1. Sales Pitch
Connecting your practice with a
new generation of patients
Arndt Mielisch, Welltime I Professional Dentistry North I November 2016
2. The evolving dental economy
Dental health generally stable, or on the rise
Implant market expected to grow
(use of implants in the UK way behind most European countries and the US)
Increase in patients with co-morbidities
Undersupply of dentists
Patients’ disposable income declining
Need for higher productivity and shorter chair times
Dental practices must look beyond excellence in clinical care and run their
business more efficiently.
3. The evolving patient
Today’s patients are more digitally savvy, better informed and
more discerning than ever.
They are always on, connected with their family and friends, comparing
products and service offerings before they book.
As consumers, they expect the services delivered to them to be convenient,
relevant and speedy.
As patients, they demand for more and better information on dental health &
treatment options.
Dentists must meet the information and technology needs of the new
generation of patients. These needs create a new type of competition in its
very own rights.
4. A word about the millennial generation
Millennials - born between 1980 and 2000 - are the first generation to have
grown up with the Internet.
Two main Millennial traits are their
- detachment from institutions
- networking with friends
(Pew Research Center, 2014)
I.e., they represent an ‘innate’ refusal to follow traditional ways of doing
things, and an ‘innate’ preference for information sourcing through their
peers rather than mass media.
By 2020, the Millennial and younger generations will represent 50% of the
British population.
8. To make a long story short…
Online channels, and especially mobile devices, have become the preferred
method of communication of your target audience
It is a matter of time that patients book their dental treatments just like
travel or hospitality services
Patient administration will partially shift from the practice back-end (the
PMS) to the front-end (the web interface)
Think
Patient-facing processes
Back-end integration (PMS)
“Patient Relationship Management”
Online functionality
Usability
9. Dental practices can leverage online media to
attract patients and actively build patient
relationships while managing their practice
more efficiently.
How?
10. An online booking facility serves patients in that it allows them to
schedule an appointment when and how they want to:
They want to book when they have an issue – which is not necessarily
during your office hours!
They want to book through their preferred channels – not yours.
Online booking directly translates into more medical appointments
and cuts the cost of appointments / cancellations.
1 – Enable online bookings & cancellations
11. Things to keep an eye on
Stay in control:
Set the appointment parameters (just like you do with your receptionist)
Types of treatment available
Patient schemes available
Appointment slots available for booking
Ask for pre-payment, as you see fit
Keep the option to confirm / decline the appointment
Usability is key:
Booking process shouldn’t take > 60 seconds
(compare with 4 minutes for an average phone appointment)
Ensure an optimal patient experience on all devices – laptop, smartphone,
tablet: “responsive design”
12. Online appointments should allow the automated processing of patient
data.
Why not employ your staff in more meaningful ways?
Electronic communication will reduce
paperwork
errors
physical storage requirements
Administration tasks.
2 – Enable automated data processing.
13. Things to keep an eye on
Watch the integration capability of your appointment booking software
with your PMS:
Best practice is to provide an Application Programming Interface (API)
Be aware of proprietary backend systems as the patient front-end is
gaining in importance
Leverage your newly acquired patient data for CRM purposes:
Location and transportation information
‘Welcome pack’
Provide patient reassurance, especially when the patient has made an
online deposit.
14. Staying in touch with your patients through their preferred media and
channels allows you to build a personal relationship with them.
Your patient communications can take many ways:
patient education, FFT, patient surveys, practice promotions,
appointment reminders, dental hygiene tips, newsletters…
Remember: It generally costs more to acquire a new customer than it
does to keep an existing one.
3 – Engage with your patients throughout
their patient journey
Appointment booking Exam Treatment Next appointment?
15. For example: Patient education
How many of your patients have dental phobias?
How many would like to know more about how they can better
maintain their dental health?
By educating your patients you will give them greater comfort, and
they feel “empowered”
It also saves you valuable practice time when they come and see you
Increasing health consciousness of patients opens a window for premium
product sales – a domain to be explored.
16. Feedback & CQC compliance
Automated delivery and evaluation of the Friends and Family Test (FFT)
The most efficient way to meet the direct compliance requirements of the Care
Quality Commission
However, there are also indirect compliance requirements
Capture feedback systematically through your electronic patient communication
channels to improve the quality of your services.
“CQC has placed feedback from people who use services
at the heart of our work, because every concern is an
opportunity for services to improve the quality of care.”
17. Practice promotions; product
recommendations; check-up reminders
Their effectiveness flows directly from the trust you have built through other
forms of patient communication:
This trust allows you to upsell and make product recommendations e.g., for
tooth whitening, dental hygiene or sonic tooth brushes.
Automated upselling options à la Amazon:
“Patients who had this treatment purchased Y”
Most patients see their dentist less frequently than they should.
Why not send all patients that haven’t seen you in 12 months a friendly
reminder – automatically triggered by your front-end communication system?
18. Communicating along the patient
journey
Soft
reminder
FFT
Feedback
Welcome
pack
Patient
education
Practice
promotions
Product
recommendations
Patient
education
Potential for
personalisation
Appointment booking Exam Treatment Next appointment?
19. Let your patients do the marketing for you. Get their reviews
published on Google, facebook and other sites to stand out!
Satisfied patients are often more than happy to provide a positive
testimonial for your practice on relevant social media.
Such ‘peer to peer’ testimonials represent the best marketing
imaginable – more effective than the most sophisticated paid advertising
campaign!
4 – Create visibility for yourself and your
dental practice.
20. Website marketing
Regular content updates to your website dramatically improve your
visibility on the Internet.
Excerpt taken from Smilepod Bank branch website
Patients’ feedback should be treated as web
feeds and automatically published on your
website.
This is perfect marketing for your practice!
Fresh, genuine content keeps your website
attractive.
In addition, these feeds, typically rich in
relevant search terms, point the search
engines to your website.
21. The patient acquisition & CRM cycle
Online patient
reviews
Online patient
communication
Automated patient
data processing
Online bookings
Patient education
& CRM
New patient
acquisition
22. Our Mission
Welltime helps dental practices improve
their competitiveness by connecting them
with a new generation of digitally enabled
patients.
To do so, Welltime provides a suite of
software tools designed to facilitate the
acquisition, administration and customer
relationship management of patients.
23. Welltime product portfolio
AppointMentor Patient Connections True North
Business Intelligence
Acquire new
patients
Engage with your
patients
Manage
your Practice
Consulting services
PMS integration services
