June 2002

Susan Hoy’s TEAM TIPS
Why Patient Tracking Is Essential to Your Success

Keeping track of patients can be a difficult task, yet it is an essential part of running a successful practice. Patient tracking is necessary if you are going to help your patients get well and stay well. All practices have patients who drop out of care. It’s important to know what to do and say when a patient stops following through with a treatment plan.

The most effective tracking procedures are those with which everyone feels comfortable and that are designed for the benefit of the patient, not the benefit of the bottom line. A systemized approach to patient tracking is essential. If the system breaks down, you must identify and correct any weak links.

Patient tracking begins with the report of findings (ROF). It’s key during the ROF to get a commitment from the patient, so there’s a framework for helping the patient progress through the treatment plan.

A systematic approach to patient tracking should include the following:
• Tell the patient what you expect. Once you get a commitment for the treatment plan, the chiropractic assistant can go over the policies for care. This can be given by means of a Patient Information Form. The form should include information regarding patients’ responsibilities for home care and following through with the agreed-upon treatment plan. The form may include information on: the importance of arriving on time for appointments, how appointments are scheduled, how to make up an appointment that was canceled, the purpose of multiple appointment scheduling, payment plans, etc. Once the information has been explained to the patient, the patient should sign the form and receive a copy.

• Make sure your staff members understand your treatment plans and take them seriously. Each chiropractic assistant must perceive the value of chiropractic care and understand why treatment plans must be followed. If the staff does not take a treatment plan seriously, the patient surely will not, either. The assistant does not have the authority to release a patient from care. Careful scripting should be practiced when patients miss appointments, cancel visits, or attempt to drop out of care.

• Schedule multiple appointments in advance. It’s always best to schedule the agreed-upon visits in advance. This should be suggested as a convenience to the patient, rather than a convenience to the clinic. For example, your staff could explain to a patient that: “We recommend that you schedule your appointments in advance. That way you can get the appointments that are most convenient for you, and they will be easier to remember. Of course, these appointments are not cast in stone. You are free to rearrange your appointment with our scheduling person if there is a conflict with your schedule, although we do request at least 48 hours advance notice.”

• Contact patients immediately if there’s a problem. If a patient is late, a call should be made within half an hour of the missed appointment time. Here again, proper scripting is essential. These phone calls should be viewed as concern calls. An attempt must be made to have the patient make up the appointment later that day or in the near future.

• Put it in writing. If the patient does not reschedule the appointment and does not have another appointment scheduled, a patient tracking slip should be made up. It is important to note that if the patient’s name does not appear in your schedule book, it should be written down and action should be taken. There must be a specific system to the patient tracking slip. The assistant should attempt to contact and reschedule the patient within the next three days. Again, proper scripting is essential.

• Providing the personal touch. After three days, if the patient has not rescheduled an appointment, the staff should give the Patient Tracking Slip to you, along with the file or travel card. You should take some sort of action, whether it’s a personal call to the patient or a letter of concern. It may be necessary to write a letter of dismissal, depending on the situation.

If a patient decides to drop out of care, there’s often nothing you can do about it until the patient is in need of acute care. Creating a wellness patient often takes several of these come-and-go experiences, until the patient decides he or she would be better off getting ongoing care.

Having solid patient tracking procedures will surely help your patients on their journey to wellness. The best procedure of all is to respect your patients’ decisions, educate them, never make them feel guilty, and always serve them to the best of your ability.

Ms. Hoy speaks to chiropractic team members throughout the country and is an award-winning team trainer and consultant. She is the author of several books and a team-training manual. She writes a newsletter called “Team Work,” which focuses on chiropractic staff issues. Ms. Hoy served as office manager of Snyman Chiropractic Group in Center City, Philadelphia, for 11 years. She can be reached at 215-674-0130, or check out her website at www.beefitup.net.