It’s 4 PM on a Friday. You’re itching to get an early start on your commute home when your phone rings. The caller wants to know if your practice accepts Medicaid.
“Sorry, we don’t,” you say. “Goodbye.”
Many, if not most, front office teams will respond that way. But those that do so are missing out on a crucial opportunity to build goodwill in the community and reap the rewards that come from making the extra effort to do right by people — even those who may not become patients.
Reputation matters, after all. If you curtly hustle someone off the phone, they’ll remember. But if you take a moment to refer a Medicaid patient to a colleague who does accept their insurance — or humor the price shopping Invisalign caller, for that matter — they’ll remember that too.
When a friend in your neighborhood asks them if they know a good dentist, your name will come up. What goes around comes around.
So, try adopting an open-minded attitude of “How can I help?” whenever you answer the phone, and encourage your team to do the same. You can’t buy that kind of marketing boost — you can only earn it.