How do you communicate with your dental team? I recently worked with a practice who struggles in this department. They’re not alone. Not only do they fight the intraoffice communication bout with each other, but they also can’t figure out why this lack of communication affects your patients. From informing the team when a patient has arrived, to when you’re ready for an exam to scheduling the next phase of treatment, intraoffice communication is one of the most important elements to running a successful dental practice. It’s time to clean up communication. Many dentists have tried to do this by purchasing equipment, software and technology. But, no matter how much money you throw at improving your practice’s communication, it will fail if you don’t have a system for implementing it.
In the early 90’s, we used our words to communicate. If you were fortunate enough to work in a practice that had computers and PM software, you were The Jones’! It didn’t do much but keep track of patient data and balancing the ledger. Before you get too excited, we worked with Softdent….DOS. Do Millennials even know what DOS is? As practice management software went at the time, Softdent DOS was the bomb.
We had paper charts and a paper schedule. Schedules were written out by hand. If any changes occurred, someone at the front desk would come to the back and cross out in red the cancellation and write in blue any additions. Every 40 minutes or so, Suzy Hygienist would find the doctor and let him know she was ready for an exam. The front desk would walk to the back to let us know the next patient was here. Let’s just say if pedometers were around, most of us would have gotten all our steps in. Can someone say waste?
As practice management software evolved, intraoffice communication evolved as well. How about the buzzer system? Remember the call lights and buzzers installed in the walls of your practice? I do! I still see them in some practices (if they still work). Some brilliant minds came together and thought, “it takes too much time to get up and go get….” Whenever you heard that buzz, everyone would look up at the lights. Don’t forget to clear the call though. It was good, but only one way communication.
Walkie Talkies have been around for a long time. From the Armed Forces to Hotels, two way radios have long since been a reliable source of communication in many industries. So why not dentistry? Well, it didn’t take long before dentists utilized them in their practices.
Huddle Worksheet. An editable version of this document is available in the digital download section of the Guide to Maximizing Productivity. (Look below for a surprise!)
Practice Management software has gotten good over the years. Paperless practices have integrated software like Weave and Yapi where all communication is done via computers because let’s face it, computers are everywhere. The intention was to make intraoffice communication better. But, it’s not perfect. The better we communicate, the better the patient experience, right? Well, let’s investigate.
Ready……...break! Morning huddles. In football, a huddle is an opportunity for the team to briefly get together and discuss the next play. In the world of dentistry, a morning huddle is designed for the entire dental team to meet and briefly discuss your daily game plan. How many of you perform a morning huddle? In my opinion, a morning huddle is the most important communication of the day.
There were and are so many ways to communicate in your dental office but the only way it works is if everyone is speaking the same language. Some say protocols, but I prefer guidelines. It’s the detailed plan to setting standards or determining a course of action. The guideline you use in your dental practice must be implemented or they or your practice WILL fail. Remember when you said you wanted to grow? You said to yourself, “what is preventing me from getting to the next level?” Whatever tool you use to communicate, it’s absolutely critical to establish GUIDELINES if you want to do it well.
You may be saying to yourself, “We communicate well with each other and our patients without any guideline, we just know it and do it.” Is that right? What do you know? When you create a standard of communication, you will see growth. I guarantee it!
When I’m doing a Reboot training, coaching a dental practice on clinical efficiency, improvements don’t end there - I also build a road map for success in the practice by creating guidelines for both the dentist and for the team. All radio commands - 7 words or less! That’s called Reinvigorate Training. From intraoffice communication to a New Patient tour, the guidelines are the same for all staff members. When do you expect your hygienist to call you for an exam or better yet, what would your hygienist say? If you all don’t have the same answer, than you have no guideline. For a sneak peak at some of the guidelines in our dental practices, I invite you to get a copy of Dr. Ahearn’s Guide To Maximizing Productivity at www.desergo.com/g2mp/. Request a book and you will have access to our many downloadable checklists.
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Take dentistry out for a second. No matter where I go, I’m always observing flows. My psychiatrist calls it a condition (just kidding I don’t have a psychiatrist). Last week, I returned a rental car from a great two-day Reboot Training adventure in Colorado Springs to catch a red eye. Offsite airport car rental agencies aren’t fun because A. I can’t predict when a shuttle will be there to take me to ticketing and B. I have a hard time waiting for other riders, whether they’re getting on or off or C. I just can’t be in control. This time, a shuttle was available right away and it’s a good thing because I was short on time. Ten minutes into the ride to the airport, the driver turned around and drove back to the agency. Why, you ask? BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE LEFT SOMEONE’S LUGGAGE ON THE REAR OF THE TRUCK!! Meanwhile, the few of us on the bus needed to catch flights. Where was the communication? How do you forget that? He had no checklist and no communication with the customer. He got an earful and no tip (I made the flight in case you were wondering).
Can we all agree communication is a big, hairy deal? If you haven’t already, write out your guidelines. Don’t think that if you have one written, you’re off the hook. When is the last time you verified the protocol? Do you just trust it’s being followed? I could coach a basketball team and just give them the play book and expect them to win a tournament, right? No! We have to practice it! It’s a discipline and a GREAT staff meeting. No matter what, guidelines are vital in providing clear, transparent standards that everyone can follow. Write out your communication guideline and practice it. Reinvigorate your practice. Ask for help if you need to. It’s game time!
