Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Practice Matters DENTAL TRIBUNE | January/February 20114A By Sally McKenzie, CEO Top 10 suggestions for 2011 The best thing about a new year is the host of new opportunities it offers. It presents the chance to cre- ate a new mindset and the occasion to renew your commitment to mak- ing the most of your career, your relationships, your strengths, your team and your practice. There is no better time to ask yourself, what are you going to do to make 2011 a perfect 10? I have a few suggestions to making this your most successful year in dentistry yet. No. 10: If you can see it, you can create it It’s called creating your vision and goals. In terms of the growth and success of your practice, as well as your own professional satisfaction, where do you want to be one year from today? Share this with your entire staff and involve them directly in spelling out the plan to ensure that every- one is aiming for the same target, namely, total practice success. Over the coming weeks and months, you and your team should work through various aspects, including: • improving communication skills and establishing dialogue, • providing a non-threatening forum for the team to evaluate strengths and weaknesses, • clearly defining jobs and respon- sibilities of every staff member, • assessing individual roles in the group and understanding how each contributes to the practice’s objec- tives, • developing specific team pro- cesses, such as decision-making and conflict management, • improving problem-solving strategies, • creating a culture of account- ability. In addition, schedule a two-hour team meeting for every month this year to identify the vision, goals and the strategy for advancing practice success in the coming year. No. 9: Take the broad goals and objectives and translate them into specific priorities that are individu- alized for each person For example, define the priorities of the business team. Spell out how each person’s responsibilities and objectives help to achieve those pri- orities and how they fit into the larger practice goals. No. 8: Open the lines of communication wide Feedback, celebrating progress, group problem solving and trouble- shooting all involve ongoing con- structive communication. Yet, it is more than keeping every- one informed. A culture of account- ability is built on a culture of open communication in which the cor- nerstone is a culture of respect and trust. Encourage staff to offer ongo- ing constructive suggestions, input and insights aimed at moving the practice forward. No. 7: Set the example for your team Pay close attention to your daily actions, behaviors and decisions to ensure they are consistent with practice values and priorities. Do not expect your team to follow you if you are not willing to live by the same principles and uphold the same standards that you require of others. No. 6: Cut the deadwood and enjoy smooth sailing Deal with the problem performers on your team. These are the people that you and your star performers have been carrying for far too long and at far too great an expense. There are few things more demor- alizing to top-flight employees than a boss who looks the other way when one or more members of the team consistently disregard office poli- cies, bring poor attitudes to work, generate conflict, make excuse after excuse for why they were late, why they were sick and why they simply cannot get their jobs done. Yet, the deadwood workers that everyone is stepping over and is forced to just “deal with” get the same pay raises, same vacation time and the same perks as top perform- ers on your team. Understandably, your capable staff will only tolerate this for so long. As Vince Lombardi once said, “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals.” You want a team of people eager to help you and your practice reach the pinnacle this year, not derail your efforts. Next, take a close look at practice numbers, starting with establishing a realistic financial goal for your practice. Let’s say you want to achieve $700,000 in clinical production. This calculates to $14,583 per week (tak- ing four weeks out for vacation). Working 40 hours per week means you’ll need to produce about $364 per hour. If you want to work fewer hours, obviously per hour pro- duction will need to be higher. Fol- low the steps below to get there. No. 5: Create a clear plan of action for production Establish daily production goals and schedule to meet those goals. Make certain that your scheduling coordi- nator fully understands exactly how much time is needed for each pro- cedure. You would be stunned how many business employees simply have to guess the number of units that should be allocated for procedures. Prescribe a treatment plan for patients that includes everything that needs to be done: appointments necessary, the cost of treatment, an estimated length of treatment time and any treatment options. Designate a treatment coordina- tor who is responsible for presenting treatment plans to patients and is expected to secure at least 85 per- cent case acceptance. • Implement an interceptive peri- odontal therapy program. • Provide superior customer ser- vice that will encourage patients to refer friends and family. • Each month run the year-to- date practice analysis report and compare it to the same period last year. Now consider what needs to hap- pen in the treatment room, which brings us to tip No. 4. No. 4: The patient needs what the patient needs, regardless of his/her circumstances Continue to diagnose patients’ needs and wants according to your practice philosophy, not on what you per- ceive they can afford. Present treat- ment plans that convey to patients that you are presenting options to address immediate needs, long-term needs and patient desires. In addition to recommending treatment according to both patient needs and wants, continue to edu- cate patients. Emphasizing the importance of oral health and its impact on overall health has never been more important. No. 3: Monitor and measure the individual areas as a team and study practice reports Regularly review key reports includ- ing the accounts receivables and out- standing insurance claims reports to monitor exactly how much money is owed to your practice. In addition, watch the details of your production, new patient flow and patient retention using the pro- duction report. Depending on your software system, this report may be called production by provider, prac- tice analysis or production by ADA Code. It is very useful for tracking new patient comprehensive exams. The production by provider report should also enable you to moni- tor individual provider production for each dentist and hygienist. It is important to track individual pro- duction numbers to determine pro- ductivity. Some systems will allow you to run a production forecast report that can be an excellent tool in deter- mining slow periods so that you can develop a plan of action to address the potential production shortfalls. In monitoring each area and dis- cussing the results, staff better com- prehend the impact of one system on another and on the success of the practice as a whole. They are then far less likely to sit back and watch problems continue, further strength- ening the culture of accountability and minimizing the “it’s not my job” mentality. No. 2: Watch overhead carefully The industry standard for overhead is 55 percent of collections. If you are currently at 60 to 65 percent, you are comfortably within reach. If yours is higher, take action. Some practices report their over- head as high as 85 percent. They are making a mere 15 cents on the dollar! The first step in controlling overhead is to establish the follow- ing budget targets: • Dental supplies: 5 percent • Office supplies: 2 percent • Rent: 5 percent • Laboratory: 10 percent • Payroll: 20 percent • Payroll taxes/benefits: 3 percent • Miscellaneous: more than 10 percent No. 1: Make this your best year yet Invest in your success. Consider working with a management consul- tant. I know of at least one consult- ing firm that has enabled practices to realize significant financial return throughout the recession, includ- ing major gains in collections, case acceptance, perio production and patient retention. Do your homework and pick the one with a proven track record. DT About the author Sally McKenzie is CEO of McKenzie Management, which provides success-proven man- agement solutions to dental prac- titioners nationwide. She is also editor of The Dentist’s Network Newsletter at www.the dentists network.net; the e-Management Newsletter from www.mckenzie mgmt.com; and The New Den- tist™ magazine, www.thenew dentist.net. She can be reached at (877) 777-6151 or sallymck @mckenziemgmt.com. If you want to work fewer hours, your per hour production will need to be higher.