Regulations on dental practices are changing in the midst of this pandemic. This makes it challenging for dental practices to operate at capacity all while getting teams up-to-speed with the various changes that have been made on the way they operate on a day today.
To get your practice up to speed we have come up with a few tips that will help you keep your dental office moving smoothly and relieve some of the pressure your dental team is facing. All in an effort to give your patients the best oral health care and take your practice further.
Who can work and when?
We want to see a full appointments list but at this time it is advisable to screen who can be seen in your practice and when. Profile your patients in order of who needs the most attention and how quickly a procedure can be carried out. This will help you clear the waiting room quicker and possibly have you seeing a desirable number of patients in a day.
Even more communication with your patients.
Fact! Patients cannot visit your inquiries desk. As such invest in constant communication with your patients. Have regular updates in the form of social media messages (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter). Keep patients in the know of any regulations that affect them. Also let patients know any change that will change the way they will be received or treated in your practice.
This extends to the way patients who do reach out to you will be treated. These are unsure times for a general person staying at home. Your team needs to be trained on tone and words to use so as to keep a patient calm. The last thing your practice needs is a flood of panicking patients with more questions than they had before.
What is an emergency and how will you take care of it?
It seems simple but to a patient anything unusual health-wise is an emergency. Your practice needs to have clear outlines of what constitutes an emergency. Once that has been done have a clear provision put in place for when such an emergency happens.
Make sure you have enough supplies for your scheduled patients
As patients start rolling in it is easy to get overwhelmed. Look at the supplies you need for the various procedures you have scheduled. Make sure they are enough to cater for all the procedures scheduled.
Expand your Services
At this point, you need to gain a competitive edge. Take the time to know and try and meet the need of the patient. This will ensure your practice has what the patient needs exactly when they need it. Saving you on time and making sure resources are channeled where they are needed most.
Customize your working hours
Your team can only take so much pressure before they start buckling under. You need to devise a timesheet that maximizes productivity.
- Create an effective booking system.
- Keep flexible hours that better serve patients in the morning or as the day ends give a break to you and your staff.
- Create patient policies that need 24-hour cancellation notices.
Reinvent your Scheduling Solutions
Online scheduling is your best bet now. Your patients cannot afford to come in and see you. They need to schedule their appointments online. Making this process as easy as possible keeps your practice efficient and wins you, new patients, easily.
If your practice can easily be found online and an appointment can be made your scheduling is top-notch. If not then this is a call to have a look at your online solutions and how they can be improved.
Conclusion
Your dental practice needs to realize its full potential. To do so you need to revamp the way you manage your schedules and your team. Though we are slowly recovering. Teams that coordinate and support dentists have been carrying on with their operations, take the time to visit some of their websites and see how you can get your practice supported.
