5 Best Practices for Effective Dental Patient Follow-Up

dental patient care

In the competitive world of dental care, ensuring that patients receive proper follow-up can significantly improve their health outcomes and satisfaction. Effective aftercare not only enhances patient care but also strengthens the relationship between the patient and the dental practice, thus elevating practice performance and its market share.

1. Personalised Patient Follow-Up Communication

Why Personalised Follow-Up Matters: Personalised communication makes patients feel valued and understood, which can increase their engagement and adherence to post-treatment instructions. The online search term ‘change dentist’ has increased by nearly 70% in the past 5 years, indicating patients’ unhappiness with their current level of care. Go the extra mile to get and stay ahead of the competition.

How to Implement Personalised Follow-Up:

  • Tailor Follow-Up Messages: Use the patient’s name and refer to specific treatments or concerns discussed during their visit. Inform the patient of your aftercare protocol during their visit so they know to expect follow-up communication; this further enhances the engagement levels.
  • Follow-Up Mediums: Use various communication channels (SMS, email, phone calls) based on the patient’s preference. Don’t assume which method is the preferred one, add a simple tickbox question to their appointment form. This further shows your interest in making sure patients feel cared for by your practice.

Research Insights: According to a report, healthcare providers that have implemented personalised communication strategies have seen notable improvements. In as little as 6 to 12 months, patient satisfaction increased by up to 25%, administrative costs reduced by 5-10%, and quality standards improved by 20-25%.

FollowApp Advantage: Our platform allows dental practices to automate personalised follow-up messages, ensuring that each patient receives tailored communication based on their treatment and preferences. This ensures patients feel cared for and reduces the likelihood of them seeking services elsewhere.

2. Timely Patient Follow-Up After Dental Appointments

Why Timely Follow-Up Matters: Timely follow-up can catch complications early and reinforce the importance of adherence to treatment plans.

How to Implement Timely Follow-Up:

  • Set Follow-Up Schedules: Schedule automated follow-up messages or calls at optimal times post-treatment, for example 24-48h after the appointment.
  • Automated Reminders: Utilise automated systems to send reminders without burdening the staff.

Research Insights: A key reason patients don’t follow their treatment plans is misunderstanding and miscommunication, which leads to lower patient satisfaction. Studies report that 40-60% of patients could not correctly report what their doctors expected of them 10-80 minutes after they were provided with the information. Another study reported that over 60% of patients interviewed immediately after their appointment had misunderstood the aftercare directions.

FollowApp Advantage: Our system sends automatic follow-up messages based on the treatment timeline, ensuring that no patient is missed and timely care is maintained, reducing the risk of complications and improving patient outcomes. You’re able to address miscommunication by providing clear follow-up flows that reinforce your focus on providing a high-quality aftercare to your patients.

3. Providing Comprehensive Follow-Up Content for Dental Patients

Why Comprehensive Follow-Up Content Matters: Providing detailed follow-up content helps patients understand their post-treatment care and reduces anxiety.

How to Implement Comprehensive Follow-Up Content:

  • Two-Way Communication: Establish a communication space where patients can ask questions and receive timely responses, reducing anxiety and ensuring clarity in post-treatment care.
  • Educational Resources: Provide links to educational resources or videos that explain the aftercare process and any commonly asked questions.

Research Insight: Comprehensive follow-up content can reduce patient anxiety by 30% and improve adherence to post-treatment care. Key reasons for poor adherence include patient forgetfulness, anxiety about treatment-associated adverse effects, low motivation due to a perceived lack of efficacy, and poor health literacy.

FollowApp Advantage: FollowApp combats poor adherence by providing a robust and automated two-way communication platform that addresses patient forgetfulness with automated prompts, reduces anxiety through timely responses to patient queries. This ensures that patients have access to the necessary post-treatment care, reducing their anxiety and improving adherence.

4. Implementing Patient Feedback Mechanisms in Dental Practices

Why Patient Feedback Matters: Collecting patient feedback helps practices identify areas for improvement and enhances patient satisfaction.

How to Implement Patient Feedback Mechanisms:

  • Follow-Up Surveys: Send out short surveys after appointments to prevent post-treatment complications, gauge patient satisfaction and gather feedback.
  • Address Concerns Promptly: Respond to any concerns or negative feedback quickly to show patients that their opinions are valued and taken into consideration for future patient experiences.

Research Insight: If your patient came in for something other than a routine check-up, provide a personal follow-up communication with them to see how they are doing. This has been proven to boost patient satisfaction by well over 90%. Remember, in the growing times of patients looking elsewhere for their dental care providers, make sure your care quality stands out.

FollowApp Advantage: FollowApp sends out automated and customisable patient satisfaction surveys and complies the results for you; helping your practice to continuously improve the patient experience. It also provides powerful search functionality to retrieve specific patient feedback, ensuring compliance and demonstrating commitment to quality care.

5. Establishing Consistent Follow-Up Protocols for Dental Patients

Why Consistent Follow-Up Protocols Matter: Consistency in follow-up protocols ensures that all patients receive the same high level of care, reducing the risk of oversight.

How to Implement Consistent Follow-Up Protocols:

  • Standardised Procedures: Develop standardised follow-up protocols that all staff members follow.
  • Training and Compliance: Regularly train staff on follow-up procedures and monitor compliance. A significant key training aspect to focus on is how to handle negative patient experiences and feedback.

Research Insight: A study on patient experience after dental surgery showed that clear post-operative instructions and readily available support from the practice significantly increased patient satisfaction.

FollowApp Advantage: FollowApp allows you to create and enforce standardised follow-up protocols, ensuring that every patient receives consistent and high-quality post-treatment care. This reduces administrative burdens and allows staff to focus more on patient care.

Conclusion

Implementing these best practices can significantly enhance the effectiveness of patient follow-up in dental practices, leading to better patient outcomes and increased satisfaction. FollowApp is designed to support your practice, providing automated, personalised, and consistent approaches to patient care beyond the chair. By integrating FollowApp into your patient aftercare processes, your dental practice can ensure that every patient receives the highest standard of care: enhancing their experience and health outcomes, and giving you a vital competitive edge.

For more insights, be sure to read our extensive blog posts on industry statistics and unique online search trends impacting dentistry.

Get a real understanding of how and why you need to enhance your patient experience journeys today from our comprehensive blog post and FREE ebook here.

Contact us today to find out exactly how FollowApp can make a difference to your practice and to your patients!

Sources

FollowApp blog, BCG, FollowApp blog 2, NIH, Nature.com, BHM, NIH 2

Maria Franklin
Author: Maria Franklin