Can I afford that new practice fit out?

Dr Phillip Palmer, December 2016 

Whether you do, or don’t do a renovation or practice upgrade hinges on a number of things. It can be a stressful decision and one that shouldn’t be made lightly.

There are two key things you need to look at before undertaking any big business decisions:

1. You need to KNOW where your practice is at objectively. Rather than speculating that:

• I think my practice is performing well.
• I think my team are happy.
• I think I charge the right amount for procedures.
• I think my patients are coming back.
• I think my team are providing good service.
• I think I have enough patients in my practice.
• I think my clinicians are producing ok.
• I think my expenses are too high. You also need to know where your practice is at in comparison to industry benchmarks.

2. You need to understand the POTENTIAL for your practice. Understanding any gaps in your practice pinpoints opportunities for your practice to grow.

• FINDING OUT that your patients are not coming back for expected maintenance visits highlights what the practice is missing out on regarding active maintenance appointments.
• KNOWING that you are undercharging in comparison to fee benchmarks highlights opportunities for growth in income
• KNOWING that you could improve your leadership skills shows that your team could be managing themselves better
• KNOWING that you are struggling to get treatment acceptance in the new patient exam provides insights into opportunities to improve your communication skills.

As a practice owner, you likely attended dental school to learn how to perform high-quality dentistry. And while you developed excellent clinical skills, that’s where the education stopped:  

You weren’t taught how to run a business, or the financials you need to stay on top of: income, expenses, investments and savings
You weren’t taught how to lead a team
You weren’t taught how to communicate effectively with patients

-- The very skills you need to create a less stressful, team-managed practice.

Not being on top of any one of these aspects of running a dental practice can cause your practice to underperform, leading to slow growth, production declines and poor decision making as a result.

Prime Practice have developed an online tool to help pin-point what’s working well in your practice and any areas of weakness. You will KNOW objectively where your practice stands, where the potential lies and how to take advantage of the potential to take your practice to the next level.

The analysis will not only provide an objective evaluation of your practice, it will target where the opportunities lie, where you can improve and how to get there using over 20 years of management experience, and 30+ years of running dental practices to guide you with appropriate solutions to your unique situation.

Prime Practice has helped thousands of practices around the world. Find the gaps in your practice with our Practice Analysis.