10 Top Management Tools For A Successful Practice

Lois Banta
CEO & Founder Banta Consulting

Every practice most likely uses the management tools on Lois’ check list below. But … I believe, from time to time, we slip away and don’t use them consistently. Using these tools consistently will bring your practice more organization, profit, growth, and ultimately more fun for your team. I suggest you print this list, keep it handy and stick to it. Thank you Lois for sharing your “Tools!”

10 Top Management Tools For A Successful Practice

By Lois Banta

1. Design systems and protocols for a good foundation of production and collections.
2. Hire and train for positive attitude and acquire great teams with a dedication towards customer service and effective communication.
3. Hold a “morning huddle” every day to check in on the pulse of the practice and address day to day concerns before they become major issues.
4. Strategize each week by holding team meetings.  Set a theme for each week of:
   1. Cross training
   2. Analyzing monthly numbers
   3. Continuing Education
   4. Role play – practice communication for patient questions.
5. Choreograph schedule for optimal productivity.
6. Get the money off the books and into the bank quickly.
7. Utilize excellent customer service…patient’s impression of you begins on the phone.
8. Sharpen your clinical and practice management skills often by attending and participating in select continuing education.
9. Inspect what you expect.
10. Have more professional fun and find your “internal giggle.”

Lois Banta is a Dental Consultant Connection (DCC) consultant and is CEO, and Founder of Banta Consulting, Inc., established in 2000.  Lois is also the owner and CEO of The Speaking Consulting Network.  To learn more about Lois Banta, please visit http://dentalconsultantconnection.com/consultant_bio4.php or call (727) 447-4756.

 

Are You Struggling Outside AND Inside?

Rachel Wall, RDH, BS, Founder & President Inspired Hygiene, Inc.

Rachel Wall, RDH, BS, touches on a very important issue when it comes to presenting dental treatment. Believing in the true health value and, very importantly, the monetary value of the treatment you are presenting plays a critical role in case acceptance. 

By Rachel Wall, RDH, BS, Founder & President Inspired Hygiene, Inc.

In my coaching and live events, I always talk about the critical task of ‘Finding Your Why’. In fact, I have an entire course I teach on the concept of finding the deep down reason why you recommend a power brush over a manual brush, just for example. Or why you recommend perio therapy rather than a prophy when you see active infection.

The next step is to clear up any internal struggles you have with the treatment you recommend.  One of the concepts we learned at the Mindset Retreat is this:

If there’s a struggle on the inside, there’s always a struggle on the outside.

So how does this translate to you as a dentist, hygienist or office manager?  If you have a struggle on the inside with the cost of a procedure or you’re just not sure it’s necessary, there will always be a struggle recommending and enrolling it.

So if you have an internal conflict about the value of a crown, you may know in your head that it’s a valuable procedure but in your heart you may still think ‘why can’t we just do a filling that would last awhile and cost a lot less’. You’re not alone.

My advice is that you MUST find out the answers to those internal questions. You must get the information you need to resolve that internal struggle. Because if you don’t believe in the care you’re recommending, your patients won’t believe in it either.

If it’s an operative procedure, sit down with your doctor and have her explain to you why a crown is a better treatment than a large filling in that situation. If you’re a doctor, be sure you’re taking photos during the prep for all restorations. This will give your team a good, hard look at what’s really going on under that big, old filling. They can then see exactly how much decay is under it and how much tooth structure is gone which will give them the strong evidence needed to see why you recommend a crown.

And this is just one example. The same can be true for perio therapy, use of antibiotics with SRP, etc.

So the bottom line is, if you’re feeling an internal struggle when you are expected to recommend a certain service or procedure, find out what it is you need to resolve that. What do you need to know to totally believe in the value (monetary and health value) in that service!  Until you do, your enrollment may be a struggle.

Would you like more information on how to unlock the untapped potential in your hygiene department?  We are pleased to offer our popular CD, “Top 3 Secrets to Increased Hygiene Co-Diagnosis” absolutely FREE.  Please visit www.inspiredhygiene.com to order your free CD and to register for our free weekly e-zine where we share weekly practice tips to improve your hygiene department profits, systems and service.  Learn more about Rachel and how she can help you take your hygiene department to the next level at http://www.dentalconsultantconnection.com/consultant_bio27.php or call 727-447-4756.

Inspecting Your Indicators

Laura Jamison, Dental Practice Management Consultant.

