Practice by Numbers uses recall information to help your team identify patients who are due or overdue for preventive care. If your practice uses Curve, recall dates are calculated a little differently because Curve does not provide recall or recare information directly through its integration.
Instead, Practice by Numbers determines a patient's recall cycle using appointment tags and completed appointments.
How Recall Is Identified in Curve
Practice by Numbers looks at the appointment tags configured in Curve to identify recall appointments.
A tag is treated as a recall tag when:
The tag has a recall frequency configured, such as 3 months, 4 months, or 6 months, or
The tag name contains "recare" or "recall."
For example, your practice may have tags such as:
6mo Cleaning
4mo Cleaning
3mo Cleaning
The frequency associated with the tag tells Practice by Numbers how often the patient should return.
How Last and Next Recall Dates Are Calculated
Once a patient completes an appointment with a qualifying recall tag, Practice by Numbers uses that visit to establish the patient's recall cycle.
Last Recall Date
The date of the patient's most recent completed appointment containing a qualifying recall tag.
Next Recall Date
The Last Recall Date plus the frequency associated with that appointment tag.
For example, if a patient completes an appointment tagged 6mo Cleaning, their next recall date is calculated six months from the completed appointment date.
If a qualifying recall tag does not have a frequency configured, Practice by Numbers uses a six-month interval by default.
Why a Patient May Show as "Not on Recall"
A patient must have at least one completed appointment with a qualifying recall tag before Practice by Numbers can establish their recall cycle.
This means a patient can already have a future preventive or recall appointment scheduled in Curve but still appear as Not on Recall in areas such as the Daily Huddle.
This can happen when:
The patient's recall appointment has been scheduled.
The future appointment has the appropriate recall tag.
The patient has not yet completed an appointment with a qualifying recall tag.
Because there is not yet a completed recall visit to use as the starting point, the Last Recall Date and Next Recall Date remain empty.
Once the patient completes their first qualifying recall appointment, Practice by Numbers can use that appointment and its tag frequency to calculate their ongoing recall dates.
Scheduled Preventive Appointments vs. Recall Dates
It's important to distinguish between a patient's scheduled preventive appointment and their calculated recall cycle.
A future recall appointment may still appear correctly as the patient's Next Preventative appointment even if the patient currently shows as Not on Recall.
In other words, Not on Recall does not necessarily mean the patient does not have a preventive appointment scheduled. It can simply mean Practice by Numbers does not yet have a completed recall visit from which to calculate the patient's recall cycle.
Keeping Recall Information Accurate
To help Practice by Numbers calculate recall information correctly for Curve patients:
Make sure recall-related appointment tags are configured with the appropriate frequency in Curve.
Use those tags consistently for recall and preventive appointments.
Ensure completed recall appointments retain the appropriate recall tag.
Once a completed recall appointment is available, Practice by Numbers can use its tag and frequency to determine the patient's Last Recall Date and calculate their Next Recall Date.