CUSTOMER STORY

Two Dental Practices, One Comprehensive Platform

Toombul Smiles Dental and their second location, Carina Gardens Dental are both situated just outside of Brisbane. They started out shopping around for their perfect online booking system. They found it with HotDoc, along with a whole range of time-saving features they’re now using to reduce the team's workload.

Saving time for the more important things

Front Office Coordinator, Brie Herder, says that when they introduced a different online bookings system at the first location, it just wasn’t hitting the mark. It didn’t give them the flexibility they needed to suit a range of appointments and practitioners. So when they were preparing to introduce online bookings at their second location, they knew they needed a better option. That’s where HotDoc came in. “We personally use HotDoc in our own lives for doctors appointments and we wanted to find an easier way to help our staff out with booking appointments.”

“It’s really been a game changer for us.”

Now both practices are using Online Bookings along with the complete HotDoc range of features to improve their processes and save time. “It’s a lot easier now. I felt like I was doing admin stuff all the time, but now I’m concentrating on the patients. Any job I need to do, I know I can quickly do it.“

“HotDoc has definitely freed up a lot of time to be able to do other stuff that we thought we’d have no chance to do.“

Automated processes to help every patient

For Brie and the team, having automations in place for simple patient interactions helped them focus on those bigger tasks. One important change was streamlining the Recalls process. Rather than manually pulling the list of names, HotDoc automatically recognises whether the patient has made a booking and changes the recall process to suit. It also compiles the names that have opted out of automatic messages for the team to follow up.

Even if the patient books in person, the recall system offers a great back up process for changes to their appointment so they don’t get missed by Brie’s team. “If they cancel their appointment, it’ll automatically put them on the recall list, which is fantastic.”

“It’s definitely been a lot more helpful than our previous system.”

It also automated their new patient registration process. “Sending the medical history and new patient forms out before we even see the patients has definitely decreased our paperwork.” Brie has loved using the Digital Forms as a patient in the past, and her patients are now enjoying spending less time in the waiting room.

An easier way to keep a full schedule

HotDoc has been more than just a time saver for the team, it’s also saved whole appointment slots from going to waste. Brie and her team found they freed up space on the calendar with a reduction in FTAs and missed appointments. It’s largely thanks to automating the Reminder process. “Our previous system we had to do it manually, and a lot of the girls missed it.” says Brie.

Not only are the reminders now sent out automatically, the team can also adjust how many reminders should be sent and how often a patient should receive them. They set up reminders to be sent a few days in advance of the appointment, meaning patients aren’t leaving it to the last minute to cancel or just not show. “It’s helped us a lot. We can know a couple days beforehand what we need to fill or if we’re fully booked.”

“It’s definitely reduced the number of FTAs and cancellations.”

They’ve also used the Payments feature to take deposits when patients book an appointment. “If they book online it’ll just take their card details for a deposit, that way we know who’s actually wanting a booking,” says Brie. Even with most of their payments being processed in person, this small change to the booking process has ensured that the people making bookings are serious about coming in. “It’s weeding out all the people that don’t really need an appointment. People that genuinely want those appointments are getting them.”

Giving their online reputation a boost

They’ve got more new patients wanting those appointments with a consistent stream of positive reviews rolling in. HotDoc automatically sends a request for a Google Review after a patient leaves their appointment. “It’s definitely been so good that it automatically just sends it out and we can see who it’s been sent out to as well.”

The team had been a bit uncomfortable asking patients for reviews themselves, but there was some hesitation about automating the process. “I know the owner was worried about getting any negative feedback but if we do we’ve responded to it and we can definitely improve from there.” But they found the feedback was overwhelmingly positive and free-flowing, with 4.5 and 4.6 star ratings for the two practices.

“Reviews have been great. We’re definitely getting a lot more reviews, and a lot more positive feedback.”

“When we get those reviews, it’s like okay cool, you guys did a good job. And that way the girls can be making sure they’re on their A-game all the time.”

Making the most of it

Though Brie and the team only initially set out to improve online bookings, they’ve fully embraced the additional features on offer with HotDoc. That means they’ve been able to offer more convenience to patients while significantly reducing the workload for the whole practice.