Laura Jamison brings to light the importance of paying attention to your practice statistics and making decisions based on them – just as her son’s baseball coach determines his strategy in each game, based on team statistics. Thank you Laura for sharing this important reminder! Laura Jamison, dental practice management consultant, is a DCC consultant. Learn more about Laura and her services now at http://www.dentalconsultantconnection.com/consultant_bio9.php.

For more information, please call 727-447-4756.

By Laura Jamison

Baseball is an American passion. My son, Wil, is a catcher. He’s played since he was four years old and is now playing high school ball. His growth over the years has been guided by many coaches. One stands out to me. Kevin Alwan was manager for his 10 year old team. He was a quiet coach, always taking notes, recording statistics. When I asked him what he gained by keeping all of his notes, I was surprised by how much our styles in managing overlapped. He said, “I know I am not the best coach in this league. I am not even a good ball player. What I do have is information and that gives these boys an edge during every game. I keep track of each player’s batting performance. I can predict with certainty where the ball is going to be hit and in knowing that I can position my players. In addition, I can tell you with certainty, which plays the coach is likely to call next for the batter. So I am able to tell my batter what to prepare for.”  Statistics determine games. If you’ve heard about the story, Moneyball, you may know that the Oakland Athletics recreated the game by getting control of one tactic, getting each batter to base. Doing that one at a time, they won games!

What does this have to do with your dental practice? I have been consulting since 1986 and I do not know everything that there is to know in each client’s practice. What I do have is information. The practice numbers. Trends predict patterns. Patterns can be corrected. You just need to look at indicators from a period of time and know what the numbers should be and then find the way to make adjustments. Inspecting your Indicators can be the most important skill you will ever develop because it gives you clarity and a sense of control that your practice outcome can be directed. Confidence is gained by knowing this skill.

Let’s start with three key rules for managing by the numbers:

1. Business decisions can be made objectively or subjectively. I demonstrate subjective decision making by showing a Magic 8 ball. I ask it, “Should I give raises this year?” When I shake the Magic 8 ball and it says, “ask again tomorrow” most people laugh and grasp how silly this is. Why would you leave key business decision making to subjective process? Facts, figures, history, documentation is what will empower you.
2. One number means nothing until you have something to compare to. How did your practice do this month? Compared to what? Last month? The neighbor’s practice? In your practice you can compare goal to actual, 3 month or more in trends or apples to apples by looking at the same time frame one year ago.  It gives your analysis depth and dimension. If you only look at one month and find that you are short of goal, evaluate if that is the trend, how does it compare to last year? One number means nothing until you compare it.
3. The numbers will tell you if something is out of line. It is up to you to learn to compile, analyze and correct the pattern. There are tools that can be used to evaluate why certain trends exist. Go back through appointment schedules, new patient treatment plans, A/R reports to evaluate what did or didn’t work.

What practice indicators should be evaluated?

Office managers and dentists tell me that they choose not to look at their numbers because they are overwhelmed by how many there are. It’s true, it could become management of minutia. More detailed reports are only necessary if you see a problem in the basic trends that should be followed. They are:

1. Doctor’s production per day and per hour
2. Hygienist’s production per day and per hour
3. Collection percentage
4. Number of new patients
5. Case acceptance of new patients and patients of record
6. A/R aging
7. Overhead

Teams wish to be enlightened and can even be encouraged to take responsibility for numbers that they have the most direct impact over. Overhead should not be shared in depth with a team but it does surprise many to know that dental offices operate at 60-75% overhead. They may assume that the doctor takes home 90% of collected fees if they aren’t educated about this. Team members can even be held accountable for numbers when salaries are reviewed.  I was working in a client’s office recently and the dental assistant kept pushing for a raise despite the fact that the production for the doctor was less in 2012 than it was in 2011. She felt she deserved it. Fact of the matter is, the doctor previously had an assistant who was capable of working with the CAD Cam technology and this assistant was not. She had been given two opportunities to go away for training in 2012 and found excuses. Her skill level was not what the prior assistant’s was and yet she felt she deserved a raise. The practice could not justify raises for anyone because the practice had experienced a downturn due to the doctor taking more time using the CEREC machine herself in 2012 than in 2011.

These numbers can be requested from any office management software. I prefer my clients to use an Excel spreadsheet to show all of the above numbers in one snapshot. Once a trend is determined, request more detailed reports. Save yourself time and make it easy to track your trends with Revenue Goal Planner which can be ordered at www.rgplanner.com.

Numbers may not be your thing. It is an acquired skill. I do know this though, as with the baseball manager, I believe that managing is about knowing your numbers and inspecting your indicators. Keep it simple. In the end you will find that the drudgery of the numbers will set you free.