Aftercare promised, reviews forgotten
At fitting, the patient was told they would be seen every year for a check, clean and hearing re-test. The aftercare plan says so. Two years later, some patients have come back like clockwork and others have not been seen since their second follow-up.
It is not that anyone decided to stop. The recall relied on a diary note, a report someone runs when there is time, or the patient remembering to phone. Each of those fails some of the time, and over a few years the gaps add up.
Where recall breaks down
- Recall dates are set by hand and not updated when a patient comes in early for something else.
- The recall report in the practice management system exists, but nobody runs it on a schedule.
- Invitations go out in one batch by letter, and nobody follows up the ones that go unanswered.
- Review slots are taken by new patient assessments, so reviews are pushed out.
- Patients who moved house or changed number drop off without anyone noticing.
The deeper problem is that recall is a process with several steps, and in most clinics it has no owner and no view of how it is doing.
The cost of reviews that do not happen
Patients who are not reviewed are less likely to get the most from their aids, and more likely to be unhappy with them. They buy consumables elsewhere, miss the chance to raise problems early, and are harder to keep when replacement time comes. For clinics that sell aftercare plans, there is also a promise being made and not kept.
| Recall step | Manual version | Built version |
|---|---|---|
| Work out who is due | Run a report when someone remembers | List produced automatically each week |
| Invite | Batch of letters | Preferred channel per patient |
| Book | Patient phones | Link, reply by text, or call list |
| Chase non-responders | Rarely | Second invitation, then call list |
| Measure | Not done | Overdue count by dispenser and branch |
How we build review recall
- We read each patient's last review date and aftercare terms from your practice management system and set the next due date from rules you define.
- When a patient is seen for anything that counts as a review, the due date resets automatically, so nobody is invited back twice.
- Each week, patients coming due receive an invitation by text, email or letter according to their preference.
- Invitations include a way to book: a link to available review slots, a text reply to request a call, or a phone number with a named person.
- Review slots can be protected in the diary, so new patient bookings do not quietly swallow them.
- Patients who do not respond get a second invitation, then appear on a short call list for the front desk.
- Returned mail and failed texts are flagged so contact details can be updated.
- The practice manager sees how many patients are overdue, by dispenser and branch, and how that is changing.
What recall looks like when it works
Patients are invited without anyone having to remember. The front desk spends its phone time on the few who did not respond rather than on everyone. Dispensers see their review patients spread through the year rather than in bursts. And the practice manager can answer, at any time, how many aftercare patients are overdue.
The same schedule makes it easy to invite patients for a battery or wax guard top-up at the review, so small consumable sales stay with the clinic.
Is your recall slipping?
- You could not say today how many patients are overdue for their annual review.
- Recall depends on a report someone runs when there is time.
- New patient assessments regularly push reviews further out.
- Patients with aftercare plans have gone more than a year without being seen.
- Returned letters are put aside rather than followed up.