Delivering Clinical Services in a Customer Service - Jennifer de St. Georges International Inc.

JdSG's Practice Resource Centre (PRC)

… Gateway to Excellence

3. Delivering Clinical Services in a Customer Service Environment

Dentistry is a service industry. Clients (patients) rarely judge their dentist and team by evaluating his or her clinical expertise. Providing exceptional service, along with clinical excellence, is critical to patient retention and referrals. A very important part of the overall patient experience revolves around the level of communication at the chair from the doctor, hygienist and clinical staff.

JdSG International Inc., is honored to have Clyde Schultz, DDS, who has practices in the States and is currently coaching clients in the USA and Internationally.

Our consulting hygienist, Laura Mallory-Sayre, RDAEF’s reputation is second to none in the hygiene community as her CV shows. Mary Ann Michel, RDA has built a wonderful reputation for helping clinical teams elevate their clinical expertise and patient relations so the dental team and patients can relax and enjoy the visit.

Focus:

Doctor and Team
Clinical Services
Patient Relationships

QUIZ

Do you find yourself losing production and/or canceling patients due to equipment failure/repairs?

A. Never
B. Once in a while
C. Frequently
D. Currently it is a problem for us
How often is the intra-oral camera used in the practice by the doctor?

A. 4-5 times per week
B. With every new patient
C. I haven’t taken the time to hook it up
D. I don’t have one
How often is the intra-oral camera used in the practice by the hygienist?

A. Only with new patients
B. Frequently
C. It is on a cart and we forget to move it around
D. Room is not equipped with intra-oral camera
In your hygiene department, what percent of the practice’s restorative treatment is being generated?

A. 30% - 35%
B. 20% - 25%
C. 10% - 15%
D. I am not sure of percentage
Do you have computer terminals?

A. In all treatment rooms
B. Hygiene only
C. Hallway or other clinical common area only
D. No terminals at chair-side

Hygiene Department:

How many minutes do you wait for the doctor to do the examination?

A. Never, the doctor comes in when convenient for him/her
B. Less than 5 minutes
C. 10 minutes or more
D. I am always behind because of waiting
How often do perio patients hear, “Your insurance won’t pay for this visit”?

A. Seldom - never
B. Occasionally
C. I am not aware of when this happens
D. Every day

FAQ

Q.	I can’t afford a second assistant, and yet I seem to be either waiting on the assistant or working by myself. How do my colleagues afford multiple assistants?
A.	Affording a second assistant has two aspects to it: Financially, are you able to sustain one. Emotionally, are you prepared to make a commitment to the future. If you are producing around $24,000 per month with one assistant, and assuming your patients are saying ‘yes’ to treatment, then hiring the second assistant should take you to $30,000 within a month. That means the second assistant comes at no charge, as wages and benefits are paid out of the additional $6,000, which would not have been produced were it not for the second assistant.
Q.	My doctor has a favorite room and it seems as if he is always asking me to switch patients around. What can I do to discourage this constant moving of patients?
A.	As long as the doctor has a favorite room, the practice is creating a bottleneck: creating stress and less production. All treatment rooms should be a mirror image of each other.
Q.	I just had to throw out several hundred dollars worth of supplies with outdated expiration dates. How do I get my staff to check inventory before ordering so that there isn’t so much waste?
A.	Talk to your dental supply house … the top ones have representatives who provide their customers with systems and protocols to ensure that this does not happen.

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