#Shorts
In my practice, appointments for work are scheduled right in the operatory. This is to prevent bottle neck at the front, especially if you’re working with one front desk personnel. The only appointments that are made at the front are recall appointments.

The other reason why I do it this way is to make sure patient is not waiting too long before they come in for their next appointment for work. This way you’re letting the patient know that it’s important they get this done in a timely manner.

For instance, if I usually schedule an hour for a crown appointment, but there’s no slot open for an hour for next three weeks, I can “squeeze” that patient into the 45 minute slot that’s open next week because I know the patient coming right after usually comes late by a few minutes.

And sometimes, the opposite can happen. There are times, I’ll let the patient know their next appointment will be scheduled at the front – but then my scheduler knows that I need an hour, but she’ll try to squeeze the patient in for 45 minutes open slot next week.

But I KNOW the patient needs the extra time – due to clinical reasons – either they can’t open for too long, they need frequent breaks, collect too much saliva so needs the suction all the time, etc…

These things WILL happen. It’s not the end of the world, but no matter how much you plan, you’ll deal with it at the time it happens.

For more on creating a leaner practice with greater profits and less overhead, make sure to follow!