New vs Established Patient Flows in Cerbo

Two callers, two conversations

A long-time patient calling to move a follow-up wants to be done quickly. A first-time caller who read about your practice wants to know whether you can help with years of fatigue and gut trouble, what it costs and how to begin. Running both through one script frustrates both of them.

Katie asks early whether the caller has been seen at the practice before, then follows the path your rules set for each answer. The question is asked plainly and only once, so a regular patient is not made to feel like a stranger and a newcomer is not rushed past the questions that matter to them.

The established-patient path

For a current patient, speed matters. Katie confirms who they are using the identifiers your practice chooses, such as full name and date of birth, then moves straight to the reason for the call. The summary names the provider they usually see and what they need.

With MedReception Autopilot, that summary is filed to the patient's existing chart in Cerbo from a staff member's own signed-in browser, so the physician sees the call beside the rest of the history.

The new-patient path

A first contact is where the relationship starts, so this path collects more. Your practice decides exactly what, but a common set looks like this:

• Name, date of birth, phone and email
• What brought them to you, in their own words
• How they heard about the practice, and whether another clinician sent them
• Whether they are interested in membership, if you offer one
• Whether they have recent lab work or records they can send ahead
• Days and times that suit them for a first visit

Getting a newcomer set up in Cerbo

A brand-new caller has no chart yet. Your staff create one in Cerbo in the usual way, using the details from the summary, and schedule the first visit there. Once the chart exists, the summary can be filed to it, so the very first contact becomes part of the record.

If the practice sends a welcome packet or intake forms through its patient portal, staff send those from the summary too. Katie gathers the information; your team owns the onboarding steps inside Cerbo.

Lapsed and returning patients

Some callers fall in between: a patient last seen years ago, or a former member coming back. Decide which path they follow. Some practices treat anyone not seen within a set period as new for scheduling purposes, because their history needs a full refresh and the first visit should be booked long.