A powerful, easy-to-use patient communication system that improves staff efficiency and increases patient satisfaction
In 2013, Lighthouse 360 achieved an amazing feat by earning one of the highest product evaluation scores in the history of Dental Product Shopper—a 4.9 out of 5. In that article, we featured commentaries from many dental professionals who use the patient communication software in their practices. One dentist, Dr. Bradley Blair, lauded Lighthouse 360 for being a “set and forget it” software, adding that it allows his staff to concentrate on more important and productive tasks. He also praised the company for their great support, adding, “[They are] nice people to work with.”
As they constantly strive for improvement, Lighthouse 360 has made some changes in recent years, all part of their mission to help practices keep their schedules full, run more efficiently, and build better patient relationships.
New Services and Features
Lighthouse 360 gathers feedback and suggestions for improvement from its customers and routinely implements some of those ideas into its future software improvements.
To help keep the schedule full, Lighthouse 360 now includes a feature called Fill-in that automatically finds and fills last-minute cancellations. They also added a 2-way texting option, where practices can text patients right from the Lighthouse portal, and Treatment Plan Reminders, which automatically follows up with patients who have not scheduled treatment.
Dr. Robert Martino, a dentist in Clark, NJ, said Lighthouse 360 has “been a game changer” that improved his practice almost instantly. “We have gotten to the point where if a patient is a no-show, we are actually shocked. It just doesn’t happen. Our hygiene and doctor schedule is booked over a month out.” He added, “We could not imagine going back to any other way of confirming appointments and keeping tabs on patient recall.”
Some of Lighthouse 360’s innovative new features are:
• Fill-in: finds and fills last-minute cancellations automatically
• Treatment Plan Reminders: automatically follows up with patients who have not yet scheduled treatment
• Two-Way Texting: texts patients right from the Lighthouse portal
• Patient FastTrack: lets patients register (and even eSign forms) right on their smartphones
• Online Bill Pay + Appointment Requests: patients can pay bills online and request appointments from practice’s website.
Reviews + Reputation Tools
With the increased use of social media and online presence for a dental practice, Lighthouse 360 has also built tools to help build a practice’s online reputation. Practices can automatically solicit reviews from patients via both email and text message. And since Google reviews are a priority for many practices, Lighthouse 360 can automatically detect patients with a Gmail account and direct them to Google to leave a review—plus display these reviews in the Lighthouse portal.
Grace Billman, an office manager at a dental practice in Marathon, FL, said her favorite feature is that Lighthouse sends a patient review email at the end of every appointment. As a result of this email, patients are completing online reviews and the practice now has a 5-star rating on Google. “Every single one of those reviews is a result of Lighthouse prompting the patient to complete one,” she said, adding that they receive many new patients because of the positive online reviews. “We would never get those patients in the door if we didn’t have Lighthouse and those positive reviews,” she explained.
Streamlined User Experience
In addition to new features, Lighthouse 360 has been working to enhance and streamline the user experience. Some highlights are:
Updated Portal and Navigation – A redesigned Lighthouse portal is even more user-friendly and intuitive, based on suggestions from customers.
Patient Message Preferences – Reminders are customizable so users can decide which patients get which types of reminders.
Visibility and Control – More features were added to give users maximum control, including message history of which communications were sent, follow-up lists of patients who haven’t confirmed, a daily task list with helpful recommendations, and the ability to export custom patient lists outside of Lighthouse.
Enhanced Email Experience – A smartphone-friendly email layout allows users to embed photos, create targeted patient lists, and customize templates—making for more effective marketing campaigns and better patient engagement.
Customer Support
One thing that hasn’t changed? Lighthouse 360’s award-winning customer service. The entire Lighthouse 360 team is dedicated to giving their customers the tools and support they need to succeed. Its highly trained customer care team is accessible by phone or email for live support, and they welcome questions, comments, and ideas to incorporate into future software improvements. The ultimate objective is helping practices get the most out of Lighthouse 360 so they can achieve their goals.
