Creating a consistent routine when walking out a patient at the end of an appointment is a great way to ensure that nothing gets missed. The best approach is to walk your patient up to formally check out with someone at the front desk. Follow these steps to create a seamless experience:

1. Schedule continuing care appointments right away
   • Schedule a 6-month continuing care appointment before your patient leaves. If they are on a shorter 3- or 4-month interval, schedule a couple visits at a time. This helps keep patients on track with their recommended continuing care visits.
2. Verbalize what was completed that day
   • This will ensure that the proper procedures are walked out and sent to insurance companies if applicable.
3. Review treatment plan and schedule treatment appointments before patients walk out the door
   • Patients are more likely to schedule an appointment face to face than over the phone after they have already walked out of the office. Recommendations from their provider are fresh on their mind and immediate encouragement will hold them accountable for their appointments.
4. Collect patient co-pays
   • Do your research ahead of time. If you can predict an estimate of what the patient portion is that day, it will avoid a slew of patient statements that need to be sent out down the road.
5. Ask for a review
   • Visiting the team at the front desk allows for another opportunity to ask for a positive review about their experience that day.

Facilitating a consistent experience ensures that no appointment goes unscheduled, and no copay goes unpaid.

For tips and guidance on how to implement a provider hand-off, reach out to us at [email protected]