Preferred Phone Greeting

Good Morning/Afternoon. This is ____. Thank you for calling Oral Surgery Services, How may I help you?

Doctor's Schedule

The doctors have a rotating schedule. They are not in the same office on the same day every week. See schedule.

Age Requirement

Dr. Smith: No patients under 6 years old
Dr. Ferguson: No patients under 6 years old unless special circumstances cleared by Dr. Ferguson.
Dr. Chuang: None

Referrals

Referrals should be sent to Info_mail@ossla.net

Appointment Notes

It is very important to make notes at every point of patient interaction.
Who (Referred), What, When, Why. Medical issues, anticoagulant use, need to pre-medicate.

Appointment Confirmation

Appointments are primarily confirmed with Lighthouse via email and text. Those patients that do not respond should get a phone call the day prior to the appointment.

Cancellations/ Reschedules

If a patient needs to cancel/reschedule an appointment- change the appointment type to cancel or reschedule, and make a new appointment. Then move the old appointment to free time on the schedule.
24 hour notice is needed - if habitual, we require a deposit.

Dr. Smith:  Legitimate cancellations with call at 24 hours or less are not counted on the 1st event. Otherwise, 3 no call/no-shows are not rescheduled. Patients are told to call when they have some time and the office will check availability for that day.

Dr. Ferguson:  No official policy for cancellations. However, If a new patient cancels their new patient consult appointment twice, they must pay in full for a comprehensive consult prior to scheduling. Also, if no imaging is available, that person will also be charged for a panoramic x-ray. Day of surgery cancellations usually result in payment in full prior to rescheduling. 3 no call/no shows are not rescheduled.

Cancellation List

The office uses a Hot List. This is for patients that can be called on short notice who are looking for a sooner appointment. If there is an opening the office will offer an appointment to the patient that has been on the list the longest first.

Patients with Special Needs

No preferences.

Sign Language Interpreter

Not commonly needed but if one is needed, there is a service we can call.

Same Day Surgery

Dr. Smith: Healthy patients are able to be scheduled for same-day surgery except for implants. Time usually doesn't allow same-day surgeries on the schedule. Will accommodate "A" referrals. A healthy patient is not on anticoagulants, has no uncontrolled systemic disease like hypertension or diabetes, and has no premedication that the patient is not going to do on their own.

Dr. Ferguson: Healthy patients are able to be scheduled for same-day surgery but discouraged. We prefer to have a consult first if able. If same-day surgery, only local anesthesia cases can be scheduled. A healthy patient is not on blood thinners, no bone density meds (bisphosphonate drugs) such as Fosamax, Boniva, Prolia, etc. No cancer patients. Blood pressure is under control.

Dr. Chuang: Healthy patients are able to be scheduled for same-day surgery but separate consults and procedures are preferred. Emergency locals are possible. IVS - prefer separate consult and procedure appts. A healthy patient is ASA I or ASA II with no cardiac or pulmonary history

Openings in the surgery schedule 24 hours prior- can anything be scheduled?

Dr. Smith: Yes, any type of appointment can be added to this spot.
Dr. Ferguson: Consults are allowed to be scheduled if an open spot is available 24 hours out.
Dr. Chuang: Yes, any type of appointment can be added to this spot.

Appointments that need to be coordinated with the referring doctor

The clinical team will contact/coordinate with referring doctor's office.

Procedures not performed

Dr. Smith: TMJ, Sleep Apnea/ Oral Appliances
Dr. Ferguson: TMJ
Dr. Chuang: None

How is the need for a medical clearance notated?

Dr. Smith: Medical clearance is noted as an alert and chart notes.
 Dr. Ferguson: Medical clearance is noted in clinical notes and image/hard copy is scanned into chart.
Dr. Chuang: Medical clearance is noted as an alert and chart notes.

How long is a consult good for?

Dr. Smith: 6 months, Check with Dr. Smith for longer than 6 months
Dr. Ferguson: 1 year for routine cases. Complex reconstruction or complex implant case require a re-consult after 6 months.
Dr. Chuang: 6 months

Duplicate Accounts

Duplicate is deleted if possible. If duplicate chart cannot be deleted, then office will identify which chart to use and make notes in the duplicate chart "Do Not Use"

Hot List

Hot List - Patients that can be called on short notice who are looking for a sooner appointment.
To add a patient to the hotlist in DSN, check the box that puts the patient on the Hot List. To pull the Hot List, go to the scheduler tab and under short notice availability the patients are listed.