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“Top
Obstacles to Achieving the Ideal Practice.”
Obstacle #7– Schedule or Lunar Landscape?
This week… one of the barriers
likely to be interfering in your ability to reach your goals.
Next week I’ll discuss proven solutions.
Some days, the
craters in the schedule are so large the whole thing looks
like the face of the moon – a desperate
wasteland of nothingness. One patient after another either
decides not to show or cancels. As the day painfully drags
on, your stress level and practice expenses are in a tight
race to see which one can reach the stratosphere first.
If it’s
any consolation, you are not alone. Every
practice has patients who don’t show or routinely cancel
their appointments – from those that serve
primarily patients with lower dental IQs to those that treat
the busy
executives. That’s small comfort, however, when you
consider the annual cost of cancellations and no-shows, this
would easily pay for a couple staff members or any number
of office
perks and benefits. It’s in the neighborhood
of $40,000 and that doesn’t
even begin to measure the cost of follow-up treatment that
is lost.
Remember, like
you and your staff, patients are dealing with dozens of
demands, responsibilities, and stresses. They
are so overextended between employment issues, children’s
activities, volunteer responsibilities, economic concerns,
and so on that when it comes to a commitment that the patient
may not feel is absolutely necessary, such as a dental appointment,
it’s likely to be relegated to the “I’ll
get to it eventually” category.
No, you won’t
completely eliminate broken appointments and no shows,
but you can take steps to significantly reduce
those crater-size holes in the schedule. Next week,
see my number one recommendation for getting patients in
the chair when
they are supposed to be and other strategies to
minimize the schedule gaps.
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Is
your hygienist producing at
least 33% of his/her
total production in periodontal services?
Check
out our "how to" manual 
Are the majority of your patients on 6
month recalls?
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Technology
Tool Box
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Mark
Dilatush, VP of Professional Relations
for McKenzie Management
Mark@mckenziemgmt.com
1-877-777-6151
Ext. 28 |
A series of short weekly chores designed to keep the
return on investment in technology at its highest level.
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If you missed any of the previous issues
CLICK
HERE.
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Bottlenecks? Automated Patient Check
In Protocol
Purpose: Proper processing at patient check-in will
provide exceptional customer service, smooth transition
to the treatment rooms, and much faster check-out.
What to do:
- Always
try to greet the patient by name. If your front
desk team is new or unfamiliar with most
patients, consider taking a portrait of your
patients. Digital
images of patients do not have to be used just
for cosmetic imaging or treatment plan presentations.
Use a patient portrait to greet your patients
by name.
- Update
your patient information. Your practice management
system should be able to tell
you when
the last medical
history was taken. Present the medical history
form at check in. Every patient (at check-in)
should be
able to review the information you have on
file for their record. Every patient should be
given
the opportunity
to “update” their information BEFORE
they are seated. I would recommend printing
the pertinent
information on file (in the computer) and handing
it to the patient on a clipboard. Updating
information at check-out (as opposed to check-in)
causes
most of
the bottlenecks – not patient volume.
- Once
the patient information is updated, tell
the rest of the team that the patient
is ready to be seated.
Many of you have light systems. Some of you
have computerized this process. Most of the
time though, the back is
notified BEFORE the patient has been greeted
and processed properly. Try not to notify
the back until the patient
information is updated properly and completely.
- When
the patient returns from the treatment room to
the front desk (assuming their information
was updated
properly), how long does it really take
to process a payment, make the next appointment,
and print a walkout
statement? Two minutes? Three minutes?
If your
front desk is “bottlenecking”,
don’t get upset. Take a look at which patients
created the bottleneck and why it happened. From my
experience, the delays are caused because the front
desk didn’t have the correct information in the
computer system to process the patient efficiently.
I do realize
there are patients who forget they changed jobs or
that their spouse changed insurance plans.
Those instances are certainly in the minority. Ninety
five percent of your patients should be able to check
out of your dental practice in two to three minutes.
If you’re counting, that’s 160 patients
in an 8 hour work day!
Some readers
of this newsletter are Administrative Assistants
in general dental practices. Many of those
practices see 25 to 30 patients per day. I want you
to visit a busy orthodontic practice some time. Orthodontists
have perfected the art of processing patients in and
out; they have to. Some of them actually see 160 patients
per day!
Remember … a
better check in = a better check out!
Interested
in having Mark speak to your dental society or study
club? Click here
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Dear Sally,
Following your visit to my office
in the late 80's, my practice is producing way over 100% from that
time with 55% overhead. With some fine tuning, I know we have room
for growth. Thanks for all you have done for my practice and my
personal life. Your management assistance has allowed me to live
a high quality life all these years and spend quality time with
my family. I just wanted you to know that you are not just a practice
management consultant. What you do for our professional lives ripple
affects the quality of our personal lives as well. Looking forward
to working with you again.
Best Wishes,
Scot Mardis, DDS
Terre Haute, Indiana
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