Method and apparatus for identifying and contacting customers who are due for a visit but have not scheduled an appointment

• US 20080306781A1
• Filed: 07/10/2006
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brevium Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Brevium Incorporated
• Inventors: Perrin, Brian William, Gerlach, Brett C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,464 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A method and apparatus for identifying and contacting customers who have not responded to reminders to schedule a return appointment, or who are due for a visit according to accepted standards of care or office policies, but have not scheduled an appointment. A management database is queried to determine which customers have failed to respond to recall notices. The resulting list of customers may be sorted or filtered so that some customers are preferentially contacted first, based on expected value or office preferences. The list may also be sorted or filtered to fill specific providers'"'"' schedules first. Customer names and contact information are then presented to schedulers so that customers may be contacted. The time and date of each contact is automatically recorded along with the outcome of the contact. A customer name is presented to a scheduler only if the same name is not being simultaneously presented to other schedulers and that customer was not too recently contacted, so that redundant or too frequent contacts are avoided.

Claims

1. A method for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, comprising the steps of:

a) querying the office management system to determine a first class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite reminding the customer at least once to schedule the appointment,

b) prompting the one or more persons to make a first personal contact with a customer in the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

c) personally contacting the customer to attempt to schedule the appointment, the personal contact being made by at least one of the one or more persons using the predetermined means,

d) noting the results of the first personal contact, and

e) noting the time of step d).

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

f) querying the office management system to determine a second class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite receiving a first personal contact at least a predetermined length of time before the present time,

g) prompting the one or more persons to personally contact a customer in the second class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

h) personally contacting the customer to attempt to schedule the appointment, the personal contact being made using the predetermined means by at least one of the one or more persons,

i) noting the results of the contact, and

j) noting the time of step h).

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

k) Testing to see if the contact result indicated an incorrect phone number, and

l) if an incorrect phone number was indicated, looking up and presenting a list of phone numbers for the customer.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

f) Testing to see if the contact result indicated an incorrect phone number, and

g) if an incorrect phone number was indicated, looking up and presenting a list of phone numbers for the customer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the office is an office taken from the class of offices including a medical office, a dental office, and a law office.

6. A method for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, the office management system describing each customer and appointment according to one or more attributes which influence profitability or office preferences, comprising the steps of:

a) querying the office management system to determine a first class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite reminding the customer at least once to schedule the appointment,

b) sorting the first class of customers according to customer and appointment attributes, so that all customers whose appointments are more profitable or preferable are presented for contact before customers with less profitable or preferable attributes,

c) prompting the one or more persons to personally contact a customer belonging to the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

d) personally contacting the customer to attempt to schedule the appointment, the personal contact being made using the predetermined means by at least one of the one or more persons,

e) noting the results of the contact, and

f) noting the time of step d).

7. The method according to claim 6, where step b) consists of sorting the customer list according to average visit revenue, based on the type of insurance or payment class the customer belongs to.

8. The method according to claim 7, where step b) further consists of adjusting the average visit revenue to an expected visit value based on individual customer attendance history.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

k) Testing to see if the contact result indicated an incorrect phone number, and

l) if an incorrect phone number was indicated, looking up and presenting a list of phone numbers for the customer.

10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

f) testing to see if the contact result indicated an incorrect phone number, and

g) if an incorrect phone number was indicated, looking up and presenting a list of phone numbers for the customer.

11. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

g) Testing to see if the contact result indicated an incorrect phone number, and

h) if an incorrect phone number was indicated, looking up and presenting a list of phone numbers for the customer.

12. The method according to claim 6, where step b) consists of sorting or filtering the list by provider and/or location based on which provider and/or location has the lightest schedule.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

g) Testing to see if the contact result indicated an incorrect phone number, and

h) if an incorrect phone number was indicated, looking up and presenting a list of phone numbers for the customer.

14. The method according to claim 6, where step b) consists of sorting or filtering the list based on the appointment type, so that specific slots dedicated to specific appointment types can be filled.

15. The method according to claim 6, where step b) further consists of sorting or filtering the list based on the appointment type, so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

16. The method according to claim 6, where step b) further consists of sorting or filtering the list based on some combination of one or more of the appointment type, payment class, attendance history and provider so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

17. A method for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, comprising the steps of:

a) querying the office management system to determine a first class of customers who are due back for a visit according to accepted standards of care or office policies, but have not been scheduled for an appointment,

b) prompting the one or more persons to make a first personal contact with a customer in the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

c) personally contacting the customer to attempt to schedule the appointment, the personal contact being made by at least one of the one or more persons using the predetermined means,

d) noting the results of the first personal contact, and

e) noting the time of step d).

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

f) querying the office management system to determine a second class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite receiving a first personal contact at least a predetermined length of time before the present time,

g) prompting the one or more persons to personally contact a customer in the second class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

h) personally contacting the customer to attempt to schedule the appointment, the personal contact being made using the predetermined means by at least one of the one or more persons,

i) noting the results of the contact, and

j) noting the time of step h).

19. A method for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, the office management system describing each customer and appointment according to one or more attributes which influence profitability or office preferences, comprising the steps of:

a) querying the office management system to determine a first class of customers who are due back for a visit according to accepted standards of care or office policies, but have not been scheduled for an appointment,

b) sorting the first class of customers according to customer and appointment attributes, so that all customers whose appointments are more profitable or preferable are presented for contact before customers with less profitable or preferable attributes,

c) prompting the one or more persons to personally contact a customer belonging to the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

d) personally contacting the customer to attempt to schedule the appointment, the personal contact being made using the predetermined means by at least one of the one or more persons,

e) noting the results of the contact, and

f) noting the time of step d).

