Professional Courtesy: Lean Into 2023 by Dr. Thomas Giacobbi

by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, editorial director

• Let’s start in the front office, where every patient experience begins and ends. Do your patients have the ability to communicate with your practice beyond making a phone call? At my practice, they also can text, email or send a message through our practice website.
• When it comes to collections, the gold standard is to collect fees when the patient is standing there, but we all know there are times when a statement must be sent after insurance has been processed. Can you send statements electronically to the patient’s email or cellphone via text with a link to pay immediately? This isn’t just about saving a stamp; the faster you collect an outstanding balance, the more likely you are to be paid. Sending a statement in the mail means your bill will be buried under a mound of junk mail and likely ignored.
• Speaking of mail, are you still receiving paper checks? If you haven’t started the process of accepting insurance payments via EFT, now is the time. Once again, you’ll get paid faster—and this system will one day be the standard, so the sooner you get used to navigating the process, the better.
• How are you handling new-patient intake forms? Are they digital, and can they be filled out at home and in the office on a dedicated tablet or computer? If not, you should start work on this process immediately, because the message you’re sending before the patient gets to the operatory is that your practice is not modern.

• How organized is your back office? When was the last time you cleaned out the drawers and cabinets? Dentists are frequently debating their overhead online, and this is a great exercise to find those lost percentage points of overhead. Once you’ve purged the office of equipment gathering dust and expired dental materials, you can add those dollars to what your income would have been last year if your approach to purchasing had been a bit leaner.
• Examine your setups and procedures for opportunities to make improvements. I’m not suggesting you run faster down the hall; rather, think about how additional training and efficiency will help you continue to be productive when you may be understaffed.