Australasian Dentist Magazine Sept-Oct 2021

Category Australasian Dentist 123 Best Practices Q&A Dr Toni Surace the Managing Director of Momentum Management. Momentum is the premier dental practice management consultancy and training firm in Australia. Momentum has been empowering dentists in Australia and New Zealand to reach their professional, personal and financial goals for over 16 years. On average, Momentum clients increase production by 30- 40% and achieve a 579% return on investment from the Momentum Practice Management Program. If you would like to learn more about Momentum Management programs, call 1300 519 000, and request a free 1-hour consultation with an experienced coach. have a spare surgery and/or sufficient equipment and supplies. There are many different elements getting this right, and I can’t give you a single formula to help you make the decision, but I hope I’ve given you and your spouse something to help you plan! D ear Dr Toni, We recently had a patient come in on the wrong day and insist that we were the ones who got the appointment time wrong. The patient got annoyed and abusive, but our practice manager got angry with her and I think she shouldn’t have done so. How should I support my team without condoning being rude to patients? Dr FL, NSW. I know that it’s really hard to keep our tempers when rude patients are being abusive! It’s also really important to learn the skill of maintaining calm in the face of someone’s annoyance. My advice is to make clear to your team you back them and support them, AND that it’s not OK to get angry with patients. They need to have the skills to deal with patients who are in the wrong but who blame the practice. It’s a common occurrence, even when practices are texting patients reminder times and dates. Here’s how the situation should go. Firstly, make sure that conversations with angry patients are occurring in private. Let the team know that if any patient gets angry, they are moved to a private space (e.g. a consult room or spare office). If the conversation is happening onsite, offer the patient tea, coffee or water as a goodwill gesture. If you don’t have somewhere private, then get the patient’s permission to give them a call instead. The verbal skills are: “[Name of patient], so that we can get to the bottom of this and work out what’s happened, how about we discuss it [in the other room] OR [over the phone later today]?” Make sure that you’re using the patient’s name as much as possible. It helps calm people down! Next, use neutral language when trying to figure out what happened; avoid any blame. For example, say things like: “It seems we have a communication breakdown about the time of your appointment” rather than “I was the one who spoke to you, and I know that you’re wrong.” Then, ask things like: “So that we can get to the bottom of this, do you mind me asking where you got the idea the appointment was today? Did we send you a text to that effect?”, or “It seems there has been a mix-up because I can see in our software that you’re booked for [give correct time/date]. Did the system not send a text to that effect?” If there was an SMS or email, double-check that it wasn’t the practice’s error. If there is no electronic record that the patient has been informed of the correct time/date, the practice should be seen to take some responsibility no matter how sure you are that it wasn’t your fault. Shift the conversation to solutions, e.g. “I can see that there’s been a miscommunication and we can’t tell how it’s happened. I also can see that you really want to get the work done, so thank you for coming in today. Can I ask: is there any way you are available at the day/time we have in our books?” If the patient can do that time, thank them profusely and write it on an appointment card, and send an SMS as well to make sure the patient has all the details. If they can’t do that scheduled appointment, you will have to find a new time. At the next appointment, it’s a good idea to have a simple “thank you for your understanding” gift, e.g. a nice note and a little bunch of flowers, or chocolates, or lottery tickets. The patient will appreciate the gesture even if it was their mistake originally. Finally, see if there’s anything you can learn from what went wrong and how you could prevent it from occurring again. It’s always smart to learn from mistakes, even if they weren’t the practice’s mistakes originally! u For further information on Momentum Management, visit www. momentummanagement.com.au or call 1300 510 000 for details on short courses, Momentum’s Management Program, coaching packages, short courses, in-practice visits, or other ways in which Momentum can assist you. “