Dental Tribune UK Edition, October 4-10, 2010, No.24 Vol.4

17Business Management TribuneOctober 4-10, 2010United Kingdom Edition nation of their diagnosis When you offer patients a treatment plan: 1. Provide any information sheets that you might have on their diagnosis or the treatment that you are offering them and include other useful sources, such as website address etc 2. Show them any visual aids you have, including video, ‘be- fore and after’ testimonials, for example, to help them increase their understanding and give them confidence that you can deal with their problem 3. Accurately explain what the costs are likely to be in order to reach the solution/outcome they are seeking 4. Tell them when payments are due and how you accept pay- ment. If you offer credit facili- ties, this is a good time to tell the patient 5. Tell them how long the proce- dures will take (in terms of car parking/time away from the of- fice, out of mobile contact pur- poses) 6. Tell them what to expect, dur- ing the treatment, and how they might feel afterwards including: whether they can/should drive, whether they should be accom- panied, whether they can expect to go back to work and function properly 7. Tell them what will be ex- pected of them before, during and after the treatment in terms of managing their eating/work/ social life 8. Give them a chance to ask questions in private and not at your front desk 10. Dedicate one of your team to them as a point of contact so that once they’ve had a chance to discuss their visit with family and friends, they can ask more questions or voice their fears. Alternatively, contact them yourself at an agreed time to ask them if they have any fur- ther questions My private hospital experi- ence got a lot better once I dis- covered that they had a ‘patient liaison office’, which although seemed like a well-kept secret, they were willing and able to answer my questions. Eventual- ly, their patience enabled me to say yes to their proposed treat- ment plan and my symptoms are now getting better. So, how about establishing a version of the ‘patient liaison of- fice’ in your practice, or dedicat- ing a member of your team to be a patient coordinator/care nurse who will help new patients un- derstand more about what is entailed in their treatment, and therefore more readily accept your treatment plans. DT CITANEST® 3% WITH OCTAPRESSIN DENTAL: Prilocaine Hydrochloride, Octapressin (felypressin). PRESENTATION: Sterile clear aqueous solution containing prilocaine hydrochloride 30mg/ml and Octapressin (felypressin) 0.03 i.u./ml. USES: Dental infiltration anaesthesia and all dental nerve block techniques. DOSAGE & ADMINISTRATION: Usual adult dose is 1–5ml. Children under 10 years 1–2ml. A dose of 10ml (6 cartridges) should not be exceeded. Elderly or debilitated patients require smaller doses. CONTRA-INDICATIONS, PRECAUTIONS, WARNINGS ETC: Contra-indications: Hypersensitivity to amide anaesthetics or any other of the solution’s components. Anaemia, congenital or acquired methaemoglobinaemia. Precautions: Caution must be taken to avoid accidental i.v. injection as it may give rise to rapid onset of toxicity. Use cautiously in the elderly, patients with epilepsy, severe or untreated hypertension, severe heart disease, impaired cardiac conduction or respiratory function, liver or kidney damage or poor health, if high blood levels are anticipated. Avoid injection if site is inflamed. Facilities for resuscitation should be available. Side effects: Extremely rare in dental practice and usually the result of excessive blood concentrations. Nervousness, dizziness, blurred vision, tremors, drowsiness, convulsions, unconsciousness, hypotension, myocardial depression, bradycardia and possibly respiratory or cardiac arrest. Allergic reactions. Methaemoglobinaemia; consider giving 1% methylene blue i.v. 1mg/kg over 5 minutes. Pregnancy: Use with caution during early pregnancy. Prilocaine enters mothers milk with no general risk at recommended doses. Interactions: With sulphonamides e.g. cotrimoxazole. Vasopressor properties of Octapressin should be considered. Observe caution when concomitant use with other amide-type local anaesthetics. PHARMACEUTICAL PRECAUTIONS: Store below 25ºC. PACKAGE QUANTITIES: Box of 100 cartridges. LEGAL CATEGORY: POM. PRODUCT LICENCE NUMBER: 04690/0028. DATE OF PREPARATION: February 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE PRODUCT LICENCE HOLDER: DENTSPLY Limited, Building 1, Aviator Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2PG. Adverse events should be reported to DENTSPLY or the MHRA. More information can be found at www.yellowcard.gov.uk. CITANEST® is a trademark of DENTSPLY International and / or its subsidiaries UKP00261 Citanest® 3% with Octapressin DENTAL prilocaine hydrochloride and octapressin corresponding to felypressin • Latex FREE and Adrenaline FREE, 40% less toxic than lidocaine* yet still provides the depth and duration demanded by routine dental procedures. *Handbook of Local Anaesthetic, Stanley F. Malamed Latex FREE Adrenaline FREE Worry LESS Available in Standard and Self Aspirating 2.2ml cartridges Now availablein 2.2ml cartridges DENT-Citanestadvert-aw19.indd 1 26/7/10 12:46:08 About the author Dr Simon Hocken is the founding part- ner of Breathe Business. He has a wealth of experience as a success- ful private dentist, practice owner and business coach, helping clients increase their turnover, recognise and act on developing trends, and find the perfect balance between their personal and profes- sional lives.Breathe Business is a unique leading coaching and consultancy company, which specialises in working with dental principals and their teams in order to devel- op and grow their practices, supporting them through the changes they wish to make to their business. Among an in- novative portfolio of services, Breathe Business runs Busi- ness Clubs and helps prac- tices develop and implement proven, effective strategies to have a steady stream of new and existing patients wanting to buy from their practice. If you would like some help with any aspect of growing your practice, call 0845 299 7209 or email ernie@now- breathe.co.uk. ‘Dedicate one of your team to them as a point of contact so that once they’ve had a chance to dis- cuss their visit with family and friends, they can ask more questions or voice their fears.’