Advice for the Treatment Coordinator – Motivate parents to accept treatment for themselves. Set a target of having 15% of parents receive orthodontic treatment along with their children. Encourage …
Institute procedural time studies.
Institute procedural time studies. Orthodontists and team members often have a false impression of how long procedures take. They need to better understand the length of time that each treatment …
Script every patient interaction.
Script every patient interaction. Scripting helps orthodontists and team members communicate more effectively with patients and parents. As in sports, working from the same “playbook” builds team …
Advice for the Orthodontist – Assign responsibility for each target.
Advice for the Orthodontist – Assign responsibility for each target. Every target must be “owned” by the doctor or a staff member. Practice leaders shoulder ultimate responsibility for practice …
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Offer patient financing as a payment option.
Offer patient financing as a payment option. An outside financing company approves the parent or patient for a line of credit or a loan. These approvals can be achieved today within a few minutes by …
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Create a systems manual.
Create a systems manual. Up-to-date documentation for all systems should be gathered together in one place—a systems manual. This is an essential reference for the entire ortho practice. Among other …
Ask patients and parents for feedback.
Ask patients and parents for feedback. Many orthodontists and teams have only a vague notion of how patients and parents truly feel about their practices. Without specific data, patient satisfaction …
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Advice for the Orthodontist – Have lunch with a team member.
Advice for the Orthodontist – Have lunch with a team member. To learn more about your staff members and to give them a better sense of what motivates you, meet with them individually to share a meal. …
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Work with other team members for smoother “hand-offs.”
Work with other team members for smoother “hand-offs.” Usually, where your work ends, someone else’s begins. These “hand-offs”—when patients, tasks or procedures are transferred to other staff …
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Manage the afterschool crunch.
Manage the afterschool crunch. To encourage more morning appointments, ortho practices can offer 10% courtesies for parents to switch afternoon appointments to mornings. Potential candidates include …
Advice for the Front Desk Team – The phone matters more than ever.
Advice for the Front Desk Team – The phone matters more than ever. Get the patient-practice relationship off to a great start by impressing potential patients and parents with excellent verbal skills …
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Start your day the right way.
Start your day the right way. Every practice should hold 10-minute Daily Business Meetings. The benefit of these morning meetings is that they keep everyone on the same page, create an opportunity to …
