SCRIPTOPEDIA
An Effective Recall Strategy
Cold-calling scripts that will fill your schedule
KESHAV BHAT, O.D.
Recently, we ran an EHR report to see how many current patients have not been seen in the last three years. The numbers are too embarrassing to reveal, but they were a real eye-opener we wanted to do something about.
So, on a spreadsheet we created six columns of information from the patient audit: (1) name, (2) phone number, (3) date of last exam, (4) call date #1, (5) call date #2 (unanswered voice mail messages) and (6) comments. (It’s best to wait four to six weeks before the follow-up call. Anything sooner can be considered harassment.)
Staff used two color pens to note whether the calls resulted in an appointment confirmation (blue) or anything else (red). We based the order of calls on when a patient was last seen. As a result of this course of action, our patient appointments have risen 20%.
Here are the scripts staff use:
Staff member to patient
“Hi, Mrs. Jones, this is Jen from Dr. Wonderful’s office. Hope all is well. I know that you were seen for your last eye exam XXX ago, but for whatever reason, your continuing care appointment was not made. Normally, we would call or send you a card to alert you about the appointment, but a crazy thing is happening around here. We are getting so busy that I am afraid we may have missed the recall. So, I’d love it if we could get that appointment in our schedule now. I know you like Thursday afternoons, late in the day, and I want to be able to have a time slot available for you.”
Patient rebuttal answer
If the patient says, “I’m not sure of my availability,” or “I don’t want to schedule right now,” the reply is: “Not to worry. Let’s go ahead and get that appointment scheduled anyway. We will still send you a notification by e-mail or text just to be sure that appointment still works for you.” Never say, “Let’s make the appointment because you can always change it.” That gives patients permission to do what you don’t want them to do.
Dr. Bhat practices at Austin Village Eyecare in Matthews, N.C. He opened the practice in 2007.
![]({"src":"/media/c4ulo3aa/122014.jpg","focalPoint":null,"crops":[{"alias":"thumbnail","width":1110,"height":700,"coordinates":null}]})