From Paper to Digital, Franklin Dental Shares How an Automated Waitlist Improved Practice Performance
Jake Olsen, DDS, saw a remarkable difference in his dental practice’s operations within two months of implementing EasyFill.
He recalls how Franklin Dental, his average-sized practice in Wisconsin, dealt with their appointment waitlist prior to utilizing EasyFill.
“Before EasyFill, we had a spiral bound notebook with patients who needed to be scheduled—who they are, their needs, appointment type, what time of day they would be available.” For the thirty-two-year-old practice, managing their waitlist was always an arduous, uncertain, and time-consuming process.
However, in early 2023, things finally changed when Dr. Olsen’s practice transitioned to Doctible. In a short time, noticeable differences started taking place. Franklin Dental was able to save valuable time, handle last-minute cancellations, and improve the patient experience.
Hear how Dr. Olsen joined other EasyFill practices that fill 44% of all canceled appointments with this revolutionary solution.
EasyFill Benefits
With automatic cancellation notifications, Doctible's seamless digital waitlist solution — EasyFill — has positively impacted practices like Franklin Dental by filling 44% of all canceled appointments.
- Saying goodbye to the spiral-bound notebook has never been easier with a simple and streamlined way of keeping track of which patients are waiting for an appointment.
- Improve scheduling workflows and integrate with popular practice management software to save time that can be allocated elsewhere.
- By making rescheduling quick and easy, more patients are more likely to change their appointments and take the empty slot.
- Cultivate a stronger connection with patients by contacting them in their preferred method of communication.
Saying Goodbye to the Spiral Bound Notebook
Dr. Olsen knew his practice’s reliance on paper was hindering its performance. For his administrative assistant, the burden was especially heavy. Managing the waitlist involved flipping through pages in their notebook to see which patients needed appointments.
Then, they had to manually contact patients to fill available slots. This led to frustration for both patients and the practice as a game of phone-tag ensued.
The manual transfer of patient information into the computer didn't make things any easier. This process led to scheduling complications beyond the desk, as their method of manual data entry was incomplete.
As Dr. Olsen explains, “We could only see our next appointment. We had no idea what our next appointment or procedure needed.” The limited and vague information they were able to record made appointment scheduling a challenge. They were unable to time appointments accurately, causing more disruptions in the practice’s schedule.
Even with all this effort, Dr. Olsen still faced the uncertainty of whether they would fill appointment cancellations at all. Since staff needed to call patients—an often-ignored mode of contact—it was particularly challenging to fill newly vacant spots. This complicated matters for Franklin Dental, making their schedule inconsistent and causing them to miss out on valuable production.
However, good news awaited Franklin Dental. After implementing Doctible’s EasyFill, it didn’t take long to streamline Franklin Dental’s administrative and appointment processes.
Save Valuable Time by Improving Scheduling Workflow
Franklin Dental immediately felt the relief of EasyFill’s automated waitlist. Dr. Olsen notes the improvements that took place once he integrated EasyFill into his practice’s workflow. Put simply,
“Transferring from paper to digital streamlines the front desk and makes things easier.” Seamless technical integrations, easy-to-manage functionality, and patient-friendly texting combine to make a positive impact.
Dr. Olsen shares that it was painless to integrate the feature with their practice management system, Dentrix. Their EHR and appointment information transfer digitally into EasyFill, immediately removing the need for manual entry.
Once integrated with their EHR, the Franklin Dental team constructed a virtual, easier-to-manage waitlist with EasyFill. Office staff can simply select which patients to notify about open appointments. Additionally, patients with later appointments for the same procedures can be included if they prefer earlier dates. There are many ways to customize the way a practice uses EasyFill to suit their individual needs.
In the event of a relevant cancellation, patients on the waitlist receive texts and voice messaging about available appointment time slots. Then, the practice can approve those who want the appointment via a first-come, first-served approach, or via office approval. Flipping through pages, manually tracking appointment changes, and making unanswered phone calls is no longer necessary.
Without a manual waitlist weighing down Dr. Olsen's team, they can devote more attention to other essential tasks—like patient care.
Combat Last-Minute Cancellations
Importantly, the fast changes experienced by Franklin Dental weren’t just administrative. Patient-friendly notifications and text messaging provide efficient means of managing the practice’s schedule. Dr. Olsen credits a higher success rate to Doctible’s easier, more modern communication. To put it in his terms, managing his practice's calendar is now a “quick and easy” process.
In the EasyFill dashboard, patients can immediately create an appointment cancellation if they need to. This allows staff to act quickly and send EasyFill requests to patients on the digital waitlist. By removing phone calls, the Franklin Dental team can be proactive and reach patients through a more responsive platform.
Moreover, EasyFill has helped Franklin Dental prevent last-minute cancellations and no-shows, along with the disruptions caused by them.
He and his staff benefit from a more predictable schedule, and there are fewer gaps in revenue with a steady flow of appointments.
Effortless Patient Engagement
Aside from saving valuable time and supporting smoother operations, Doctible also fulfilled Franklin Dental's need for stronger connections with patients. Today, many patients are busy and can only be contacted one way: through text messaging.
Dr. Olsen speaks to its convenience for patients: “Not everyone can answer [the phone]. People prefer texting.” By reaching out to patients on their preferred platform, Franklin Dental has been able to meet patients’ modern expectations.
Likewise, automated messaging allows Franklin Dental to effectively communicate and engage patients—even when their hands are tied. Prior to EasyFill, reaching out to patients during busy office hours was considerably challenging. Staff had to stop tasks or disrupt in-office patient interactions to make phone calls and manually manage the waitlist.
For the Franklin Dental team, EasyFill’s automated waitlist is a powerful tool that allows them to provide quality care. Today, they know they can reach patients easily, fill appointments quickly, and make patients—inside and outside their practice—much happier.
Dr. Olsen Recommends EasyFill to Other Dentists: “It Makes Things Easier”
Dr. Olsen and the rest of the Franklin Dental team have strived for excellence for over thirty years. With Doctible’s EasyFill, they can continue their path towards providing exceptional care.
When asked if he would recommend EasyFill, Dr. Olsen didn’t hesitate to say yes, touting its timesaving and patient engagement benefits. “[I like it for] its reliability and ease of use. I also love the messaging from Doctible, and I think it cuts down on time you have to be calling patients. It’s more responsive; it makes things easier.”
With Doctible’s EasyFill, practices like Franklin Dental gain a seamless platform to manage their waitlist digitally, enhancing their overall efficiency.
In fact, Franklin Dental isn’t the only practice to benefit from the digital waitlist: A recent two-month study discovered that dental practices using EasyFill were able to fill 44% of their canceled appointments.
Altogether, EasyFill streamlines appointment scheduling, reduces no-shows, and enables dental practices to deliver a superior patient experience through its innovative patient engagement tools. By automating the process of filling last-minute cancellations, EasyFill optimizes workflow, increases revenue, and frees up staff to provide better care.
To learn more about how EasyFill can revolutionize your practice as it did for Franklin Dental, visit Doctible and schedule a demo today!
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