Dr Michael Sernik, August 2003 - “The more you know the more you need to know”. When it comes to Dental Practice Management this saying really rings true. Gone are the days where a successful practice can simply hire junior staff, spend one day on basic training and expect a smooth business operation. With expensive computerised equipment, strict sterilization protocols, computerised banking, computerised records and scheduling, database marketing, maintenance of a recall system, a tickler file, more complicated health insurance arrangements and the list goes on. Of course, you can elect to resist all these changes and try and keep it simple, but there is a trend out there and its getting more complicated every year, like it or not.
It’s getting harder to just be a dentist and leave the rest to staff.
When it comes to delegation, most dentists fall into one of three categories:
Some dentists use job descriptions in the hiring process, but very few use job descriptions in the same way as progressive businesses use them.
In the commercial world, it’s standard practice to use job descriptions in tandem with an integrated process of delegation and accountability for all tasks. This process allows leaders to lead, and managers to manage.
For every position, there needs to be a written job description, a protocol for measuring results, reporting on those results, accountability and a possible reward system for achievement (rewards do not have to be financial).
For example, your chair-side assistant might be given a goal of collecting personal information from patients in order to increase the personal bond with the patient. Many patients will be more loyal and keep returning to the practice that ‘knows’ them, even if they move out of the area. At the next staff meeting, the staff member who has collected the most information could be recognised with a prize such as tickets to the cinema. When you think about it, there are many goals to target (collections ratio, cancellations, recalls, treatment plan acceptance, referrals, bad debt…the list is very long).
So now that you’ve been told will you do it?
There is a big difference between knowing what to do and doing what you know.
That’s precisely why big corporations use outside consultants. We can create compliance while minimising the effects of internal politics. Otherwise how would you approach your trusted employee with a new system designed to make her/him more efficient (and avoid upsetting them?)