Hello Friends,
How is your first quarter looking so far? What are you doing to ensure this is a healthy and productive year for you, your office, and your team?
“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.” – Walt Disney
Here are a few Practice Management and Leadership Tips and Ideas for February.
February is National Time Management Month: When was the last time you reviewed all your office systems and protocols to ensure that you’re using your time efficiently and effectively?
If you’re often running behind schedule, investigate as to the reason(s) why. If you know the why… change whatever it is causing you to stray from the schedule.
“You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don’t decide, others will decide for you.” – Tony Morgan
Arrive at the office with plenty of time before the first scheduled patient, expect your patients to arrive on time, never wait on hygiene exams, calculate the actual amount of time it takes to do procedures, control the schedules, these things will help you stay on time.
Doctors, if you would like to grow and improve your dental practice and have wondered what it might be like to work with me and what coaching is all about… please feel free to reach out to me to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation coaching call at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.
Reappointments and Reactivation – Now is a great time to reach out to your unscheduled patients both active and inactive patients.
Rather than just calling to ask if they would like to schedule an appointment, use this occasion to simply check in to see how they’re doing and let them know you’re thinking about them. This is about building and strengthening relationships.
Take advantage of the different methods to reach them – telephone, text, email, letter/care, and your social media pages. You’re planting little reminder seeds that you are still here for them during these crazy times.
Here is an idea: February 24th is Forget Me Not Day – This is a day to remember family, friends, loved ones, and unscheduled patients.
Remind your patients to not forget to schedule their all-important dental cleaning, examination, and oral cancer screening!
Friends, do you know how many of your active patients have a future appointment and how many do not? Do you know how many new patients you are welcoming into the practice AND how many patients you’re losing each month? To help you get that data quickly, like within minutes – if your PMS is either Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental you can request a complimentary, no-obligation practice data snapshot here: Game-Changing Awareness from Dental Intelligence – Within minutes we’ll identify your practice’s strengths and uncover hidden opportunities. I am happy to assist you with this at no charge and with absolutely no obligation to do anything further with me.
Telephones – As a team, create your Telephone Principles (scripting guidelines) which include your goals & expectations for each call.
Practice, Practice, Practice how to effectively handle different types of calls and questions until you feel comfortable. A few tips:
- Answer the phone during hours/days that patients are most likely to call.
- Avoid putting callers on hold – first, find out who it is and how you can help them.
- Call Steps: Smile, Reassure, Get Name, Discovery, Relationship Building & Scheduling.
- NP’s – Always get their referral source. Also, ask if they have any other family members that they would like to schedule an appointment for.
To learn more, see: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2020/01/30/dental-office-telephone-principles/
Insurance Claims – Send out clean claims with the correct information, provider, date of service, xrays, attachments, documentation. Your goal is to not have any unpaid claims sitting out there past 30-60 days. What does your insurance aging report look like? (Did you know that your collection percentage drops significantly after 90 days past due? Over 120 days past due it drops to about 30% – you lose a lot of your money the longer these claims sit out there.)
For Dental Marketing Tips and Ideas for February visit here: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2021/01/05/dental-office-marketing-tips-and-ideas-for-february-2021/
As always, wishing you the very best!
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Yours for Greater Success,
~Betty
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