11 Scheduling
Written by Andrew Maldonado
Updated at September 5th, 2025
If a referring doctor, staff member or hospital calls: |
If the call is regarding a patient or to schedule a patient, these calls should be forwarded to the office. If a patient is calling to schedule an appointment that needs to be coordinated with another provider (general dentist, etc) these calls should be handled by the office. |
IV/GA/Oral Sedation |
Morning appointments are reserved for surgeries from 8am -12pm. |
LA/N2O |
Scheduled 10:30am -12:15pm for all providers |
Consults |
Be sure to ask the patient which doctor they are being referred to. No patients under the age of 5 years old. (Dr. Peoples No pt's under 8 years old) A consult is good for 1 year. If it is longer than 1 year they must be seen for a re-evaluation. * Existing patients returning for a new issue must be seen for a consult first. Try to keep existing patients with the same doctor seen previously, unless it is specifically requested otherwise. The earliest consult should be scheduled at 2:00pm. If scheduling at the 2pm spot the patient is required to fill out their paperwork online. If they are not able to fill out their paperwork online they will need to be scheduled later in the afternoon and come in at least 20 minutes early to complete the forms. If scheduling an elderly patient that may need additional time to fill out forms, a little later in the afternoon is best. The last consult should be scheduled at 4:00pm. |
For ALL surgeries |
Check the doctors notes for the plan of treatment and confirm with the patient. * If the patient was given several treatment plan options, confirm which they wish to proceed with and make a note in the EMR and contact notes. * Make sure there is a current treatment plan entered for the procedure they are attempting to schedule (entered within the year). * If there is no treatment plan entered, and the note is unclear as to what they are scheduling- Dock the office. * Mark the treatment plan as scheduled. If the patient is scheduling surgery in a new year and/or several months after the initial consult, please confirm that there have been no changes with insurance. When scheduling a surgery, advise patient to arrive 15 minutes before scheduled time. Example: If you are scheduling a surgery for 9:00, you would tell the patient that they are scheduled for 8:45. |
Scheduling for possible same day treatment |
Same day is only possible for a single extraction. No 3rds! Patient must have no medical issues and can’t be on any blood thinners. When scheduling ask the patient if they are taking any blood thinning or bone building medications. If they answer yes to any of these questions, they MUST be seen for a consultation first. If they have heart disease, joint replacements, history of stroke, or cancer then these patients will need to be seen for a consult first and do not qualify for a same day extraction. *****Morning appointments are reserved for surgery patients only! |
Steps when scheduling a patient |
* Obtain all insurance at the time of scheduling and place the information in the extended tab. Please advise the patient if we are in/out of network with their plan. * Convert patient as a walk in. * When scheduling please consider the verification team time frame which is the 4th day out unless it is absolutely necessary to schedule before that 4th day. * Obtain as much contact information as possible when the patient is scheduling so that Lighthouse can confirm the appointment(s). * Advise patients to complete their patient registration online at www.southoms.com. This is required for all new patients and existing patients who have been seen over a year ago. * Stress to patients to bring their referral, insurance cards, and x-rays with them to their consult appointment. If they do not have them, they can reach out to their dentist/referring doctor(s) to have this information sent to info@southoms.com. |
Columns for Scheduling |
Column 1 - Consults (in the afternoon) Column 2 - Surgeries (Dr. Perciaccante & Dr. Keyser schedule surgery every 30 minutes and Dr. Peoples & Dr. Schultz schedule surgery every 45 minutes). Column 3 - Surgeries Column 4 - Follow ups / Post ops Try to limit follow ups / post ops to 2-4 a day due to space in the office with COVID guidelines. |
Appointment Notes |
Consultations: Con1 Local surgery: + Sedation Surgery: +SED1 Example for a consultation: Con1. Pt is ref by Dr. Smith for ext of #2&8. Pt will be bringing referral and will have pano emailed. Pt will complete ppwk online. Pt has Delta Dental and BCBS medical. Example for a sedation surgery: +SED1. Ext of #1,16,17&32. Reminded NPO/Driver. Example for local surgery: + Ext of #2,4,&7. |
Follow ups |
In Fayetteville follow ups are scheduled throughout the afternoon, Peachtree City and Newnan follow ups are scheduled starting at 4:00, last follow up scheduled at 4:30. Dr. Peoples post -ups from 2pm and 4:15pm |
Work-ins |
Any potential for a work-in patient for a same day appointment should be scheduled by the office staff. Dr. People's ONLY surgery can we added to the schedule as a work in. |
Dentoalveolar Appointment Type |
Dentoalveolar appointment type = extraction, frenectomy, tori, bone grafting, infection, I&D. |
OGS/TADS (Orthognathic) |
OGS consults are to only be scheduled by Porsche. |
Trauma patients or those seen in the hospital |
Patients who are trauma or have been seen at the hospital should be forwarded to the office. |
TMJ |
The doctors no longer see TMJ patients. If a doctor calls, transfer it directly to the office. |
Appointment Confirmations |
Appointments are confirmed through Lighthouse. |
Cancellation List |
If a patient is needing to be added to the cancellation list, email the office and they will add them to the list. |
COVID-19 Protocols |
Masks must be worn in the building. |