Why use such a large appointment book?

A large appointment book keeps you in touch with your day and your practice. Even if you use a computer to schedule multiple appointments, you should still use a daily appointment book to help track and schedule your day as it changes. This book will help create a vacuum in your office. Forty appointments on this book looks empty helping you create the philosophy there is always room for one more. A small appointment book or computer with forty appointments looks packed and stresses the staff to hope patients don't show. When someone calls for an appointment today it is, quicker, easier and more efficient to look at your schedule book than in your software.

There is enough room in this book for your staff to make notes on patients. If a patient cancels due to illness the CA should note this in the schedule book. This may trigger you to call the patient because you care. It is not just another missed appointment to you. Maybe they have a sick child at home or some other personal trauma, late from work or just plain forgot you can be in on the loop if you have your staff make notes in a large appointment book.

Use your computer to make multiple appointments as usual. Each day have the front desk CA write in the names of the patients coming in for the day. Believe me it is worth the 2 minutes it may take. When the patient arrives the front desk CA colors the box next to the patient name in green. If the patient cancels or is a no show the box is colored red and reason for cancellation is noted. If the patient reschedules the box is colored blue and the next appointment date and reason for reschedule is noted. At a glance you can see what is happening to your day and your patients.

Remember, there is always room for one more!

Thanks and Good Luck

Dr. Dave