Man looking at his phone, in the foreground is an ipad with the new course on screen.

How do you communicate with your patients? As dentistry continues to move toward a consumer-driven approach, it is worth considering how to tailor your practice’s communication strategy to attract more new patients.

In his new Spear Online course, “New Patient Growth with a Consumer-Driven Approach,” Dr. Sully Sullivan highlights three key digital services for dental practices to implement to expand and succeed in a consumer-driven health care environment.

“Instead of creating barriers or hurdles for our patients to get in touch with us or schedule an appointment, our practice did whatever we needed to make it easy for patients to connect,” said Dr. Sullivan, host of The Millennial Dentist podcast and a fourth-generation dentist from Nashville, Tennessee.

“I believe that if you don’t adapt to a consumer-driven model that you’re going to risk being left behind,” he said.

In the new course, you’ll learn how to drive new patient growth with website chat services, two-way texting and online scheduling.

This course provides Spear Online members with steps to:

  • Discuss how health care is moving toward a consumer-driven approach
  • Use online chat services to remove barriers for patient entry
  • Relate the benefits of two-way texting
  • Recognize the importance of scheduling appointments after office hours

“New Patient Growth with a Consumer-Driven Approach” includes four lessons:

  • What It Means to Be a Consumer-Friendly Practice
  • Adding Online Chat Services to Your Website
  • Go Beyond Text Confirmations with Two-Way Texting
  • Online Scheduling: The Key to Consumer-Driven Dentistry