Bring LOST Patients Back to Your Practice

BoomerangTM

Generating Revenue By Bringing Back

Your “Lost” Patients

Patient Reactivation Software

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Thursday, May 27, 2010

About OptiCall?In Business Since 2002

Have worked with over 250 Ophthalmic practices in the US and Canada

Handle over 10,000 ophthalmic calls monthly

OptiCall Elective Call Handling

OptiCall ACEtm- Actual Consumer Experience

OptiCall- RefracTraktm- Web based contact management and phone scripting program

Mystery Shopping

OptiCall “Boomerang” patient re-activation services


About Brevium

In Business since 2005

Serving ~600 Ophthalmologist nation wide.

Customers range in size from 1-50 MDs & up to 9 locations

Software solution for data mining and returning lost patients to your practice


What We’ll Cover Today

The importance of a recall system

What are recalls worth to your office?

Tips on effective recalls

What to do when recalls fail to produce the desired results

What is Boomerang?


Fact:

The average general ophthalmologist practice

has thousands of inactive patients

Recalls get < 50% response

Cancelations/no shows add ~8% to losses

“Recalls Revisited” Administrative Eyecare Fall 2006

Dr. IC Clearly, MD941-893-2400


How Patients Get Lost

Slip past the front desk

Recalls aren’t entered

Recalls notices aren’t sent

Recalls notices and calls are ignored

Patients cancel

Patients no show


Poll

What does your practice currently do to get patients back for annual exams?


What Does Missed Opportunity Cost?


A practice study:

Practice schedules appointments 6 months out

# of recalls typically represents 30% of their total visit volume

< 50% patients respond to recall efforts

More than 15% of their annual volume is lost to ignored recalls


A practice study:

Practice sees 40 patients per day (1 DR. practice)

40 pts X 4 days = 160 visits/week

$125 revenue per patient= $20,000/week

15% volume lost to ignored recalls = $3000 in lost revenue/week!

$156,000 annually per doctor!


FACT:

It costs a practice 5-6 times as much to bring in a new customer to the practice than it does to retain an existing one.


Poll

Do you know your cancellation/no show rate on appointments?


FACT:Based on a survey of 25 eye clinics across the US

if patients do not respond to recall notices then:

67% will send 1 additional notice

28% send 2 notices

6% send 3+ notices


Tips for effective recalls

Keep recall notices brief-

Don’t mix practice news or new doctor introductions with recall notices

Simple reminders that it’s time for visit will be twice as effective!



Send out recall notices frequently and in small batches

Big, infrequent batches may generate a spike in call volume that ties up the phones and turns patients off

Smaller batches allows for more consistent phone call volume and schedule loading



Schedule appointments 12 months or more to avoid overusing recalls to fill the schedule.

Once the appointment is made, the probability of the patient returning rises significantly

Make your best effort to schedule them before they leave that day


Follow up with patients by developing an outbound calling system

Follow up with patients that cancel or no-show for their visits

Remember- ~8% of losses are due to cancels and no-shows. At 160 visits per week this can represent $1600/week in lost revenue (12.8 visits at $125 each).



Boomerang combines the powerful patient reactivation software by Breviumtm

Highly skilled and trained phone staff at OptiCalltm

Call your patients that are due or overdue for appointments and book directly into your practice management system.

What Is Boomerang?


Why Use Boomerang?

Offset recent Medicare reimbursements cuts

Offset Refractive Surgery market slump

Fill schedules

Increase Surgical Volume

Improve Patient Outcomes


Boomerang Acts As A Patient Safety Net


Boomerang Does Not Replace

Mailing Recall notices

Rescheduling before patients leave

Appointment Reminder calls


Step 1: Find Lost Patients By Reading from Practice Management System DB

Looks for ignored recalls

Looks at the billing data

Last date seen

Diagnosis & Procedure Codes


Step 2: YOU determine what WE want to focus on to schedule

Problem - We have a lot of available appointments to fill.

Solution - Mine for everything. Brevium can help you determine how much call time to apply.

Problem - Our clinic is full, but our physicians would love to be doing more surgery.

Solution - Follow up on surgical candidates: cataract checks, cataract post-ops for YAGs, refractive consults that didn’t produce surgery.

Problem - We’re very concerned about following up on high risk patients.

Solution - Focus on high-risk patients: glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration, pediatric amblyopia.


Step 3: OptiCall’s staff calls the overdue patients and makes the attempt to book

Trained on YOUR practice management system

Schedule live into your available appointments

Make attempts to fill gaps in schedules

Work within your parameters and guidance for the type of appointment and doctor’s schedule you wish to fill


Boomerang Staff Caller: Expected Results

Average practice adds 100+ incremental appointments per month


Actual Results

1788 patients brought back (over 13 months)

2776 incremental visits

$432,300 incremental revenue collected

8X Return on Investment (receipts/labor + fees)


Actual Results

New MD used to fill empty schedules

700 patients brought back (over 5 months)

$122,500 incremental revenue collected

8.1X Return on Investment (receipts/labor + fees)


FAQ’sWhy can’t my staff do this manually?

Recalls are something that needs to be done regularly and consistently

Every call is documented and tracked to report success and revenue generated


FAQ’sWhy do I need special software for this?

The Brevium software used for the system allows OUR team to focus on YOUR specific goals for each doctor, whether increasing surgical volume, reducing liability or filling schedules.


Software system helps avoid embarrassing situations

Highlights special alerts – such as patients in collections

So you don’t bring back non-payers

Protects referring relationships

So you don’t bring back patients for conditions the referring doctor would like to follow

Checks & rechecks the schedule

So you don’t call people who recently scheduled


Software system helps avoid embarrassing situations

Pt initials Hidden issues

1. JM: Patient is in collections2. GH: Patient was seen 2 years ago for a contact lens fitting but last

therapeutic exam was 3 years ago3. KB: Patient has glaucoma & should be seen every 6 months (not

every 24 months)4. GY: Patient was referred by OD who will be mad if I call them5. JH: List was run May 1 and in between the time the list was run

and the call was made its now May 26 and the patient got on the schedule May15th.

6. PP: Patient has an insurance we don’t accept7. FT: There is another patient in the household who was last seen 25

months ago and didn’t hit the list8. PT: Patient was just in to pick up glasses yesterday. Do you want

the staff calling tomorrow to come back in?9. YY: Patient was dismissed10. TY: Patient is deceased


Administration Function:Configure conditions to recall and expected return intervals


FAQ’sWhy not just use an auto-dialer?

People don’t like machine calls!

The personal touch has 2-3 times the effectiveness of a machine

Our team can focus in on WHY they need an appointment

If a patient refuses care, we can document why. Machines can’t!


FAQ’sWhat systems are we currently working with?

Allscripts

Cerner PowerWorks

Compulink

GE Centricity

ManagementPlus

McKesson

MDoffice

MedEvolve

Medflow

Medical Manager

MediSoft

MedInformatix

MicroMD

Misys Tiger

NextGen

Origin (SSIMed)

QSI


Questions?


Contacts

Dylan Kemna 303-875-8338 cell

[email protected]

Steve Gottfredson 801-440-1188 cell

[email protected]

Bill Mercier 941-893-2400 ext 2

[email protected]


mailto:[email protected]






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Bring LOST Patients Back to Your Practice