Be honest with yourself here… Are you making your day more stressful then it needs to be? Having had the opportunity to work with a variety of offices I can tell you YES YOU PROBABLY ARE! I am not picking on or bashing you, doctors. We all have patterns we end up in “just because.” It is easy to go on with your days as they usually are. I want to point out a few reasons why your schedule may be so hectic. And point out why you feel like you see so many patients and still do not make your financial goals. It is interesting that when I am asked to consult for an office there is often significant resistance to change; even though that is what they have hired me for! Change needs to happen unless you want to keep getting the same result. Take a look at the following, do any of these sound like you? Better yet, bring this blog to your next team meeting and see what points they would vote you guilty of. It is not as if you are a bad Dentist if you do any of the following, you are a dentist that has a a lot on your shoulders and want to succeed. I want to try to persuade you to work smarter not harder.
- Sharing of equipment and materials: Are you “cutting costs” with shared instruments and materials? Be really careful here. Is it really worth taking off gloves, spraying hands with sanitizer, waiting for your assistant to bring the crown tapper, hand sanitizer, re-gloving and then proceeding to tap that crown off. Time is money! I’m not saying have a Cerec machine in every room but really take a look at what you’re skimping on. Buy another crown tapper, buy that special cement and place it in all treatment rooms etc..
- Not using your intra-oral camera: A picture literally is worth a thousand words. It will save you a lot of time explaining and also increase your treatment acceptance. If you have a tooth you are prepping and you are noticing you will need a buildup. Take second to snap a photo and simply place on the monitor. Your patient will naturally be curious and take a peek. Usually the patient will say something like “OMG that is gross”, or “what a mess!” Your response will be,”Mr./Mrs. NoToothLefttoBuildaCrownOn I was just documenting the poor tooth structure we have left after the old restoration and decay has been removed. I will need to place a build-up on this tooth at an additional fee, do I have your permission?” What are they going to say?
- Properly reviewing treatment: Are you having your team review fees, ADRA (advantages,disadvantages, risks, & alternatives) prior to the patient sitting in your treatment chair? Do not waste precious chair time counseling your patients on fees, treatment options and insurance benefits. This should be taken care of prior to the appointment being placed in the schedule. Having a signed consent of accepted treatment with fees spelled out and a payment plan in place will eliminate a lot of wasted chair time. Doctors, demand these steps are being completed for every patient. Not only is this covering yourself for potential law suits but is also it less stressful for your team and the patient when everyone knows the who, what, where, when, why’s and how’s about the treatment.
- Trying to do it all: This is a huge problem I see across the board. Are you not delegating tasks that your team members can do for you? Whether it is making the temporaries, changing light bulbs, or paying the bills. You can not do it all. Take the time to invest in your employees to train them to be able to do the tasks to give you more time to do production based tasks. It may take your time to personally train your team or it may take investing in a class or seminar to train the skill. The same is true for Docs that will cancel a few hours of production to fix the toilet themselves rather than hiring a plumber. Hopefully you know how much you need to produce each day to be profitable. If not I urge you to know that number. Break it down to an hourly rate. That number will speak loud and clear to you that you are not saving much money trying to do it all. You will not get that time back in your schedule. Once it is gone it is gone. Give tasks to your team and hire professionals to do your maintenance. (PS: no-one wants to see their dentist hands in the toilet and then in their mouths a few moments later) DELEGATE! Your team will appreciate your confidence in trusting them and the chance to learn something new.
- Putting off treatment: You have a patient in the chair and you are just done with doing any more composites! If you have the time in your schedule, just get it done. Filling up your schedule with little appointments will give you that feeling of the “RAT RACE.” Have positive thinking like “I am going to finish this” as if you were running a marathon. It is all in your mind set. If you think you may need diagnostics casts take them right away. If you have a prep appointment and are not sure if the tooth will need endo or not…take the impression anyway. Having these patients come back is wasting chair time. You may waste some impression material and trays but every minute of chair time counts. Like Nike says “Just DO It!”
- Not writing up treatment plans right away: You have had the new patient exam or the comprehensive exam for a current patient. It is now days later and you are now sitting down to write up that treatment plan. Hmmm, how will you remember everything? Maybe not! Will you need time to refresh yourself with this case? You bet! Schedule time at the end of every day as admin time to be sure you are completing this task daily. Your treatment plan is the road map of the treatment. This will eliminate you ending up on detours and wrong roads that will only have you “spinning your wheels” and creating issues with your schedule and diagnosis. Not remembering the patient wanted whitening or that his/her biggest issue was a food trap area and then never addressing this in your treatment will not only look like you don’t listen but you are also losing out on treatment (money in your pocket).
