PRESENT PODIATRY is a great place to share clinical information -- but it also gives us an excellent forum to share and discuss practice  management ideas and methods. There's a tough economy out there. Practice costs are rising, Medicare and other insurance payments are being cut, and the revenue-limiting threat of health care "reform" looms ahead.  If you are like most DPMs in private practice, you're probably looking for ways to increase revenues, cut costs, and improve the all-around business-end of your practice.  

If something has helped you build or improve your practice, why not share that valuable information with others, and also benefit from their posts.  I'd like to start by asking for ideas in how to set up an effective recall system. 

If you have spaces in your appointment schedule that you want to fill, a good recall system can fill them. Many patients discharged from active care are advised to have a future evaluation or follow-up care in a few months or more, but do most call back on their own? Usually, no.  And if you call them or mail them a reminder, how many patients who get your telephone call reminder say, "My feet are fine now, and I don't need to come back." There are recall systems that work well, and some that just are not worth the effort. So. . . please share: What have you done to overcome some of the problems involved with recall systems and develop one that works?

We employed a low tech system for years in my office that worked well.  When patients left the office with an indication for a follow up appointment, we always tried to make an appointment for them.   This was practical if the follow up appointment was within 2 months.  If a patient needed a longer follow up, say 6 months, we pre-addressed a pre-printed post card to them, and filed it by the date that we wished to send it to them (generally a week before their follow up was due).  Once a week, we checked to see if any cards were due to be sent, applied postage and sent them.  The cards can also serve as a prompt that a call be made to the patient.  This gives your office a better opportunity to explain the need for the follow up than the card alone could do.

There are certainly higher tech methods today, using reminders in Outlook, etc...but the cards worked well.   

In my office, I use Post cards if a patient misses an appointment. It works well and the patient usally calls back for appointment.