When your office gets phone calls from prospective patients, how does that first conversation go? When the patient leads the conversation, the first question might be about insurances accepted. However, when your receptionist or front office staff leads the conversation, insurance should not be the first thing to jump out at the patient.
Laura Hatch is a dental office consultant, specializing in training front office staff in day-to-day operations and customer service. While she recognizes that your receptionist will need to ask the caller about insurance details, she strongly advises against putting that question at the front of the phone call. Doing so makes insurance – not the patient – the priority of the conversation.
Instead, she recommends that the receptionist first spend a minute chatting with the patient, taking the time to understand the patient’s needs before pushing the insurance matter. But what if your office doesn’t accept the patient’s insurance? Why waste the time getting to know them before finding that out? Because you are forming a relationship with the caller, and relationships fuel any practice or business.
Even if the caller doesn’t carry an insurance you accept, that doesn’t mean they won’t remember your interaction. What if that person switches employers and gets new insurance? This patient may give your office another call someday. Patients also decide to go out-of-network for providers they really feel a connection with, and some patients don’t have dental insurance at all. Do you want to scare these callers away?
Laura Hatch reminds practice owners and front office staff, “You don’t work for the insurance company, you work for the patient. Let people feel that way from the first moment they call your office.” For more information, see the full article on her website.
Note: This content is accurate as of the date published above and is subject to change. Please seek professional advice before acting on any matter contained in this article.
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