I recently read an article at http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2013/06/the-most-common-lies-dentists-tell-themselves.html?sponsored=topic3 discussing the common lies dentists tell themselves.
One of these lies that really stick in my craw was about dentists who say that scheduling for production is all about money.
Just like the author said in the article, I believe your dental scheduling should be all about scales of efficiency.
Many years ago, as a new graduate dentist, I marveled at the tales of dentists who saw thirty-six plus patients in a nine-hour day. A new mouth every fifteen minutes. I always wondered how they did this?
To me it made no sense.
I always thought, why bring someone back four separate times for four separate fillings? I always thought it would be speedier and more efficient to do four fillings at once in one sitting for that patient.
The reasons for doing this are simple.
- Less washing up
- Less set up and tear down time
- Less time waiting for needles to kick in.
- Better access of view through prepared cavities on adjacent teeth…
- Less overall time in the chair and inconvenience of just “going to the dentist!!” for the patient…
For the patient the advantages are:
- Less time taken to do the procedures
- Less time away from work or home
- Less times being numb
More treatment could be done in one longer appointment than in many short appointments.
This means that doctor’s time is spent more productively.
Longer appointments allow doctors to do more procedures in less time.
It is far less stressful on the doctor, on the dental assistant and on the patient.
This creates a very relaxed and comfortable environment.
Working fewer [in number] longer appointments rather than multiple short appointments also benefits the team.
- Less steri room time. Longer appointments means fewer instrument and treatment room change overs which means less steri room scrubbing…this is way, way, way, more efficient.
- Lower number of patient checkouts means that more time can be spent at check out with each departing patient. This results in stronger interpersonal relationships with our valued clients and greater acceptance of us by our clients. And therefore greater customer service!!
It is very difficult to run and operate a successful customer service oriented dental office if you’re churning through patients every fifteen minutes. There are just no economies of scale. Your clients will perceive your lack of sincerity towards them if you are providing services in a hurried environment. They’ll really feel as though they are being treated like a number, not like a friend or valued customer…
And that’s not good for business….
So many doctors out there confuse activity with accomplishment. The two are not the same. There are plenty of busy people out there getting no results.
Scheduling for production is all about, and I hate to use clichés, it’s all about working smarter.
But it is about results. Not activity.
And that’s what puts food on your table.
That’s what sends you home from work happy. Not cranky. Not worn out and burned out…
And that’s….that’s what it’s all about!!
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple easy to implement system I developed that allowed me to build an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me: david@theUPE.com
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