But it just wasn't happening.
I’ve have hired a practice manager, but it’s a small practice and I couldn’t justify the resulting loss in income, especially as it was the early days of my practice ownership and money was tight.
Even when I was at the practice officially, I would be harassed by mosquitoes that really didn’t need my attention.
‘Steve, there is someone on the phone for you.’
I had that a lot. Usually it was people trying to sell me stuff I didn't need. Other times it was “surveys” and reps wanting to come round (although saying that, most of the reps just turned up out of the blue, and were surprised when I refused to see them). So something had to be done.
This was about the time I removed the concept of there being a difference between a receptionist and a dental nurse in my practice. All staff were trained to run reception, and whilst some staff spent more time on reception than in surgery, all staff got trained to the same level.
It certainly made holidays a lot easier.But that meant different people on different days dealing with the public. So I systemised everything. I developed a uniform way of doing all the different tasks and jobs the staff at the practice had to do. That way, staff new what to do and when to do it.
- They knew what to do with the annoying phone calls.
- They knew what to say to the patient who arrive 15 minutes late.
- They knew what to do to ensure the lab work would be in surgery for the time it was needed.
- They know how to answer the phone.
- They knew what to do with patient payments, and when to take them.
- They knew how to keep the appointment book full.
- They knew what to do about an appointment cancelled at short notice.
- They knew what to do when a nurse phoned in sick.
The staff became the practice manager. I want you to think about that for a second. The staff who ran the practice, also ensured that all the paperwork was ticked and that all the audits were done. Whilst they didn’t write all the policies and procedures—I did that, but once done the staff are in charge of maintaining them—they knew how to apply them.
After that I rarely went in on a Friday, and I never went in on a weekend. I usually took 6–8 weeks holiday every year and earn the income I wanted to earn. The only real paperwork I had to do were referrals, the usual mindless NHS box ticking and the yearly chore getting the accounts ready for my accountant.
Systems make your practice life so much easier, they did mine. And because the practice ran smoother, without me having to micromanage everything, it ended up being more efficient and making more money. Written practice systems allow members of staff to deal with situations whilst referring to known guidelines…. that you have pre-determined with their input. This means you know how they are going to react in a given situation, because you trained them.
As Paddi Lund would say: When a challenge arises, ‘Don’t blame the person, blame the system’.
If there’s no written system, your staff members are left to do the best they can, with limited resources. This will lead to people making mistakes, or bothering you in the middle of a surgical extraction.
Is this to say that written systems are the cure for all ills? Of course not, but they help considerably, especially when everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet
And whilst there are plenty of practice management packages out there, I haven’t seen one that specifically looks at systems. Most concentrate on getting you through a CQC inspection. Useful, but not when your 3.30’s crown has not turned up in the post.
Systems are why you get exactly the same tasting burger, with the same experience in Bangkok as you do London. Systems are how we are able to launch human beings into space. Systems are howNorman Schwarzkopf was able to wipe out the world’s fourth largest army with the loss of less than 150 American soldiers in Gulf War 1. Systems are what separates a good business from a mediocre business, a profitable business from a failing business.
So do you want your practice to be as good as it can be? Do you want to, as Chris Barrow once said,
“Earn more money in less time”?