Do your patients know you appreciate them?

Good visit to the dentist

As we approach the end of 2013, it’s time to think about ways to finish the year strong. One way to do that is to encourage your patients to use their dental benefits before the new dental plan year begins. Many of your patients may not know that unused dental benefits are forfeited at the end of the calendar year. What better way to get patients to schedule appointments for annual cleanings, as well as to schedule needed work, than by reminding them that they have insurance benefits to use?

It’s likely that your practice management software has the capability of giving you a list of patients who are 1) active in your practice or 2) have ongoing treatment needs. With this information, you can send a letter to those patients who could really take advantage of using dental benefits before they expire at the end of the year.

This is the perfect time of year to send this letter, so get this on your schedule for this week or next.

It’s also a good time to think about acknowledging the importance of your patients in your practice. We recommend that you send a holiday letter (not an email) to all of your patients with a note of friendship and appreciation. Thanksgiving is a great time of year to send this note – it’s early enough in the season that it won’t get lost with all of the holiday greeting cards giving you a chance to really highlight the importance you place on your patients.

If you would like sample letters, please send a request to us at solutions@kristinpelletier.com. We’ll be happy to forward our recommendations.

Note: You can also use these topics as Facebook posts to support these messages with your patients.