The application in the lender's portal
A patient is keen on implants or a larger private plan and wants to spread the cost. The treatment coordinator sends them a link to the practice's finance provider. The patient may apply, may start and stop, may be approved and then not book. The coordinator can log into the lender's portal to check, but with dozens of patients in various stages, nobody does it systematically.
When finance is approved and the patient does not book, the approval can lapse. When they are declined, nobody follows up to talk about other options your practice offers.
Coordinators also get finance questions they are not in a position to answer, such as whether a patient is likely to be accepted. A clear process that sends those questions to the provider protects both the patient and the practice.
Why applications fall between the cracks
- The finance provider's portal and your practice management system do not talk to each other.
- Status changes are only visible if someone logs in and looks.
- Approvals have expiry dates that are not tracked against the plan.
- Deposits and first appointments need booking after approval, which is a separate step.
- The coordinator is also doing consultations, so follow-up waits.
What stalled applications cost
Patients who wanted treatment and qualified for finance do not start, because the next step was never taken. Coordinators spend time logging into portals. The practice has no view of how many patients are in each stage, so it cannot tell where things stop.
The practice also has less information than it thinks. Without a view of each stage, it cannot tell whether patients mostly fail to apply, are declined, or are approved and then hesitate. Each of those needs a different response, and at the moment they all look the same: a plan that did not start.
The finance tracker we build
- Each patient offered finance is recorded against their treatment plan in your practice management system.
- Where your finance provider offers an API, webhooks or an export, application status is read automatically; where it does not, the coordinator updates status in two clicks.
- The tracker shows each patient's stage: link sent, application started, approved, declined, deposit paid, treatment booked.
- Approvals nearing their expiry prompt the coordinator to contact the patient.
- Approved patients without a booking get a prompt and a message with a booking link.
- Declined applications prompt a conversation about other payment options your practice offers, if any, handled by the coordinator.
| Stage | Next action prompted |
|---|---|
| Link sent, no application | Reminder message after a set time |
| Application started, not finished | Coordinator call task |
| Approved, not booked | Booking link and call task |
| Approval expiring | Call task before expiry |
| Declined | Coordinator follow-up about options |
We do not provide or arrange finance, give financial advice or make any lending decision. Any regulated activity stays with your finance provider and your practice's own arrangements.
A clear pipeline instead of logins
The coordinator works from a list of next actions rather than portal logins. Patients who are ready are booked. Approvals are used before they expire. The practice owner can see how many patients are at each stage, which shows whether the problem is uptake, approvals or bookings.
Where your practice offers more than one way to pay, such as finance for larger cases and an in-house payment plan for smaller ones, both can sit in the same tracker, so the coordinator sees every patient who is waiting on a payment step.
Is this your finance process?
- You check finance status by logging into the provider's portal.
- Approved patients sometimes never book.
- Approvals lapse before treatment starts.
- You cannot see how many patients are at each stage.