By: Debra Quarles
Salt DPM Consultant
Part 1 of 2
Mitchell Zuckoff,
author of Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most
Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II, tells a haunting tale.
On May 13, 1945,
twenty-four American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sight
seeing trip over the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea. When the
plane crashes only three survive. Injured and starving, the survivors hunker
down in a lush, green field and wait for help. It seems there is no easy way to
rescue them. Days pass. The army is unsure what to do. Japanese soldiers may be
hidden in the jungle and there are thought to be cannibals who inhabit the
valley. Finally a decision is made. The army doesn't know how to get the
survivors out, so instead they send in more men, paratroopers. The initial
group, who are hungry beyond belief, are stunned when one of the paratroopers,
a medic, reaches down and pulls up one of the plants that surround them. For
days they'd gone hungry because they didn't realize they were standing on a
field full of food, sweet potatoes to be exact. The group is at least saved
from starving. Eventually, with no other choice, they all walk out of the
jungle on their own.
This same story is
carried out in dental practices every day. Often, when we have a problem we
wait too long to fix it, worrying about the hidden dangers that might lurk.
Sometimes we think the answer is to "throw" more people at the
problem - which might mean hiring a new team. And many times the answer is
right below our feet and perhaps there is even someone in our group who knows
it. Hopefully, at some point the team realizes they must do something to save
themselves.
Identifying the challenge:
Trendsetters are
monitored closely. Merchandisers want to know what the next big thing is going
to be. If it is discovered that a certain kind of shoe is the next rage, buyers
for department stores want to have it in stock. Reacting to trends in your
dental practice is not so different. You want to identify the trend quickly and
be prepared - proactive versus reactive. The challenge seems to be when you are
proactive it means the situation barely exists. Many do not even consider the
challenge important until they've finished the month and recognized the goals
were not met or bills, paid.
Why do we clean our
medicine cabinets regularly? Because medications lose effectiveness or might
even cause a health problem. Why should you look at your systems regularly? The
same reason. Your current system may have lost its effectiveness with patients
or might even be killing your practice.
For example: We see
the patient in hygiene. The hygienist explains how important frequency is along
with a myriad of other thoughts. She releases the patient to the front desk who
schedules the patient for six months and lets the patient know that if the
appointment doesn't work, "just call us". No commitment to
appointment, no value to frequency.
Let's get proactive.
Say your practice is experiencing a large number of cancellations and no shows.
Is your response to say, "We are having a rough week, I bet next week
people won't have the flu?" Or do you realize you must act now and check
to make sure you are consistent in the handling of cancellations and no shows.
1. Review your system.
2. Evaluate the dialog for effectiveness.
3. And/or try something entirely new.
When the system is
not giving you the desired results it's either lack of consistency or a system
in need of change. Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing
and expecting a different result. We can't make patients show up, but we can
control the creation of a short call list. We can't control illness, but we can
control our dialog regarding the importance of the patient's commitment to the
appointment.
And we can make
changes. Are you having difficulty with patients keeping the hygiene/exam
appointments? This has been a challenge for offices ever since the verbiage of
"it's just a cleaning" gained ground. It's not just a cleaning and exam. It's a hygiene appointment including oral
cancer screening, and periodontal evaluation. You will be checking for teeth
that are decaying, or cracking . . . it's important. Make it sound that way!
During the hygiene
appointments there is so much information given. Some patients will not be able
to remember it all, so before each patient leaves sit them up, look them in the
eyes and say the following dialog. "If there's only one thing you take
from your visit today, I would like it to be . . . you need us to remove
bacteria below where your toothbrush can get." Or, "you have
periodontal disease." Or, "we should see you in July." Leave
them with just one important thing to remember and they will.
Recognize that
sometimes the challenge with canceling and no showing is that the patients may
not really own their problem. Perhaps you need to give them additional
education in a unique format – a personally made video sent via email? Perhaps
the periodontist is needed to collaborate? Bottom line: don't sit and wait for
your situation to change, act.
Debra Quarles is a
coach/consultant with Salt Dental Practice Management. Savor success and learn
more at www.saltdpm.com or contact her at info@saltdpm.com.
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Article first published with Tri-county Dental Association.
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