Is your belief system concerning treatment recommendations for procedures that are not covered by insurance impacting your case acceptance?
Recently, I visited an office who said they believe that fluoride is beneficial for adults as well as children. Yet, their case acceptance for adult fluoride was almost non-existent.
Read MoreThe first quarter of 2014 is already behind us - how are you doing with your goals for the year? Many practices wait until the end of the second or even third quarter to take a look at where they are for the year in comparison to their goals. They are missing an important opportunity for an early check in so they can make corrections, take a different direction or add some things that will make it easier to reach their goals.
Read MoreThere are three main areas in your practice that create success: systems, team, and technology. Focusing just on technology, I've noticed that many practices are not taking full advantage of the technology that they have. Two common examples include practice management software and patient communication technology, such as Smile Reminder, Lighthouse, or Patient Activator.
Read MoreAsking questions is one of the most important skills that any member of your team can learn. Really getting to know your patients will help you build stronger relationships, increase your patient's trust and case acceptance, and improve their overall feeling about the care they are receiving.
Read MoreThere are three types of team members, and each has a profound impact on the overall success of your practice.
Read MoreDo you talk to your patients about benefits? Not insurance benefits but, instead, the extra value that they receive as a patient in your practice. Many offices provide great value for their patients, but sadly, the patients often have no idea.
Read MoreHow you use your time is a key component in creating a successful dental practice. It’s not enough to just fill your schedule with patients – you need to also carve out time for business development. This is a critical step in reaching your goals and the level of success that you want for your dental practice.
Read MoreI want to start by wishing all of you a happy New Year. This is one of my favorite times of year because the year is fresh, and it gives me the opportunity to really think about new ideas and what I want to accomplish over the next year.
Read MoreA new patient's phone call to your office is the first time your practice can make an initial impression on potential new patients. This is such a critical area to master that we could spend an entire day talking about this topic alone. The following four tips will help you hone your phone skills so you can convert more of your new patient phone calls into scheduled new patient appointments.
Read MoreI spend a lot of my time in dental offices helping teams develop and implement strategies to take their practices to the next level. Many times, if a practice isn’t succeeding, when we go back to evaluate what isn’t working, I find it has to do with habits.
Read MoreYour insurance system is one of the most important systems in your practice. This is the system that makes sure that you’re getting paid by the insurance companies for the work that you're doing. I see many variations of the insurance system in the practices that I work with.
Read MoreIn many of my clients' offices I see various criteria used to determine when to make a patient inactive in the system. Usually these protocols are decided on the fly by team members whose efforts to contact patients have gone unanswered. As a result, they move them to an inactive status to keep their patient list clean. I don’t like a long To Do list, and I’m sure you don’t either.
Read MoreAs we approach the end of 2013, it’s time to think about ways to finish the year strong. One way to do that is to encourage your patients to use their dental benefits before the new dental plan year begins. Many of your patients may not know that unused dental benefits are forfeited at the end of the calendar year. What better way to get patients to schedule appointments for annual cleanings, as well as to schedule needed work, than by reminding them that they have insurance benefits to use?
Read MoreToday’s tip is about new patient scheduling. It is very important when you schedule a new patient that you’re able to offer them an appointment time within 7 to 10 days of the day that they call you. When they call your practice, new patients have a high level of readiness for dentistry. So, it’s important to find them an appointment time in a timely manner.
Read MoreInsurance-driven patients is a phrase that I hear a lot when I’m talking to practices about the challenges that they have with getting patients to accept recommended treatment. I want to focus today on the question: "Why are our patients so insurance-driven?" I sometimes find that patients learn that from the practice. Here's what I mean by that.
Read MoreToday's tip is about a question I’m often asked: “How do I know when it’s time to add a team member to my practice?” A good rule of thumb that you can follow as your practice is growing is for every $50,000 a month of practice production, you need one full-time business team member and one full-time clinical assistant.As you grow past that $50,000 mark, you should consider adding a third person who can float between the business team and the clinical team.
Read MoreToday's video tip describes how to set your practice production goals. Many clients ask me: “How do I know what numbers to use for my daily, weekly or monthly production goals?” I help them determine this by looking at three things:
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