The ongoing challenge of... By: Carol Murphy, Editor

Some patients will always have a problem with your fees. The only remedy to that objection is to consistently fine-tune your time management skills to make sure you are utilizing every person’s time and skills efficiently in your practice.

As your patients are the life blood of your practice, their opinion of your practice is crucial. In addition to obtaining survey results, you might want to do what Dr. Howard Farran does in his Today’s Dental practice in Phoenix, AZ. His front office is equipped with “Getting to Yes” pads. Staff is instructed to write down every instance where they had to decline a patient’s request. All entries are reviewed at weekly staff meetings. If a particular situation continues to appear, adjustments are made to correct the situation. Your patient’s lives are continually in flux and your practice must continue to be aware and take action to accommodate their needs. The hours your practice is open should be a reflection of your patient’s needs.

Teach your patients well
With the increasing popularity and growth of the Internet, videos and DVDs, patients have grown accustomed to exciting visual presentations. Casey Education Systems, Inc., whose name has long been synonymous with exceptional patient education, now offers customized DVDs to help educate your patients on basic dental procedures as well as graphically demonstrate the latest cosmetic procedures.

Are consultants worthwhile?
Mention the words 'practice management consultant' and you'll immediately receive both positive and negative feedback. But practice management issues, especially dealing with patients and staff, are often very emotionally charged. It's difficult to distance yourself emotionally from issues you are involved in every day. This crippling lack of objectivity often leads to poor decision-making, more stress and lower profits.

A professional dental consultant can perform a comprehensive analysis of your practice–identifying areas of concern and providing feedback on financial, marketing and personnel. This will free you to perform dentistry and provide an unbiased, thorough and specific evaluation of areas that need some fine-tuning in your practice. Not only will the consultants identify the problem, but they also will help you develop strategies to more quickly achieve your objectives.

So, how do you select a consultant? In my opinion, selecting a good consultant can be just as stressful and prone to failure as selecting a chiropractor out of the Yellow Pages. It is extremely beneficial to get personal/colleague endorsements to locate someone you feel you can trust. Once you have narrowed your choices, based on your needs, talk with your colleagues about their experiences. DentalTown's online community at www.dentaltown.com, has posts from dentists across the country who freely give their honest evaluations on their experiences with consultants. You can easily find this information by doing a search on the message boards for a specific name or entering the keywords 'practice management' in your search.

Be sure to do your 'homework' in selecting a consultant who has basic philosophies that are in tune with yours. Spend time on the Internet researching your consultant and ask for references. Many consultants, such as Sally McKenzie, CMC, will actually guarantee a designated percentage increase in your bottom line profits as a result of following her suggestions for improvement.

Coping with No-Shows
In many practices, one of the toughest challenges is dealing with a rash of patients who either call at the last moment to cancel or simply do not show for appointments. In only hours a healthy schedule can turn into a disaster. The fact is it isn’t necessary to suffer with disrupted schedules if you and your staff develop a strict adherence to appropriate procedures. If you would like some practical advice from other dental colleagues on how they are coping/solving their no-show problems, please review the message board postings on page 34 of this issue. You’ll find a variety of solutions others have found extremely effective.