5 Tips to Help You Be Better Prepared
Here are 5 tips to help you be better prepared in your position as a Scheduler:
1. Know who you are calling! Be familiar with the patient’s record.
2. Check the schedule for other family members who may be coming in. This way you will not have to call back to confirm a different patient at the same number when you could have done it during the first call.
3. Know what procedure they are coming in for so that you can answer their questions such as the length of the procedure, etc. If you don’t know the answer to their question, get the answer.
4. If one particular parent or grandparent always brings a child patient to their appointments, be sure to confirm the appointment with that parent or a grandparent.
5. Be aware of any special circumstances surrounding the patient or the appointment, such as the patient having a very strong fear of the dentist or the need for pre-medication. When you are confirming patients that need to be premedicated, such as with Mitro Vavle Prolapse (MVP), and they are already taking antibiotics for a previous illness, always verify that they are taking the specific one for their MVP condition as prescribed by their physicians. Also, if any questions should arise as to which antibiotic they should be taking, the patient’s physician should be contacted, so that this confusion is cleared up. If a patient arrives for an appointment and has not taken the required pre-medication, the doctor’s and hygienist’s time will be wasted.
