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Dentistry is a very complex business. It is no longer sufficient
to be an excellent practitioner. Sound business and management skills are also required
to maximize the potential of a practice. During my twenty five years of working
with dentists throughout the country, I have discovered four essential keys to unlocking
the potential in their practices. They are:
 Perfect Day efficient scheduling
Optimal treatment acceptance
Successful patient financial options
Effective team meetings.
 Perfect Day efficient
scheduling
Many dentists experience stress due to the "production roller
coaster". It can be extremely stressful to produce $3,500 one day and $900 the next.
Ironically, the $900 day may be filled with more patients (small fillings, crown
seats, exams, etc) than the $3,500 day. By creating variety in the day, the stress
can be eliminated and the production increased. If the daily production can be increased
by only $400, a $5,000 increase in the monthly production will follow. One less
cancellation or two additional restorations in the schedule will take the practice
off the roller coaster and put it on it's way to increased income.
In order for the practice to be successful at eliminating the
variance in the daily production, it is essential to keep the schedule filled. Practices
continuously struggle with this when the scheduling coordinator is filling the next
day's schedule with anything she can find. In this situation, the first step toward
implementing effective scheduling would be to perform a chart audit and implement
a patient activation system. Effective verbal skills are critical in implementing
a patient activation system as some patients will perceive the call as a "sales
call". If the scheduling coordinator simply changes her verbal skill from, "…are
you ready to schedule your crown…" to "Hello Mary. This is Susan calling from Dr.
Johnson's office, your dentist. Dr. Johnson asked that I call you. He remembered
that it has been over a year since we've seen you. While reviewing your chart, the
doctor noticed that there was a tooth on the lower right side in need of attention.
He asked me to call you to see how you're doing". The patient will perceive the
call as warm and caring instead of immediately thinking about the money.
Optimal Treatment
Acceptance
When a patient is in need of treatment, it is important that
they are given the opportunity to see and hear about the best dentistry available.
Give them a chance to say "Yes, to the best"! If a practice has a variety of payment
options that will allow the practitioner to perform the treatment without putting
the practice at financial risk, it is unnecessary to "diagnose the patient's pocketbook"
when presenting treatment. For a patient to accept the treatment, it is helpful
if before the dentist discusses the treatment, that the assistant and/or hygienist
co-diagnoses or pre-presents the treatment as well. When staff members utilizes
these enrollment verbal skills to discuss the possibility of a potential crown,
it will show increased credibility and thus, higher case acceptance.
"Wow, Mrs. Patient, that is a pretty large filling there.
I know the last time I saw a tooth that looked like that, Dr. Jones had recommended
a crown. You know, if that was my tooth and I had that large of a filling in it,
I would sincerely want to talk with him about possibly placing a crown on that tooth."
Successful Financial
Options
Creating convenient financial options for the patient is another
essential key to unlocking the potential in your practice. Since the practice overhead
is based on what the practice produces, a successful practice must maintain a healthy
production-to-collection ratio. To evaluate this ratio, it is necessary to use a
three-month average in order to achieve an accurate number. The three-month production
to collection average should be at least 98%. To accomplish this, it is necessary
for the practice to be easy to buy from, without being at risk, by offering
convenient financial options for their patients.
A very popular option is the 5% bookkeeping courtesy for the
patient who pre-pays their portion in full prior to receiving treatment. This is
not a discount, but a technique that will prevent the financial flu.
Many practices suffer from this virus. Typically, a patient is told to come to their
appointment with 50% of the crown fee or approximately $500. When it comes time
for the appointment and the patient is unable to furnish the money, they will call
to cancel giving every reason except the real one. If a patient has pre-paid for
their treatment, they will provide their dentist with plenty of notice should a
reschedule be necessary. Other payment options would include accepting major credit
cards, and 3, 6 and 12 months interest-free loans offered through a non-recourse
finance company.
Effective Team Meetings
Effective team meetings are the glue that keeps the team and
the practice together. A daily morning meeting or "huddle" is required to successfully
get everyone focused on the day. During a football game, the quarterback is calling
the plays and coordinating strategy. The scheduling coordinator is the quarterback
of the practice and should direct the daily huddles. During the huddle, the results
of the previous day's production, the current day's scheduled production for both
doctor and hygiene, and identifying emergency time are the key discussion points.
Charts and/or route slips should be brought to the huddle so that the team can review
the treatment scheduled, along with identifying any additional treatment and/or
x-rays needed. The daily huddle will provide the entire team with the direction
and the focus for a productive day.
I recently consulted at a private practice where the staff committed
to daily huddles. In less then 30 days, the monthly production was up from 49K to
60K. Although the average practice will normally see a 5-8K increase in monthly
production (60-90K annually!), it is not unusual to see exceptional results such
as this. By focusing on implementing a "perfect day" schedule and enhancing their
morning huddle, I was able to assist this practice in unlocking it's potential and
bringing it to a new level of success.
By posing your practice for success you will have the ability
to reduce your stress and increase production, as well as to re-discover the joy
in practicing dentistry.
JoAnne Tanner, MBA, has worked closely with hundreds of private
practices in posing their practice for success. She may be reached at (916) 791-2720
or via email at joanne@joannetanner.com. You can also
view her website at
www.joannetanner.com.
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