Dental Practice Failing to Meet “Basic Demands” of Patients?
In new research from Software of Excellence, it has been found that a concerning 44% of all attempted calls to dental practices fail to get through to a member of the team.
Whether it’s a receptionist or a dentist, recent studies have found that a staggering 44% of calls made to dental practices go through to either an answering machine, a busy tone or simply go unanswered and allowed to ring out.
The research was conducted by Converso, an independent market research company as part of a Software of Excellence (who were recently chosen by the Department of Health to run the software for a pilot scheme) survey who discovered that, while 3,557 calls were missed during a 128 hour period, 718 of them reached the answering machine, 630 busy tones were reached, and 202 had no answer at all.
This figure of 3,557 equates to 44% of all attempted a calls, a worrying figure, for both dental practices and the patients themselves.
The fact that 44% of calls are not being answered means practices are missing 44% of potential business. This also means that 44% of patients were unable to get the help they need, which should be prompting practices into making swift action, especially in today’s economic climate.
Faith Jenkin, product manager of Software of Excellence, shares this view and stated: “It is remarkable that in the current economic climate practices still ether do not have the resource to answer all their calls, or are closing their practice at lunchtime and consequently turning away prospective business.”
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