Broken dental appointments impact entire KMC

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Scott Saldukas
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Missing a dental appointment may not seem like a big deal to the average person, but to the 86th Dental Squadron here, it was their biggest issue last year.

During the 2009 calendar year, the dental squadron averaged about 260 broken appointments each month, which added up to more than 3,100 failed appointments and more than $900 thousand in lost dental treatment.

According to dental corps guidance, broken or failed appointments should not exceed five percent of the total appointments scheduled. Last year, 10 months exceeded the five-percent limit with one month surpassing 330 total broken appointments.

"The broken appointments not only affect the overall appointment availability, but they also equate to lost money, longer patient waiting times and most importantly, delayed or reduced readiness status for our active-duty members," said Chief Master Sgt. Kent McCormack, 86th DS superintendent.

The Ramstein dental squadron is the second largest dental clinic in the Air Force and has about 250 patients scheduled each day. Of those, approximately 35 appointments each day are cancelled correctly while about 22 are considered to be broken appointments.

Although cancelled and broken appointments may seem like the same thing, there is actually a big difference between the two, said Col. Carroll A. Palmore Jr., 86th DS commander

Correctly cancelled appointments allow the squadron to fill the time slot and mission effectiveness is not reduced. Broken appointments involve someone who fails to report for an appointment or is considered a "no show," or cancels within two hours of their scheduled time.

"Broken, or failed appointments are particularly detrimental since they commonly preclude patient substitution," said the squadron commander. "The result is clinical ineffiency and diminished dental readiness within our military population."

Unlike stateside dental clinics, Ramstein serves both active-duty and their family members. About 60 percent of the patients seen at the dental clinic are active-duty servicemembers while the other 40 percent are dependents.

"In the States there is an overflow valve that allows us to send dependents off base to be seen by other providers," said Colonel Palmore. "Here, we don't have that luxury, so we must treat all family members."

Not having an overflow valve here affects the amount of broken appointments for family members more than being stationed stateside.

"In the States, we are not routinely staffed to treat family members -- so, we normally do not have space available to treat our dependents," said Chief McCormack. "Overseas, we are a little better suited to see family members; however, we may not have the capacity to manage every family member's needs. Right now, approximately 40 percent of our broken appointments are from family members."

To prevent broken appointments, non-active duty patients with three broken or failed appointments are disengaged from routine dental care, said Colonel Palmore. These patients are then referred off base for treatment and must assume financial responsibility for the practice.

Active-duty personnel who fail to report for scheduled treatment and provide inadequate warning cause a significant challenge to overall readiness. To minimize such behavior, written notification will be forwarded to the member's commander or first sergeant within 24 hours of the infraction, the colonel added.

Ultimately, the dental squadron's goal would be to have zero broken appointments, but that is not realistic, said Colonel Palmore. Due to the direct involvement of an individual's chain of command, the percentage of broken appointments last month dropped to three-and-a-half percent.

"Leadership at all levels are committed and engaged in helping us improve our broken appointment issue," said the chief. "The broken appointment trend is definitely heading in a positive direction through their direct involvement, and our statistics are looking better every day."

Patients of the dental clinic here are strongly encouraged to keep their scheduled appointments or cancel correctly to maintain full operational effetivness. For cancelling, booking or re-scheduling an appointment, patients can call the appointment line at 06371-46-2210 or DSN 479-2210.