Recall List 

In the Appointments module, click on the Appointment Lists toolbar button, then on the Recall button.

This is a list of Recalls with due dates that match the values set in the View section at the upper right. One approach is to go a few weeks into the past and a few days into the future for the timespan.  Another approach is to have no start date.  By doing that, more patients will be included.  The default timespan is set in the Recall Setup section. Patients who have future recall appointments scheduled will not be included in the list, but the future appointment must have recall procedures on it in order for it to cause the patient to be excluded.

Keep this list cleared!  You know that your recall is current if you can get every single patient off this list.

Each office will have different preferences for how the contact the patients for recall.  Many offices will use a combination of methods.  Regardless of which method you use, the recall Status column will keep track of your progress.  There is a set status area at the right.  You can highlight one or more patients, select a status, and click Set.  All statuses for the practice can be set up from the Definitions window, category Recall/Unsched Status.  Also, Comm Log entries will be made for each contact attempt, regardless of the method of contact.

The columns that show can be customized using Display Fields.

Multiple Reminders
It is possible to track multiple reminders for each patient. A "reminder" is defined as a Commlog entry with a Recall type.  Only entries made since the previous recall are considered.  After the first reminder, patients will only show on the list again if you set a number of days for a second reminder in the Recall Setup window.

Reasons why a patient might not show on the list
There are a number of reasons why a patient might not show on the recall list:

1. If they already have a recall appointment scheduled

2. If they have already been reminded.  All commlog entries of Recall type are treated as reminders.  If it's not really a reminder, then use some other type.

3. It has not been long enough since their last reminder.

4. The date range does not go back far enough.  Leave it blank to include even patients who have never had a prophy or exam.

5. If grouping by family, they might not show where you expect them in the list, especially if their last name is different.

6. Status must be 'Patient'.  Not 'Inactive', 'Non-patient', or any other status.

7. Their Recall has been disabled, disabled until a given date, or disabled until the family Account balance

8. (rare issue) If you have a previous appointment that was never marked complete.  Look in the patient's appointment list.  Or, this query will locate such appointments for all patients:
SELECT * FROM appointment WHERE AptStatus=1 AND AptDateTime < NOW()

Phone
If you manage the recall list primarily by phone, then you would probably run it every day and call every patient who comes due.  Before calling, the patient Account can be reviewed by right clicking on the row and selecting See Account.  It is important to have a Comm Log entry for every phone call so that you have a record of every attempt to contact the patient. If you leave a message on the answering machine on the first call, you might continue to try to contact them without leaving multiple messages. If they don't have an answering machine and you cannot contact them, you can always send them a postcard and change the status to reflect that.

If a patient is ready to schedule an appointment, simply click the Pinboard button to place a recall appointment on the pinboard. The program automatically adds the necessary procedures to the treatment plan and attaches them to the appointment. It also handles whether or not to include bitewings based on the defaults you have set up in the Recall Setup window.

E-mail
In the Patient Edit window, the e-mail address needs to be entered for the patient.  Also, it's a good idea to set the preferred recall method to e-mail.  Patients with these settings will show in the recall list with their e-mail address rather than their phone number.  And the E-mail button at the right will automatically select those patients and create e-mail messages for each of them.  Finally, the status will be automatically set according to the option in the Recall Setup window.

If grouping by family, the guarantor e-mail will always be used.

Postcards
Click the postcard preview button.  If no patients are selected, then all patients without a status will be automatically selected before preview.  In the Patient Edit window, the prefer recall method can be set to "mail".  If this is done, then the phone number will not show in the recall list.  But postcards can be sent to anyone, regardless of their prefer recall method.

The example above is for 3 postcards per sheet, but you can change this in Recall Setup.  The postcard messages are also customizable in that window.

If you are printing postcards for recall, then you would probably use the Group Families checkbox at the top. In this case the list will not be in order by date, but it will cause the postcards to print differently for families. When more than one family member needs a recall card, they will be grouped together, and the family message will be used instead of the regular message.

Labels

Just below the postcards section, you can similarly print address labels on a standards sheet of 30.

Reports

The Run Report button is for situations where you might want even more control.

You can select exactly which fields to include in your report, and send the resulting data to a simple text file. From there, you can merge it with any Word template to print your own customized postcards, letters, etc.