- Not enough tray set ups: Unless you can afford a sterilization assistant be sure to have enough tray set ups to complete a full morning of hygiene or restorative patients. This would be the same for hand pieces, ultrasonic tips, or any other equipment needed for treatment! Why stress out over whether that electric hand piece is going to be out of the sterilizer in time? Or why have your schedule run behind because your assistant had to get the sterilization room in order to have enough instruments for the team?
- Running behind: Have a standard of what you expect from your team. You should not have a patient wait more then ten minutes. Make sure you are getting to your hygiene exams promptly preferably before the last 15 minutes. End your morning huddles 5 minutes before the first scheduled appointment and start patients on time after lunch. If you are running behind often, take a look at your block scheduling. Track your time for procedures for a week and adjust block times or evaluate what it is that is taking longer. Evaluate if a new material or technique could be faster. If you have patient’s waiting make sure you engage with them so they know you have not forgotten them. Ask for their permission to keep them waiting or to reschedule. if patients are not at the office and you know you are running late give them a courtesy call. Apologize and keep track of who you were late for and why. By keeping your patients informed they are more likely to be understanding and appreciative of your concern.
- Emergencies: Do you expect to see all emergency calls the same day they call? Are you worried what they will think if you make them wait? Set up a triage protocol and train your staff on how you want certain types of emergencies to be handled. This will eliminate the need for constant personal and schedule interruptions throughout the day. Do not be afraid of not putting Mrs./Mr. MyToothIsSharp into your already full schedule. Sometimes it is ok to have them wait, especially if they are not a compliant patient. Set time in your schedule daily to address true emergencies and have direct instruction that it is understood to not fill this emergency appointment with anything other than an emergency.
- Team issues: I saved the best for last! Be sure to be a leader and if you are not a leader hire someone to do the job. Having the arguments “work themselves out”, ignoring a toxic employee because they are good at their job, not having regularly scheduled performance reviews, all lead to breakdown in a team. If you notice tension you better believe that your patients do too. Why have this stress? Do your homework up front to set up your office Policies, procedures, job descriptions, and expectations. I recommend CEDR Solutions for this daunting task. CEDR is a company that works with dental offices to draft office manuals. They also offer support for you to implement your manual if you are not capable of doing this yourself. It is like having a Human Resource department without the huge cost. The logo below has the link to their website. Let them know I sent you so they take extra special care of you.
Did any of these sound like you? I am sure maybe one, some, or even all may have. My point in bringing these items forward is to create awareness and give opportunities to end the rat race and stress. You deserve to have a great day every day! As a current team member I recognize and appreciate how changing even just one will have a great impact on your team. Having a full lunch, getting out on time, having clear direction and knowing what is expecting of me in my position goes a long way. Take a step back and evaluate. You will be glad you did. I am also available to do on site Consulting. It does sometimes take an unbiased view to evaluate, and address the issues. See a recent testimony from a Dr. that decided he needed help elevating his team from GOOD to GREAT! Call me for a 15 minute no fee consultation. 520-981-0737 I am passionate about helping you and your team succeed. I excel in clinical, treatment acceptance, social media and webpage design. Ready to roll up my sleeves!!!!
“I met Ms. Susan Ketterer from research on Linkedin and then hired her and Debbie Seidel-Bittke, owner’s of Dental Practice Solutions. I wanted an experienced Dental Consultant to look at my Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Practice and see if recommendations could be made.We spoke a few times on the phone/email and they came to New York & to the Bronx for almost a week to work and advise me and my staff. Many issues and topics were discussed with me and my team individually and as group. I found Ms. Ketterer very knowledgeable and easy to work with; as did my staff. Being in business for almost 35 years and not one for change easily, I saw things that would benefit my practice from idea’s of Susan’s as did the staff. Susan was patient with everyone, who only knew my way!! The communication between reception and treatment area’s were shown to need some changes; as was the phone and how its answered and messages taken. Susan worked with the team to show better ways in all aspects. Susan and Dental Practice Solutions worked with me & the staff on billing issues, the importance of Team Meetings and many other things that could be better approached. I will continue working with Ms. Ketterer and Ms. Debra Seidel-Bittke of Dental Practice Solutions throughout the year. I highly and without any reservation recommend them for any Dental Practice need. They give more than 100% of themselves and always do it with a smile!! ”
~Dr. Bartley R. Labiner
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Make it a great week!
~Susan
Remote training, In Office training, Increase efficiency, Team Coaching,Web page Design, Social Media, 20+yrs Administrative, Clinical Experience, Dedication, Results that stick, High quality Patient Care, Success
Discloser: I am an affiliate to Cedr Solutions
Susan Ketterer Consulting 