Did you give up your paper forms when you got your (plastic) computer? If so, is your exam-consult-start control better or worse? And, is your initial and daily financial control better or worse? If worse, maybe this pearl can help you get your control back.
Orthodontists would like a magic pill to give them the control over their practice, since it is so hard to attain. And some practices believe this pill to be a computer system—think again. Computer systems take the control out of your team’s hands, while leading you to assume that the controls are still in place. But what a patient does is not under the control of your computer and it never will be. Your team and their daily procedures are the only real control you have. So, lets look at the controls typically lost when you take the paper away from your team and rely on your computer.
The major complaint from my clients is the loss of control in the initial appointments. Another is the loss of control of their initial payments. Another complaint is the loss of control of their daily charges and payments.
When a team member fills out a paper form along with the patient/family it informs and teaches the family what they need to know and do. For example, after the exam the TC and patient/family would fill out an "Exam Summary" form (see attached Word file to create your own form). This form would show the exam doctor’s findings, treatment needed, fees and possible financial arrangements, and the appointments scheduled. When the patient/family leaves with a copy of that form and their photos, they know exactly what to do and when. For undecided patients or for patients who need a follow-up Tx Consult, the TC would fill out a "Tx Consult Summary" form (see attached Word file) at the Tx Consult with the patient/family.
The Exam Summary form, Tx Consult Summary form and the procedures associated with them, also give the practice more control over the patient’s initial payments and starting appointments. That is, as long as the TC, bookkeeper and receptionist are diligent about collecting the initial payment before the starting appointment. Just because the computer gives an initial payment due alert, it doesn’t mean that it will be collected unless your team is diligent about collecting it.
You might also want to refer to the following management pearl about exam Will-Call-Back control:
You might also want to refer to the following management pearl about Negotiating Financial Arrangements:
And, you might also want to refer to the following management pearl to start the most exams possible:
As far as ongoing financial control is concerned, the computer will document what was charged and paid, but it does not contain the procedures necessary to make sure that all of the charges and payments were initiated or even entered. Refer to the following pearl that increases your computer's financial control through paper forms and their procedures.
You might also find the following pearl helpful to avoid embezzlement:
I hope that you find this pearl helpful to get back the control you lost when you dropped your paper systems in lieu of computer systems. You will also find more control forms and all of their procedures in the "New Patient TC Procedures" management kit.
