Happy New Year!
Resolve to do these 5 things in 2016 and watch your practice thrive.
- Empower and appreciate the team around you.
Team members who feel appreciated and like they have the ability to direct the course of their work with methods and techniques that best suit them (within reason) tend to be more productive and foster a more positive work environment. - Take control of your patient schedule.
We all know that at the center of any dental practice is keeping on top of the patient schedule. So have a system of appointment reminders, a list of patients to call when spots open up, and ways to make unavoidable downtime productive (catching up on paperwork, learning new systems, etc.) - Set specific and attainable goals.
Simply saying “Let’s grow our practice in 2016” won’t cut it. Goals such as reducing no-shows by 10% or increasing additional patient treatment acceptance by 15% are specific. You will know at the end of the year if you’ve achieved these aims and can track them as the year progresses, making it much easier to stay motivated to reach them. - Make sure you’re billing enough high end services.
Sure, it’s great to have patients who consistently come in every six months for a routine exam. But it’s not so great when those same patients, regardless of how much they need it, don’t accept further treatment. Bigger billing items, such as crowns, implants, etc. are necessary for healthy practices—and healthy patients. - Communicate with care and passion.
Re-read number 4. If that’s something you need to work on your patient communication may need a change as well. Don’t simply suggest the treatment your patient needs and hope for the best. Be proactive. Describe exactly why your patient needs the additional work—and the potential consequences if they ignore it. Show them you care about the future of their dental health and that you want to help them in the long run.
Bonus Resolution: Actually stick to these resolutions. Come on—we all know we’ve made resolutions in January only to have forgotten them by February. Let’s make this year the year our resolutions stuck!
