With the ever-present COVID-19 pandemic, dentists are left asking themselves several questions: Will my practice survive this prolonged upheaval? Will I be able to retain my patients? Is it possible to keep my practice alive? How can I do all of this in the current situation? This article is here to show you, the valuable dentist, how you can stay operational and even improve your practice through any situation.
Keep your dental team well equipped.
Your dental team is the most important element of your practice. They cannot provide patients a well-rounded experience if they themselves are inadequately covered. In this regard, you need to make sure they have the best up-to-date dental equipment on hand.
During these uncertain times, staffing itself may challenge your dental practice in the short term. As a dentist, retaining well-trained staff who know your practice well will help maintain a cohesive workflow and, subsequently, increase productivity. To this end, we suggest delegating tasks only to the appropriately trained staff. Additionally, you may consider insourcing some elements of your process to relieve your team and optimize your practice.
Change tactics.
This is 2021, you cannot keep running your practice exactly as you used to before. You need to invest in new, innovative tactics that will not only keep you on par with your competition but enable you to surpass them. Employing these techniques will increase efficiency, ensure better patient retention, and even attract new patients to your practice.
Make your practice easily accessible to patients. With COVID, the risk of unnecessary contact may discourage your patients from making an in-person visit to your practice for a seemingly minor issue. To avoid this decline in a practice activity, you may consider providing virtual services. The use of chat rooms, online communication platforms, and social media will make your patients feel comfortable and reinvigorate your practice.
Update your patient database.
Now more than ever your patient records and database need to be updated. Recent limitations in the movement have likely worsened your ability to get firsthand information from your patients. To save time and limit contact, get your teams on the phones to update patient’s billing and personal information. Having correct and complete information on hand will make your practice efficient and safe.
Concentrate on preventative care
Admittedly, operational costs are often rather high, but you should still strive to remind your patients that the best way to avoid costly dental treatment is to maintain their preventative care. Your practice can look for ways to give your patients affordable dental care. Patients may run low on disposable income as health insurance agencies are overwhelmed with claims, so your success may hinge on running an affordable practice. You may consider an outside patient care financing program with your patients to avoid default on patient payments. Create regular preventative programs to maintain patient health and avoid costly, complicated procedures.
Reactivate your patients.
To run a successful practice, you need to evaluate your patient numbers. In these times of isolation, some patients feel stranded, confused, and are unsure how to reach them. Instead of having them reach out to you, take the initiative to reach out to patients that have gone cold on you. Find out if they need assistance and improve your existing client database.
Today, think of any patients who do not have their next appointment reserved as candidates for reactivation. Reach out to them and schedule a preventative care appointment. Your initiative could lead to an improvement in revenue and increased practice production. Your care and attention will assure patients of a safe and comfortable experience at your practice. When scheduling an appointment, remind your patients of the practice’s numerous financing options to help them afford quality hygiene and treatment.
In Conclusion
From office appeal to the advancement of your dental team, there are endless ways to increase the productivity of your practice. Dental support companies, like SupportDDS, make sure your practice sees tangible results in revenue, patient satisfaction, and practice productivity.
SupportDDS is a leading Texas-based in-sourcing company that provides virtual assistants and administrative support for dental practices. Moreover, we provide both short and long-term virtual outsourcing services customized to suit your business process needs.
