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The Independent Practice Playbook: Fewer No-Shows, Safer Patient Data

• Let your website handle the easy front-desk work

  Answer the questions behind your phone calls

  New patients usually want the same things before they commit: which insurance plans you accept, whether you're taking new patients, what the first visit involves, what to bring and where to park. Put those on one plain New Patients page and link it from your booking confirmation. If you see uninsured or self-pay patients, the No Surprises Act requires you to give a good faith estimate of expected charges when they schedule or ask, so say on that page how to request one. Keep your insurance list current, because a stale list turns into frustrated calls later.

• Let your website handle the easy front-desk work

  Build for patients who use screen readers or larger text

  Accessibility is part of good patient care, and for many practices it's also a legal requirement. HHS's Section 504 rule requires recipients of HHS federal financial assistance to make their websites and mobile apps conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. In May 2026, HHS extended the compliance dates to May 11, 2027 for recipients with 15 or more employees and May 10, 2028 for those with fewer. Ask your compliance advisor or attorney whether the rule applies to your practice. Either way, start with the basics: real alt text, readable contrast, labeled form fields, and forms that work with a keyboard alone.

• Move intake online without creating a HIPAA problem

  Know when a web form becomes a HIPAA form

  A form that asks only for a name, phone number and preferred time is different from one that asks about symptoms, medications, insurance or the reason for a visit. Once a form collects protected health information for your practice, every vendor that receives, stores or transmits it is a business associate and must sign a business associate agreement (BAA). That can include the form tool, the website host if submissions are stored there, and the email service if submissions are emailed. A common gap is a website form that emails full intake answers to a regular office inbox. Talk to your compliance advisor if you're unsure where a form falls.

• Market the practice without leaking patient data

  Set up Google Business Profile the way Google expects for practices

  Google's guidelines treat a practice and its individual practitioners differently. When several clinicians work at one location, the practice gets its own profile, and a public-facing practitioner can have a separate one under their own name. A solo practitioner with a practice brand should use a single profile named in the format brand: practitioner name. Google also says a practitioner shouldn't have multiple profiles to cover different specializations. Keep hours, holiday closures, phone number and booking link accurate on every profile.

• Market the practice without leaking patient data

  Ask every patient for reviews, and reply without confirming they're a patient

  Google's review policy lets businesses ask for reviews but bans incentives and selectively asking only happy customers. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews, effective October 2024, also bans incentives tied to positive or negative sentiment. So ask everyone the same way, for example in a post-visit message. When you reply, never confirm that someone is your patient or mention their care. HHS has settled with dental practices that disclosed patient information in replies to online reviews. A safe reply thanks the reviewer and invites them to call the office.