Point of care follow ups

Patient cancellations and no shows are going to happen to all clinicians. It is however really important that as soon as practical you are touching base with your clients. This is really about nurturing the relationship. It is about building trust and rapport and making sure that our clients understand that we are invested in their health and their best outcome.

When doing point of care follow ups it is important that you don't become an "ambulance chaser". There are a couple of strategies that can help this.

• Reach out as soon as practical.

• Make a human connection. Consider the situation from their point of view.

• If they missed an appointment a good option may be:

"Hi [client name] ... I missed you today at our scheduled appointment. I just wanted to touch base and find out how everything is going and if there is anything I can do to help you at the moment"

• If they cancelled an appointment who has not rescheduled a good option may be:

"Hi [client name] I wanted to thank you for letting us know you were unable to attend. I understand you are [insert reason for cancellation, i.e. tied up a work, unwell, away, feeling better]. I just wanted to touch base to see if there is anything I can do to further help you"

• Try to put in personal information where possible. For example if someone failed to attend after a period where they have been away on holiday it can be really powerful to ask how their holiday went and touch on any concerns they had (i.e. how did you ankle hold up to walking on the beach during your time away?"

Point of care follow ups are also really important to do with people you have recently discharged. This is the time you really get to learn if they have "gotten to the finish line" or if they still are having a few niggles or issues.