Don’t let your cell phone activities disturb or distract you from patients and parents. Confine your use of cell phones to break times as much as possible. If there’s personal business you must attend …
Keep track of inventory.
Keep track of inventory. What’s hiding in the practice’s supply closet? Needed materials? Or items the office stopped using 12 months ago? Practices should take inventory semi-annually. This will help …
Thank parents and patients for arriving on time for their appointments.
Thank parents and patients for arriving on time for their appointments. Imagine a parent getting up early, dropping kids off at school, running errands and picking up their child from school to make a …
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Don’t delay following up on past due payments.
Don’t delay following up on past due payments. Call parents and adult patients when they’re one day overdue and ask them for a commitment to pay. Simply reminding them of their obligation will often …
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Advice for the Orthodontist – Be a motivational leader for your team.
Advice for the Orthodontist – Be a motivational leader for your team. Orthodontists who have a well-trained and motivated team will have the most successful practices. Figure out how to motivate each …
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Acknowledge your fellow team members.
Acknowledge your fellow team members. Surprise your co-workers by leaving a silly, fun, or inspiring note anonymously for them at the end of the day. When they come in the next morning and discover …
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Advice for the Treatment Coordinator – Motivate parents to accept treatment for themselves.
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 …
