'We've cut our waitlist in half and maintained a 65% referral start rate'
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When Trotter Orthodontics in Georgia was facing a four-mouth waitlist, Paul Trotter, DMD, decided he needed to make a change in his practice. Rather than hire more staff, he decided to implement a virtual scan and monitoring system.
Dr. Trotter spoke with Dental Bite about adopting a virtual monitoring platform to help reduce patient wait times and build trust with them prior to treatment.
Patient waitlists can be a big challenge. When did you first realize you needed a new strategy to tackle that challenge in your practice?
I knew we had a problem when our new patient calls far outpaced our ability to schedule in-office exams. At one point, we had a four-month waitlist for new patient exams.
How did you adopt the virtual monitoring platform you use in your practice?
When we examined our new patient waitlist, we noticed many were children. Most of our pediatric patients were not ready for treatment at the time of referral. Rather than frustrating parents by scheduling appointments months in advance, our patients receive a Trotter Orthodontics Welcome Kit with a Grin Scope®, office swag and a video tutorial featuring my son and me.
After our patients get set up at home and complete their first scan, a dedicated team member who works remotely for us guides them through the process and reviews scans. I then create a video walking families through treatment plans and timing while setting expectations.
How have patients responded to this custom experience?
We have been overwhelmed with the positive response regarding scan completion; of the 262 patients invited to use Grin, 97.7% created accounts and 86.6% uploaded scans. Parents have shared how convenient the new process is, especially for our patients who aren’t ready for treatment. They appreciate saving time and avoiding unnecessary office appointments.
What are the biggest benefits you have seen?
We've cut our waitlist in half while maintaining a 65% referral start rate. Our customized patient onboarding experience has allowed us to free up in-office appointments, reduce unnecessary chair time and eliminate the need to hire more team members.
Edited for clarity and brevity.
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