6 ways to improve your dental practice in 2017

What you need to know to make your practice great. A new year is an opportunity for new beginnings, a fresh start or looking at things with a different perspective. This year will provide insight on where your practice is excelling and highlight areas that can be improved.

Whether your goal is to increase new patients, increase collections or build your credibility, here are six ways you can shape your practice into an organized, well managed and productive office in 2017.

1. Update your office policies and procedures. Read each of them with fresh eyes and make updates where needed to improve the office processes as well as overall patient and employee flow.

2. Have your team practice asking for payment so they’re comfortable with this part of their job. Document new routines and make them official written policies to ensure every member of your team is on the same page, especially when asking for payment and handling late patients.

3. Remove the focus from insurance and place it back on the patient. If “what type of insurance do you have?” is within the first 5 questions, insurance is driving your office.

4. Include your staff in your 2017 goals. You can reduce office stress by opening the lines of communication and including the entire staff in discussions and getting their input.

5. Walk through both your internal and external marketing efforts. Are they working? What can be improved? Make the necessary changes to align with your intentions for the year. Look for ways to convert leads into scheduled patients.

6. Are your patients receiving the ultimate customer service experience? Develop a plan to drive customer satisfaction higher, receive new and positive reviews, and get even more referrals than last year.

The New Year is a new opportunity to improve upon things that happen within the four walls of your dental office. Your online presence and telephone skills are the first impressions of your dental practice—make sure you’re creating a great impression. Continual training is the way to keep your skills sharp and remind you of the important things that made you successful in your job. Just like clinicians need to keep their tools and skills sharp, so does the front desk team.

Front Office Rocks was developed as a resource to not only help dentists train new employees, but to also help those employees remain at the top of their game. If you work hard, offer great customer service, do your jobs well and always put the patient first, your practice can grow, no matter what is happening outside your office.