Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 62, Issue 2, March–April 2017, Pages 67-68
Dental Abstracts

The Front Office
Late arrivals

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2016.12.011Get rights and content

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Background

Dealing with late patients can cause stress and trickle down to other patients’ appointments, so it can be a big deal. It’s simply impossible to accomplish in 45 minutes what was planned for 60 minutes. Dental hygienists can improve the situation by recognizing what the specific problem is that makes the patient late and handling it directly.

Types of Late Patients

Patients are late for various reasons but they tend to fall into three main categories. First, there is the patient who fails to plan his or her time well. This person doesn’t allow sufficient time to arrive to the appointment as scheduled. Often he or she doesn’t leave home or the office early enough to make it to the appointment if an unexpected delay occurs, such as traffic or weather delays.

Second are patients who aren’t just late to dental appointments but are chronically late to all

Interventions

For the patients who are poor planners, the hygienist needs to begin calling once the patient is 5 minutes late. This reminds them of the appointment, tells them that the hygienist is ready for them, and conveys concern for them. Frequently the patient is in the car on the way to the office, but sometimes the patient has forgotten the appointment. The hygienist should ask how quickly the patient can make it to the office and determine if the appointment can be salvaged or must be rescheduled.

Discussion

Once the problem is identified, the dental hygienist can address it directly with each patient. In addition, the hygienist should be sure to set a good example and seat patients on time as much as possible.

Clinical Significance

Everyone involved in this problem needs to learn to respect everyone else’s time and act accordingly. Scheduling appointments will never be a perfect process, but having a few strategies in place to address late arrivals will diminish the level of stress that can arise.

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Davis K: The late patient: Here are some effective methods for managing tardy dental patients. RDH vol 36, issue 7

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