Smile Consults, Big Cases, & What to do AFTER! (Part 1 - Documenting)

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY

The most important part of Smile Consults for the Doctor is the BEFORE and DURING... but what about the AFTER? The AFTER is the most important thing to the rest of the team. Let's dive into why that is!

BEST CASE SCENARIO IF WE ARE 100% CONFIDENT

If we are 100% confident, we all will be successful in handling what to do AFTER a Smile Consult that turns into a BIG CASE.

• The process from both the patient's and office's perspective will be smooth from the 1st appointment to the last

• Less likely of a chance there will be errors made

• Fees will be collected when they are supposed to

• Most importantly, the patient's experience will be AMAZING!

WORST CASE SCENARIO IF SOME OF US ARE NOT

If we are all not confident or on the same page, the opposite will happen!

• Errors can cause confusion for the patient, Doctors, Front Desk, and Clinic

• Fees will not be collected when they are supposed to

• The patient experience will be sub-par. We risk losing Big Cases if the patient thinks we don't have it together
  

WHAT DOES 100% CONFIDENT MEAN?

Being 100% confident means that all team members are on the same page! Proper documentation in the right places will allow any team member to pick up where the other left off.

If a case is left where a Financial Arrangement hasn't been confirmed, or the patient hasn't booked the next appointment, the next person who deals with this patient whether it is in person or on the phone will be able to help!

HOW IT WORKS IN 10 STEPS:

A consult can typically go a couple of different ways so let’s dive into how to handle a Consult, Big Case, and Next Steps from Start to Finish:

Scenario 1: The Case is Closed!

In this scenario, the Consult has been completed, the patient has their Treatment Confirmed, a payment arrangement has been secured, and the Next Appointment is ready to book. Here's how we do it: 1. COMPLETE CODES:

These are set up as defaults attached to the appointment. 01104 Smile Consult 00001 iTero Scan

01000 refer-CBCT

* If there is a code attached that you did not complete, remove it from the appointment *

2. DOCUMENTING in the CHART:

Using the template1. Smile Consult Note, create a Group Note for today’s appointment. These 2 notes are at the top of the Auto Note list!

Here is the layout of the note template:

3. INVISALIGN & BIG CASE TAB: Go to the patient’s chart > Click on Invisalign/Big Cases Tab at the top and add a note under the tab Big Cases.

The information that goes into this section is a straightforward summary for the Clinic to use for the Big Case.

Use Auto Note 2. Treatment Confirmed in this section so that all information pertaining to the case that the Clinic would need to know about is included.

	What needs to be included for the Clinic?

	1. Treatment Confirmed
	2. Provider
	3. Financials including Total Cost, PIF amount, etc.
	4. List of everything included in the treatment
	5. Prescriptions given
	6. Warranty
	7. Next Steps

The same information also gets populated into the Patient fields at the top under BIG CASE DETAILS:

4. PLANNING the NEXT APPOINTMENT:

Planning the next appointment is VERY important. Ideally, the NEXT appointment would be scheduled with the patient before they leave the office.

However, if a patient leaves and is going to come in another day to make a payment, there has to be a Planned Appointment so that anyone can see what is next to be scheduled.

Here I what I think should be the bare minimum in the very first planned appointment note:

Once the appointment is scheduled, the assistant will Audit the Doctor's charts to make sure everything is there for that appointment. At this time, they will confirm with the Doctor what is Next. 5. DOCUMENTING in the ACCOUNT: Add the same financial details under the Account > Family Financial Box - even if the patient has Paid in full.

6. PAYMENT BINDER: This will be used if the patient DOES NOT Pay in Full.

Once the FA is secured, use a new sheet at the back of the Payment Binder and fill out FA details. Important Info to Note: Often times payments can change after the original agreement is made. It is important that whoever adjusts the Financial Arrangement, updates the Payment Binder details.

7. SCANNING: Scan the FA Sheet and Paper Copy of the Consult Note under Smile Consult Accepted. (If the patient leaves and the FA hasn't been secured, Scan under Smile Consult Proposed)

8. SLACK: We use slack for two purposes with big cases. Slack helps us track all cases, and we need to let the Doctor know to Plan the Case. a) #big-case-tracking channel: Add info to this channel - this information gets added to a speadsheet for further tracking purposes and for follow ups. Example: Billy Bob was seen in Dundas today with Dr. Ling for his consult. Pt given a few Treatment Options - leaning more towards Option 1 Upper AoX Zirconia. Wants a follow up in 1 week as he needs to secure finances. - RSJ b) #mike-implant-case-in-progress OR #sorana-implant-cases-in-progress:

Tag Doctor and Doris and advise what they need to do for this patient. Example: Billy Bob Paid in Full for 14 Exo and Immediate Implant, 26 Exo and Graft. @MichaelLing can you please tx plan for @Doris. Pt scheduled for December 29th at 10:00am with Oral Sedation - RSJ 9. DO a DOUBLE CHECK: Doing a Smile Consult or dealing with the aftermath of a Big Case can be stressful. More often than not we are dealing with Complex Treatment, a lot of money, and most importantly BIG CHANGES in people's lives.

I think being able to set the next person up for success, whether that be the patient, another team member, or the Doctor is the most important thing.

Hopefully these steps will help everyone know where to look and what to do next!

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