Recently, I received a request from an office wanting a script for the staff to ask existing patients for referrals.

Traditionally we teach staff to say, “Mrs. Jones, we are looking to add to our family of patients. If you would have a friend or family member in need of a great dentist, would you be so kind as to give them one of our cards. (Hand her 3 cards.) Thank you.

On the back of the card have printed a dollar amount, say $50 towards your first visit with Dr. Great Dentist.

Enjoy your day!

Sally

Today, I received the email below from George Vaill, a fellow dental colleague, who specializes in dental office lease negotiations about Memorial Day. It is touching and profound. He expresses my feelings exactly. George can be reached at 781-721-7405, gvaill@comcast.com, www.georgevaill.com.

Good day, all.

As we approach Memorial Day, 2011, I wish to take you back to the 1950s when we (boys) all played Cowboys and Indians and “war” in the backyard or out in the woods. I suspect that some of you probably had the same visions that I had back then of being a hero, ala John Wayne, stepping out from behind a tree and picking off an enemy combatant with one shot just-in-time to save a buddy’s life. I further suspect that our fathers before us and the young men and women serving us now around the world, whether or not in combat roles, had similar visions during their childhoods; visions of heroism and sacrifice fueled by a patriotic sense of duty to country.

As we walk through our daily lives, we are surrounded by veterans of past wars and conflicts, often times we are unaware of their sacrifices. Those who served in World War I are gone. Those who served in World War II and Korea are dwindling in number. Those who served in Vietnam are most prevalent in our midst. And those who have served in more recent wars in the Middle East are nearly invisible in our society due to their (relatively) small numbers. In fact, many Americans do not personally know anyone who has served in or is currently serving in the Middle East. The good news is that there are fewer soldiers exposed to hostilities these days than there had been in most of America’s previous wars. The downside of that statistic is that, as many of us do not personally know a veteran of recent conflicts, their lives and conditions are mostly out of our sight. And for many, their needs are great and our support wholly insufficient.

I resurrected our childhood memory in order to encourage that we all take a moment, not just on Memorial Day – but every day – to reflect upon and appreciate the sacrifices that have been made in America’s name by our brothers and sisters and which continue to be made by our servicemen and women and their families all over the world every day. Though Memorial Day is about honoring those who died in war, at the same time, honoring with thought and deed those living veterans who are still in our midst will help establish a foundation of remembrance in our collective conscience to serve as a basis upon which to fulfill our solemn pledge to care for all of our veterans in the future forever and ever.

Memorial Day was not established to be used as an excuse for a three day weekend in which to sleep late, go to the mall and have a bar-b-que. Instead, it was established in order that we never forget those who gave their lives that the rest of us might continue to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So please take a quiet moment of reflection this weekend to memorialize our departed veterans. And while you are at it, please make a personal commitment to reach out to a veteran and resolve to honor our individual and collective duty to fulfill our nation’s promise to all who have served America in uniform.

Thank you.

George

Dear Sally,

Dentist Mid-West

Dear Dr.

If you were utilizing, for example, my Performance Measurements for the Dental Team system, and truly measuring her performance, she would just be “meeting” the expectations of the practice. At that point, you would have to decide to supply her with more training and or decide when enough training is enough and terminate her employment. This is a measurable business decision. It is not your problem that she lost her job. However, she is in a “protected class” being 64 years old. I am not an attorney but “think” that if you fired her and replaced her with a 34 year old, example, she could potentially sue you for age descrimination. Therefore, I feel it it is important for you to put in place measurable criteria in her job description.

Another alternative is to hire us as consultants. We will evaluate the business operations and put defined measurable outcomes into the job description and develop a business plan that will take your practice to the next level. She may be underperforming because she lacks the training. She will either do it or she won’t or she may quit because she does not want to work that hard.

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It is very important that YOU have clearly communicated your expectations of the job to her. Be specific. Write it down like a check list and the two of you go over it. Tell her you are disappointed in X-Y-Z and spell it out. If you have unspoken expectations, then it is not her fault that she is not performing. Be clear in what you want and set a time limit for completion and then reevaluate her performance.

If you would like to speak with me further about our consulting coaching programs, you can call me at 877-777-6151.

Hope this helps,
Sally

“..But Sally, everyone knows that you need another business assistant for every $30 thousand in production…” Sorry, but that is a “myth” that has been circulated in dental management for about 30 years. Determining if you need another business assistant isn’t based exclusively on the amount of production.

Look at the number of patients and the time it takes to handle each at the front desk. An eight-hour business day is 480 minutes. Figure that it takes10 minutes per patient. No more than half of a business assistant’s day, 240 minutes, should be consumed with patient processing. The other half should be available for non-patient tasks. If you are seeing 35 patients per day, your business assistant doesn’t have time to accomplish other essential responsibilities. If you are seeing 15 patients per day, your business assistant shouldn’t have any trouble managing the duties of the front desk. If she does, you have another problem to deal with.

Recommended Actions:

Base your decision to hire more business staff on numbers, not on the flustered demeanor of a seemingly overworked business assistant. If the numbers show that one employee should be able to handle the job, she either needs training, is not suited for the position, or the systems she works on are time and motion inefficient. Interested in an analysis of your Front Office?

“…But Sally, everyone knows that ideal patient retention is supposedly 85%. It’s “expert” advice like that that can bankrupt your practice, or at least, keep you financially strapped.

So, you say your patient retention is a healthy 85%. And that’s really good because the advice guru told you it was. I urge you to duck when that sweeping generalization is coming at you. Rather, do a little simple math to determine what your ideal patient retention is:

1. Look at the last six months and calculate the monthly average of recall patients treated.
2. Calculate the monthly average of comprehensive exams for the same period.
3. Take 50% of the answer in number 2.
4. Divide the answer in number 3 by the answer in number 1.
5. Subtract the answer of 4 from 100%.

That is your ideal patient retention.