How many times have you made an appointment over the phone only to find you have nothing near you to actually write down the day and time of you appointment? How many times have you been standing in front of the receptionist and she quickly blurts out your next appointment in between answering the phone? Were you able to get the day and time of your appointment or did you leave frustrated and decide you would just call her later to get your appointment information?
All of these scenarios could be avoided if the place of business you frequented had invested in appointment reminder cards. You would then simply be able to walk in and make your appointment and they could hand you a card with the date and time of your next appointment on it. These cards can also be printed however the business would like. The business could print the name of the company, address, and phone number right on the card to help serve it’s clients better. The appointment reminder card is also a great way to advertise. You could also add a catchy phrase or a colorful picture on the reminder cards as well.
These cards would really work great in settings like doctors offices, dentist, spas, hair salons, and nail salons. The cards can also specifically mention the reason for the appointment and also list any follow up treatment that may need to be done. This is especially helpful with doctor and dentist appointments. Those two services often require an additional follow up appointment.
Another great feature of the appointment reminder cards is that businesses can mail them out to their clients as reminders for upcoming appointments. This is a great feature also for pet owners. what a great thing if your vet sent you a postcard to remind you when your pets shots were due or when their next grooming was. The appointment reminder cards are really a fantastic addition that helps the business just as much as it helps the client. In the hectic world we all live in today the appointment reminder card is exactly what we all need. This is one method where you don’t have to be near a phone to get that reminder that you have an appointment coming up and there are no worries that the message will be erased like with phone messages.
Chiropractors rely on patients remembering appointments. Any time an appointment is missed, the doctor cannot charge for the time missed and other patients cannot be seen. This results in some patients not being able to be seen and lost revenue for the office. Offices employ different methods to try to make people remember their appointments. Office staff may call to remind patients of upcoming appointments, but this takes up valuable time for staff and does not have the results that a simple appointment card has.
What are appointment cards?
Appointment cards are simply cards that have information regarding the patient’s next visit on it. These can be made out at the end of an office visit when the next appointment is made, or mailed out as a reminder of upcoming appointments. They are easy to fill out and in some cases can be created in a computerized form that allows them to be printed.
Do they really work?
Appointment cards definitely work! They serve as a physical reminder that people can use to remember their appointment. They can place them on calendars, refrigerators, desks, or anyplace that patients will look at them on a regular basis. Since the cards are filled out by the office staff, it is not likely that the appointment will be written down incorrectly. Because they are visible and accurate, it is less likely that the appointment will be missed.
Why use appointment cards?
Not only are they perfect reminders about appointments, but appointment cards are also a great advertising format. They can be as simple as business cards with blank spacing available for appointment information or designed to impress customers and draw attention. Appointment cards that attract attention are less likely to be misplaced and clients are more likely to keep their appointments. Cards can become a part of an overall marketing and customer retention campaign.
How do appointment cards compare to call reminders?
Appointment cards are far more efficient than other patient reminder methods, especially phone reminders. Phone reminders take up office time, tie up a phone line, and are incredibly inefficient. Leaving messages may not reach the patient in time to remind them. Phone numbers get changed and not updated in the office records. Some people simply do not answer phones from numbers that they do not immediately recognize. All of these things lead to missed appoints that cost a chiropractor time and money.
Appointments cards can reduce missed appointed for dentists tremendously. If you are thinking that a small piece of paper is not important, think again. This credit card size card can cause a dentist practice to lose a lot of money. Dentists order these appointment cards for their patients as a reminder of an upcoming appointment. Appointments are missed everyday, causing dentists to lose valuable, and un-replaceable time. Appointments are scheduled according to available time slots. When a patient misses an appointment that causes a void in the dentist schedule, and pocket. Many patients really do forget they have an appointment, and they usually forget to call and reschedule. This could be due to the fact that they did not receive an appointment card.
Believe it or not appointment cards can and do reduce missed appointments for dentists. Many people have so many appointments to remember, and usually end up forgetting most of them. This is because they don’t have a reminder. A reminder such as a small appointment card can mean the difference between missing an appointment or rescheduling one. If the dentist has an advanced notice that the patient needs to reschedule he or she can usually work someone else in on the empty time slot.
Sometimes it isn’t always the patients fault. The receptionist may mistakenly given the patient the wrong date and time, but without an appointment card to clarify the mistake the blame usually falls on the patient. Sometimes wrong dates and times are also written, or printed on appointment cards as well. These cards are inexpensive when they are purchased in bulk quantities. Dentists don’t mind making this small investment, seeing that it benefits both the office and the patient.
Before each patient leaves the dentist office he or she should be given an appointment card. Even if the appointment is schedule 8 weeks ahead, having this card lets the patient reflect ahead to that date, and not make any conflicting appointments. Reducing missed appointments is the same as missing money. Once it’s lost it hard to discover. Businesses depends on the constant flow of patients, unused time slots do not pay the bills. If the receptionist forgets to give the patient an appointment card they are free to ask for one. Sometimes the dentist office may run out of appointment cards, but that should not be a problem. Always have a pen and paper for such a time as this.
