Keeping Track of Missed and Cancelled Appointments will Allow You to Plan New Management Processes

Good office management software should do more than just keep appointments straight—it should allow you to track and report the number of missed and canceled appointments your office experiences and relate them to such variables as the day of the  week and types of patient involved.

This may sound like over-reporting at first, but it isn't.  By tracking what happens and when it happens, you will be better able to manage your dental practice and make it as prosperous as possible.

For example, let's say that you get a lot of cancellations for dental procedures scheduled for Fridays other then those for basic teeth cleanings. That should tell you that your patients and dental staff failed to adequately consider the "Friday Factor."

What's the "Friday Factor?" Simply that patients coming in for a root canal, crown, cavity filling or other procedure the after effects of which they fear may interfere with their weekend fun are likely to cancel.  And once they have canceled, they may not come back in.

Having the information that this is happening allows you to schedule such procedures on days other than Friday and reduces the risk that your Fridays will fail to make you the profit you need to keep your practice growing.