Australasian Dentist Magazine March April 2021

Category Australasian Dentist 119 R unning a practice is demanding, but not as demanding as patients are getting. There are more practices, more pressure on fees, more stuff to know to be a great dentist. In the midst of all of this competitive pressure there are a few simple things you can do to stand out, to go “the Next Level Dental Care” and to add value to your patient experience and your practice that are easy and you can do immediately. Designing a great patient visit should be your first step. The “Sticky” patient The “Sticky” patient is one that loves the experience you create, comes back and tells others. Practices that ensure that their patients receive an ‘experience’ that is consistently seen as ‘better than the available alternatives’. Great patient visits don’t happen consistently over time just by chance – you have to work to create such a situation. The ability to get to this point is the sign of a great team and a well- conceived and implemented game plan. At a conceptual level, every dental practice follows the same basic steps when dealing with a patient visit, from the first contact (the first time a patient is introduced to your practice) through to departure. By understanding what these steps are, and what patients expect and/ or value at each step, your practice takes a critical first step toward designing the type of experience that will attract and keep more patients – the “sticky patient”. Remember that patients will use a range of senses to assess the value of the experience. You therefore need to manage issues such: u what patients see u what patients hear u what patients smell u what patients taste u what patients touch (e.g. comfortable chairs in the patient lounge). ‘Value’ means different things to different people, and even different things to the same person under different circumstances. But three elements that tend to make up a large part of assessed value are: u time – time spent in your practice is time that can’t be spent doing something that the patient probably finds more appealing, so make it count – this is your time to shine u money – value is much more than price alone, but price is important. Nobody likes spending more than they have to and, for many or most patients, the money they spend at your practice means they have to delay or forgo another purchase. So, explain the value as well as demonstrate it u worry and hassle – many of the things we buy are purchased to ‘take away a worry’. Dentistry actually represents a worry for many people, so you have to work doubly hard to create value in this area. One way to reduce the worry and hassle is to introduce Prescribing and Dispensing medication and pain relief in your practice. This puts you in control, means one less visit for the patient and in some cases, it is fully rebated under a 927 with some health funds. ‘Moments that Matter’ in the dental experience – ensures a “sticky” patient These moments happen for every patient, every time. Think through your situation, and how well you manage each step in the experience. u First contact management u Phone management u Premises management u Departure management u Reception management u Patient lounge management (it should never be a “waiting” room) u Surgery management The key concepts underpinning the ‘Moments that Matter for a Sticky Patient’ Practice Activity Model include: u A great patient visit is created – it doesn’t just happen. u The team works together to develop, work and refine a game plan designed to deliver a great patient visit experience, and therefore achieve the best possible outcome for the practice. u The experience can be broken into a series of stages, during each of which: – the patient’s expectations need to be identified – the patient’s senses and percep- tions need to be managed – appropriate communication and education need to occur. u The test of whether you have achieved a great visit for a patient is whether you would be satisfied if one of your family had just received the same experience. Building a framework for the “Sticky Patient” Service delivery You need to view your business through client’s eyes – what do they value, and what needs to be avoided? It is important that your practice establishes a framework for ensuring that your team can deliver a great experience, consistently and to clearly recognised standards, to clients. This means every patient, every time. One of the key components of this task will be the construction of a set of Practice Service Standards. These standards will represent the minimum levels of performance required from your practice and staff in the key areas impacting on client satisfaction. Prescribing and Dispensing – improving the patient experience in a few simple steps In our practice and at Acumen Dental we have developed a simple to implement program so you can improve the patient experience from our great YUM Bubblegum Topical to the convenience of having pain relief, antibiotics and anti-anxiety solutions on the spot in our practice. Just go to www.acumen.dental and download the Resource for FREE for practices who join our site. We supply all the tools and help you will need and a simple step-by-step approach with all the elements to improve your service to patients and improve your practice. u Dr Mike Ryan (DBA) – Acumen Dental with YUM Bubblegum topical gel, Dental Dispensing go to https://acumen.dental , or contacted at info@acumen.dental or fax 03 9568 2885 or write to PO Box 608, Carnegie 3163 The “sticky” patient – next level dental care By Dr Michael Ryan re ailing Mike Ryan