20. The method according to claim 19, where step b) consists of sorting the customer list according to average visit revenue, based on the type of insurance or payment class the customer belongs to.

21. The method according to claim 20, where step b) further consists of adjusting the average visit revenue to an expected visit value based on individual customer attendance history.

22. The method according to claim 19, where step b) consists of sorting or filtering the list by provider and/or location based on which provider and/or location has the lightest schedule.

23. The method according to claim 19, where step b) consists of sorting or filtering the list based on the appointment type, so that specific slots dedicated to specific appointment types can be filled.

24. The method according to claim 19, where step b) further consists of sorting or filtering the list based on the appointment type, so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

25. The method according to claim 19, where step b) further consists of sorting or filtering the list based on some combination of one or more of the appointment type, payment class, attendance history and provider so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

26. The method according to claim 19, wherein the office is an office taken from the class of offices including a medical office, a dental office, and a law office.

27. An apparatus for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, the apparatus comprising:

a) a computer programmed to query the office management system to determine a first class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite reminding the customer at least once to schedule the appointment,

b) a computer programmed to prompt the one or more persons to make a first personal contact with a customer in the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer, and

c) a computer programmed to record the results and time of the first personal contact.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, further comprising:

d) a computer programmed to query the office management system to determine a second class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite receiving a first personal contact at least a predetermined length of time before the present time,

e) a computer programmed to prompt the one or more persons to personally contact a customer in the second class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer, and

f) a computer programmed to record the results and time of the contact.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the office is an office taken from the class of offices including a medical office, a dental office, and a law office.

30. An apparatus for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, comprising:

a) a computer programmed to query the office management system to determine a first class of customers who are due back for a visit according to accepted standards of care or office policies, but have not been scheduled for an appointment,

b) a computer programmed to prompt the one or more persons to make a first personal contact with a customer in the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer,

c) a computer programmed to record the results and time of the first personal contact.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, further comprising:

d) a computer programmed to query the office management system to determine a second class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite receiving a first personal contact at least a predetermined length of time before the present time,

e) a computer programmed to prompt the one or more persons to personally contact a customer in the second class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer, and

f) a computer programmed to record the results and time of the contact.

32. An apparatus for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, the office management system describing each customer and appointment according to one or more attributes which influence profitability or office preferences, comprising:

a) a computer programmed to query the office management system to determine a first class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite reminding the customer at least once to schedule the appointment,

b) a computer programmed to sort the first class of customers according to customer and appointment attributes, so that all customers whose appointments are more profitable or preferable are presented for contact before customers with less profitable or preferable attributes,

c) a computer programmed to prompt the one or more persons to personally contact a customer belonging to the first customer characteristic class by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer, and

d) a computer programmed to record the results and time of the contact.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers sorts the customer list according to average visit revenue, based on the type of insurance or payment class the customer belongs to.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers adjusts the average visit revenue to an expected visit value based on individual customer attendance history.

35. The apparatus according to claim 32, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers sorts or filters the list based on the appointment type, so that specific slots dedicated to specific appointment types can be filled.

36. The apparatus according to claim 32, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers sorts or filters the list by provider and/or location based on which provider and/or location has the lightest schedule.

37. The apparatus according to claim 32, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers sorts or filters the list based on the appointment type, so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

38. The apparatus according to claim 32, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers sorts or filters the list based on some combination of one or more of the appointment type, payment class, attendance history and provider so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

39. An apparatus for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, the office management system describing each customer and appointment according to one or more attributes which influence profitability or office preferences, comprising:

a) a computer programmed to query the office management system to determine a first class of customers who are due back for a visit according to accepted standards of care or office policies, but have not been scheduled for an appointment,

b) a computer programmed to sort the first class of customers according to customer and appointment attributes, so that all customers whose appointments are more profitable or preferable are presented for contact before customers with less profitable or preferable attributes,

c) a computer programmed to prompt the one or more persons to personally contact a customer belonging to the first customer characteristic class by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer, and

d) a computer programmed to record the results and time of the contact.

40. The apparatus according to claim 39, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers sorts the customer list according to average visit revenue, based on the type of insurance or payment class the customer belongs to.

41. The apparatus according to claim 40, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers further adjusts the average visit revenue to an expected visit value based on individual customer attendance history.

42. The apparatus according to claim 39, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers further sorts or filters the first class of customers by provider and/or location based on which provider and/or location has the lightest schedule.

43. The apparatus according to claim 39, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers further sorts or filters the first class of customers based on the appointment type, so that specific slots dedicated to specific appointment types can be filled.

44. The apparatus according to claim 39, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers further sorts or filters the list based on the appointment type, so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

45. The apparatus according to claim 39, where the computer programmed to sort the first class of customers further sorts or filters the first class of customers based on some combination of one or more of the appointment type, payment class, attendance history and provider so that appointment types which yield the highest average revenue are scheduled first.

46. An apparatus for attempting to schedule an appointment for a customer in an office having one or more persons tasked with scheduling appointments for the office in an office management system, the apparatus comprising:

a) means for querying the office management system to determine a first class of customers whose appointments have not been scheduled despite reminding the customer at least once to schedule the appointment,

b) means for prompting the one or more persons to make a first personal contact with a customer in the first class of customers by a predetermined means to attempt to schedule the appointment for the customer, and

c) means for recording the results and time of the first personal contact.