Image of a Dentist and satisfied patient with white teeth. What will set your practice apart in 2017?

What Will Set Your Practice Apart in 2017?

What Will Set Your Practice Apart is the quality of “customer service” your patients receive. Providing Great service in a Caring Environment will turn a First Visit into a Loyal Patient for years to come.

Your Patient’s Experience with your office isn’t solely based on what happens during their dental appointments. Their initial impression is formed during the first Phone Call or Email interaction. They form a deeper impression the moment they enter your door.

Here are a few, easy to implement, tips to take your Patient Experience from Good to Great!

1) Have phones answered before the third ring and by someone who has a smile on their face. It’s almost impossible to sound grumpy or overwhelmed when you’re smiling.

2) Verbiage Training is Extremely Important. Having your team trained to use identical verbiage will relieve all concerns about how your phones are answered. Examples: “Hello, Dr. Smith’s office, this is Mary, how may I help you?” Or “Good Morning, this is Dr. Smith’s office, Mary speaking, how may I help you?” or “Thank you for calling Dr. Smith’s office, this is Mary, how may I help you?”. It’s essential that all three components of this verbiage, be included when your phones are answered.

2) Patients should be greeted with a Smile and Hello within seconds of entering your practice.

3) If you are running behind schedule, have the patient updated every 10-15 minutes and it’s imperative the team member who seats the patient apologize for the delay. If the Dentist is aware of the delay, he/she may apologize too. This shows that you value their time and appreciate their patience in waiting to see you.

4) It’s Essential that You Include Patients in Conversations in the treatment room (unless they’re wearing headphones). If you think about it, it’s rude to talk over a patient. Try to involve them otherwise; it’s best to keep conversations treatment related.

5) Impress upon your Front Desk Team the importance having Personal Conversations out of earshot of Patients, or better yet, wait for break. This includes Personal Telephone Conversations. Patient’s should never hear these discussions.

6) When speaking with Patients about needed Treatment, it’s meaningful to sit and discuss treatment eye to eye. This builds trust. In addition, the patient is more likely to hear and understand what you say (in other words, please don’t stand over your patients and “tell them what they need”). It takes just a few extra seconds to sit at eye level while discussing treatment needs. This will make for a much better Patient Experience and as a bonus, your Treatment Plan Acceptance rate will increase.

7) Consider having All Post-Op Communication made by a Clinical Team Member, directly involved in the patient treatment (Hygienist, Chairside Assistant or Doctor). Hygienists would handle Post-Op Communication for Scaling and Root Planing, Full Mouth Debridement or a Difficult Prophy. The Dentist(preferably) or Chairside Assistant, should personally handle Post-Op Communication for Patients who had Invasive, Difficult or Lengthy Procedures (Endo, Extractions, Crown Preps, Implants, Difficult Restorations). It will take a couple of minutes of your time and make ALL the difference in the TRUST and LOYALTY your Patients show YOU and YOUR TEAM. People love it when their providers care enough to Call or Text to see how they’re doing. They likely expect to hear from your administrative team; Give them the Unexpected, let them hear from you!

Just as You serve your Patients. We are Here to Serve YOU!

Our goal is to provide you with the Tools and Resources you need to grow a Successful and Healthy Practice. What will set your practice apart in 2017? We would love to help you implement these systems and many others that will take your practice to the next level. To find out more or contact us:  https://thedentalbusiness.com/coaching-programs-services/

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All the best,
Mary

About Mary Fisher-Day

Founder and CEO of The Dental Business.

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