of patients with cancelled appointments during your closure to contact them directly via bulk SMS. This ensures that these patients have a chance to reschedule their appointment before the others.
The advantage of sending messages through My Contact Pro is that you can integrate it with Paradigm and help streamline your booking process. Patients who rebook will be automatically removed from the list so you don’t send out repeat texts.
Text Message Ideas
Here are some ideas of different text messages you can send out on top of your regular messages:
- COVID-19 and office updates: The pandemic can rapidly change in a blink of an eye. Send timely messages to your patients regarding COVID-19 and office procedures to keep them updated. You can also let your patients know when you will be re-opening and invite them to book an appointment.
- Rebooking cancelled patients: Build a better patient relationship by giving your patients with cancelled appointments due to COVID-19 priority to rebook. For example:
Hi John. Our office is now open! We wanted to give you priority to re-book your cancelled appointment due to COVID-19. Give us a call today to schedule before our books fill up! - Appointment reminder: Appointment reminders can also remind the patient of new office procedures, such as requiring a mask when they arrive.
Hi John. Your appointment on Friday, June 19, 2020 is coming in 2 days. Please bring a face mask to the appointment. We will provide one with you don’t have one! - NEW! Batch statements: In order to minimize the paper usage to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread, we’ve also added a new Batch Statement feature to My Contact Pro. When you run a list of patients with outstanding balances, you can also send them an SMS with a unique link that lets them view their statements.
Don’t be afraid to give more details about the hazard control the office has in place. You should also include instructions for when patients arrive for their appointment so they know what to do exactly. Being on the same page with your team and patients will greatly reduce the risk of spread.
If you have questions about the Newsletter Module or My Contact Pro, you can contact us at (905) 946-1477 or sales@logictechcorp.com.