Compare dental patient scheduling services: DCS vs FlexBook vs Localmed

Keeping a full schedule is what maintains production levels at your dental business. But it can be hard to manage the schedule efficiently when there are several challenges to deal with: Cancellations, wait times, buffers, and straight up no-shows, for example.

Luckily, there are scheduling services that will make this process easier for your dental team.

Here at DCS, a full-service revenue cycle management provider, we have added patient scheduling to our suite of services after many requests from our customers. But of course, there are other providers you should consider, too. 

This article compares DCS’ scheduling services with those at FlexBook and LocalMed, so that you will make an informed decision when choosing a scheduling service. We’ll cover each services’ features and pricing, so you can select the right one for the unique needs of your dental business.  

Note that all the information we have gathered on FlexBook and Localmed was taken directly from their websites.

What to look for in patient scheduling software

Choosing the right dental patient scheduling software is crucial for the smooth operation of your dental practice. Here are the most important features and qualities that dental practice owners should look for:

Need to Have

• Ease of use: The software should be intuitive and easy for both staff and patients to navigate. A user-friendly interface can reduce training time and minimize scheduling errors.
• Calendar integration: Real-time integration with existing calendar systems, such as Google Calendar, Outlook, or your practice management system (PMS) can help streamline the process and avoid scheduling conflicts.
• HIPAA compliance: The software must adhere to HIPAA regulations to ensure patient data security and confidentiality.
• Training and ongoing support: Reliable customer support and easy-to-access training resources are essential for resolving issues quickly and maximizing the use of the software.
• Cost effectiveness: Your choice of software and/or service needs to work with your budget. That said, don’t shy away from more expensive options just because of their price. A modern scheduling system should be seen as an investment, with higher production as the payoff. 

All three providers we’re comparing below have these essential features. If you explore other scheduling services, be sure they include these too.

That said, there are a few bonus features that are great to have in patient scheduling software because they further enhance your team’s efficiency and your patients’ experience.

Nice to Have

• Ability to handle complex scheduling: Blockout features, treatment-based scheduling, and timing accommodations.
• Payment inclusions: The option to add a patient’s credit card to their appointment so that you can apply a cancelation or no-show fee. 
• Branding options: Customizable features that let your team brand the page your patients will see with details like your logo and business colors.

Here is a chart directly comparing each company's offerings: 

Keep all of these features and qualities in mind when considering the scheduling providers we’ll discuss below, and also if you continue with your own research.

DCS Patient Scheduling

DCS’ white-label scheduling offers your patients the ability to book appointments online and update your calendar in real-time.

They can schedule their appointment at their convenience — accessing the calendar even after office hours or on weekends — and without the need to engage your front-desk staff in back-and-forth emails or phone calls to find a suitable time.

All appointment availability is up-to-the-minute and based on your office's PMS. Our scheduling service reads in provider availability and other details to deliver open appointment times for patients to book.

Features: 

• Ability to handle complex scheduling: Accommodates complex schedules, blockouts, and specific timing requirements without overbooking.
• Payment inclusions: A card-on-file system to potentially charge cancelation fees, which streamlines check-in and payment while minimizing no-shows 
• Branding options: Our simple, brandable interface allows you to add provider photos  schedule by provider and appointment type. Our current customers prefer DCS Patient Scheduling for its ease of use and seamless look with their overall brand.
• Sophisticated insurance integration: Allows for insurance information collection at time of scheduling to expedite the insurance verification process. For maximum efficiency, pair DCS Scheduling with DCS Insurance Verification services.
• Mobile booking: Patients can book from anywhere they have internet (mobile, desktop, tablet). 
• Software integration: DCS Patient Scheduling works with major dental practice management software, including:
  • OpenDental (OpenDental Cloud)
  • Eaglesoft
  • Dolphin 
  • Curve
  • Dentrix (Dentrix Cloud)
  • Cloud9 / Denticon
  • Carestream (WinOMS / Sensi / SoftDent / WinCloud)

Pricing: 

DCS Patient Scheduling has a single payment tier that includes everything listed for unlimited providers and appointment types for $199/month.

Explore DCS Patient Scheduling here. 

FlexBook Patient Scheduling

According to FlexBook’s website, “FlexSchedule is a leap forward in online appointment scheduling — giving patients the convenience they want and practices the precise schedule control they need.”

