For DSOs and dental practices, dental patient scheduling can feel like a never-ending juggling act, balancing intricate appointment rules, patient preferences, provider availability, and operatory setups.
What if there was a solution that could bring order to the complexity? The answer lies in the power of intelligent automation with tools like TrueLark. TrueLark is an AI-powered dental patient communication and booking solution that integrates with your PMS.
We have automated over two million dental patient conversations
To date, our dental clients have managed over two million patient conversations on our platform. The majority of these conversations required no human involvement. This means the patient was able to accomplish the goal of their call – scheduling/rescheduling/canceling an appointment, checking insurance providers, getting answers to questions or learning about financing options.
In this article, first we will discuss scheduling models and then we will go into more detail about the platform.
What dental patient appointment scheduling models do we support?
Our clients use a variety of scheduling practices, including the following:
- Provider-based scheduling: We support scheduling models based on provider availability and preferences.
- Operatory-based scheduling: TrueLark can manage scheduling for multiple operatories with different setups.
- Block scheduling: TrueLark supports block scheduling by procedure type.
- Combination of scheduling methods: TrueLark can blend different scheduling rules for a truly customized experience.
Examples of TrueLark client requests
Here are client requests we’ve successfully met:
- I only want TrueLark to book new patients
- I only want TrueLark to book existing patients
- I only want TrueLark to book for hygiene appointments
- I don’t want TrueLark to book restorative services
- I only want to book appointments at the top of the hour, at the half hour, etc. – these can be configured by provider, by appointment type, by operatory
- I want to start TrueLark off on just hygiene appointment types, and then once I become comfortable, I would like TrueLark to book additional appointment types
- I only want TrueLark to book hygiene appointments in Op 2 and 3 and no other workstations
What else does TrueLark offer?
TrueLark is a comprehensive patient communications solution. Our Virtual Receptionist provides real-time, 24/7 online patient support via your website or SMS. This allows patients to make, reschedule and cancel appointments without interacting with your front desk staff or waiting for a return phone call.
In addition, TrueLark provides:
- Web Chat: Engages website visitors in real-time, further reducing call volume, and guides them towards booking an appointment. Our Web Chat can filter by locations as well.
- Online Booking: For patients who prefer it, a user-friendly online booking system provides another convenient way to schedule appointments during and outside of business hours.
- Lead Engage: Responds to leads 24/7 and converts inquiries into appointments.
TrueLark integrates with your practice management software or booking platform to keep everything in sync. Patients can find an appointment day and time that works for them without overbooking on your end. You can also restrict dental patient scheduling during certain hours or on specific days. Moreover, you can optimize your schedule by suggesting times adjacent to existing appointments.
Patients expect 24/7 availability and self-service
According to Becker’s Hospital Review, 43% of patients look for doctors and dentists after hours. Dental practices that fail to meet expectations for convenient dental patient scheduling will struggle. When a patient calls your practice – regardless of the hour of day or night – TrueLark responds via text immediately and is able to book one or multiple appointments quickly.
“With TrueLark, it takes about a minute for a patient to schedule. It’s our complete call handling solution and pays for itself if just one new patient shows up.” -Myles McAllister, COO, SGA Dental Partners
How does customized, automated scheduling benefit your practice or DSO?
Let’s recap the benefits of TrueLark patient communications:
- Increased bookings: Anytime mobile-friendly dental patient scheduling increases appointment conversions significantly.
- Competitive advantage: Providing a convenient, frictionless booking experience can give your DSO a competitive advantage considering that a majority of dental practices don’t offer it.
- 24/7 availability: Never miss another patient call. When a patient calls a practice, our AI engine initiates an immediate text conversation. Callers can resolve the goal of their call in the text thread without needing to leave a voicemail or waiting for a call back.
- Same store growth: Improved scheduling and patient support increases repeat visits and referrals.
- Scalability: TrueLark reduces administrative burden and improves staff productivity – all of which helps DSOs scale.
- Labor cost savings: Hiring front desk staff continues to be a challenge across the industry. Our clients can serve a growing patient base without needing to expand their front desk or call center teams. When the AI resolves a majority of patient calls, admin staff only need to address a minority of calls.
Cutting costs, boosting bookings: Dr. Tau’s experience
Consider one of our clients, Dr. Leonard Tau. Dr. Tau dipped his toes into the AI world by initially assigning TrueLark to handle after-hours calls only. In just one month, TrueLark transformed after-hours interactions, booking 13 new patients, generating $9,750 in additional revenue. But it didn’t stop there – 17 returning patients were also booked for appointments, ensuring continuity of care. But the real magic lay in the conversion rate: a whopping 85% of booking requests were instantly scheduled by the AI, eliminating the need for manual follow-up.
And the benefits went beyond dental patient scheduling. TrueLark handled 297 patient interactions in that first month, and of those, less than 30% required human intervention. This translates to at least 50 hours saved by staff, freeing them to focus on patients at the office. In short, TrueLark became a silent hero, boosting the bottom line while allowing Dr. Tau’s team to deliver exceptional in-person care. This is just a glimpse into the ROI of TrueLark. Imagine the possibilities when it tackles your entire communication workflow! (Read the case study here.)
Let’s talk!
TrueLark is a powerful solution for even the most complex dental scheduling. To discuss AI automation or dental patient scheduling tips, book a demo today.
