1. Make sure your team is delivering the right message
All members of the team need to be on the same page when it comes to the various benefits of the treatment options that you offer, as they need to be able to provide patients with at least basic clinical information when they make inquiries.
This is particularly important when it comes to treatment, as the modality can require a greater investment of time and money by the patient than other treatment options. If the team member they speak to is confident about discussing the process — regardless of who they are within the practice — this is more likely to instill confidence in the patient to proceed.
All members of our team are therefore trained to deliver the same response to certain questions. This standardizes the patient experience from the moment they ask about treatment through to appointment booking, clinical examination, treatment and on-going care. The team should also know how to explain differences between treatment options to patients who can either have the treatment performed by myself, or through a student clinic at a reduced cost and they are made aware of what each option would entail from the outset.
Not only does this standardization improve the patient experience, it also streamlines the experience of referring dentists. All members of the team can describe the different ways in which we work with referring practices and the state-of-the-art technology we use to provide a good service. This ensures complete clarity for the referring dentist from the very beginning, no matter who picks up the phone or deals with the email.
2. Know what’s in your Inventory!
It’s always good to be prepared for any patient who walks through the door, in particular potential patients, by ordering implant products in advance and in bulk. I find that if you have the components ready to go, you appear better organized and professional to the patient. It also means that treatment can be offered much quicker — the patient can take as much time as they need to make an informed decision, but once the decision is made, treatment can commence at their earliest convenience. Most people are happy with the efficiency of such a service and are less likely to shop around. To complement this, try to develop a good relationship with your dental laboratory, technicians and dealers. Further ensure a fast turnaround time for any prosthetic work requested.
3. Delegate and share responsibility
One of the greatest challenges of practice management is compliance with the ever-growing number of regulations. There is a lot of red tape to get through and while it is absolutely necessary, it does occupy considerable time. Balancing the administration tasks with clinical care is difficult — particularly for a smaller practice such as our own — but it can be achieved with careful management of the diary and delegation. A fairly new practice or a beginner, might not have a dedicated practice manager, but for those who do, this person can take on a lot of the compliance and daily management responsibilities. This allows the clinicians to focus more on patient treatment.
4. Make the most of positive patient reviews
In my experience patients trust other people’s reviews more than practice-led marketing efforts. The vast majority of new patients who come to our practice do so as a result of word-of-mouth, meaning we rely heavily on positive patient recommendations. Aside from this indirect method of promoting our practice, our website offers more information to support any details provided by the team to the patients.
5. Use trusted products and systems
Any practice small or big ,is initially set up with simple equipment and products that would streamline day-to-day processes. As your practice grows, try putting in most of the earning from your patients back into your practice. Get better equipment and if you are one of those practitioners who like keeping state of the art instruments then be proud to belong in that handful of doctors.