Features: 

• Ability to handle complex scheduling: Adjusts to optimize your appointment calendar effectively, mimicking the process if clients were to contact your office directly. You’ll define availability overall, by individual provider, and by appointment type. It also provides block scheduling options, enabling you to designate specific slots for particular types of appointments.
• Payment inclusions: Assists in ensuring patients show up to the appointment they schedule by making it easy to charge for no-shows and last-minute cancellations. Only available for practices that leverage both FlexSchedule and FlexPay.
• Branding options: Tailor the interface to emphasize your brand and communication style. Greet new patients and highlight your practice without any third-party elements.
• Sophisticated insurance integration: Not available
• Mobile booking: Specifically designed for mobile devices, it simplifies scheduling processes by providing an uncomplicated and user-friendly online booking method, while distinguishing your practice. 

• Software integration, FlexBook is compatible with:
  • Open Dental
  • Practice-Web PMS
• Flex Nudge: The proprietary scheduling algorithm allows you to "weigh" your appointment times, so patients see your preferred appointment slots first, just like your team does when a patient calls to schedule.

Pricing:

FlexBook has 6 pricing options based on features, such as package deals that include insurance verification. Prices range from $199 per month to $499 per month. 

LocalMed Patient Scheduling

According to LocalMed’s website, “LocalMed’s real-time online scheduling platform helps you close the loop on all of your marketing efforts by connecting with potential patients wherever they’re finding you: your website, Google, social media, our insurance and product partners, etc. With LocalMed, your dental practice is open for scheduling anywhere, anytime, 24/7.”

Features: 

• Ability to handle complex scheduling: Not available
• Payment inclusions: Not available
• Branding options: Not available
• Sophisticated insurance integration: Not available
• Mobile booking: Patients can book their appointments by mobile or desktop, at any time of day or night, even when your office is closed.
• Software integration: LocalMed works with the leading PMS, including: 
  • Abeldent
  • Dentrix
  • Dentrix Enterprise
  • Denticon
  • Dolphin
  • Eaglesoft
  • EasyDental
  • OpenDental
  • OrthoTrac
  • PracticeWeb
  • SoftDent
  • Tracker
  • Ultimo
• Customizable filters: Provides custom filters to allow your practice to show your schedule online exactly as you see it in your practice management system.

Pricing: 

LocalMed costs $249/month for their full set of features, or you can choose to be billed annually for a small discount, lowering the costto $229/month.

What are the main differences between DCS vs FlexBook vs LocalMed?

As you can see, all three providers offer similar services, DCS and FlexBook seem more comprehensive, as they include valuable nice-to-have features that LocalMed does not.

DCS and Flexbook offer more customization to their scheduling options, and also allow dental teams to incorporate unique branding for patients to recognize. Those two scheduling services also offer the option to capture credit card details and charge for no-shows and last-minute cancelations — effectively encouraging patients to appear as planned.

DCS and FlexBook also have similar pricing at $199 per month, while the monthly fee for LocalMed is 25% more at $249 per month. It’s worth mentioning that $199 is only the starting price for FlexBook, which has a half-dozen pricing options that can increase costs to $499 per month. 

DCS and LocalMed are compatible with a much wider variety of practice management software. Flexbook is only compatible with 2 types of PMS, while DCS can integrate with 7 types of PMS, and LocalMed is compatible with 12. The most important PMS is, of course, the one you’re using — confirm that your PMS is supported.

Now, if enhanced scheduling features are essential for your dental business, it seems that DCS and FlexBook offer more schedule blocking features, giving your team more flexibility when dealing with your complex schedule. 

According to the information gathered from each website, DCS is the only scheduling service that gives your patients the option to input their insurance information when scheduling an appointment, so your dental team — or your RCM partner — can begin the verification process ASAP. FlexBook has a similar feature, but it is an add-on that doubles your monthly cost from $199 to $399. 

Trust your gut and choose the right dental patient scheduling software for your team

To recap, we’ve compared the following patient scheduling services: 

• DCS Patient Scheduling
• FlexBook Patient Scheduling
• LocalMed Patient Scheduling

While they all offer the essential features for patient scheduling software, DCS and FlexBook include a variety of nice-to-have features, including branding options and block scheduling — and their monthly cost is 25% less than LocalMed, which lacks those features.

However, FlexBook is compatible with far fewer PMSs, only 2 where DCS and LocalMed support 7 and 12 integrations, respectively. Be sure to verify that your PMS is currently supported.

Notably, DCS is the only scheduling service to incorporate the patient’s insurance information as a standard part of their scheduling offer, along with insurance billing. LocalMed is solely focused on patient scheduling, and while FlexBook additionally offers insurance verification, patient billing, and treatment planning, their service suite does not include insurance billing.

At DCS, our end-to-end revenue cycle management services begin with your patient scheduling an appointment, and end with payments in the bank. From start to finish, our priority is your revenue, so that your team’s priority can be your patients’ experience. 

You can schedule demos with all three providers and learn more by contacting each sales team — and as you’re here, you can start with us!

Discover how expert dental RCM and patient scheduling will transform your business: Book a free 30-minute call today