GAP Australasian-Dentist-Mar Apr 2019

Category 116 AustrAlAsiAn Dentist t he traditional model of post-grad education for CPD or clinical skill improvement has been either attendance at 1 day programs run by individual lecturers, or part time/full time programs in an academic setting. Clinicians after attending these programs, return to their practices aiming to initiate changes within their practice delivery systems without the staff having been present and unsure as to what changes are needed in the practice to develop their new skills. As a result, at around 3-5 days post course attendance the practice has returned to its default state and no growth or change has occurred frustrating the attending clinicians. the reason behind this is that there are usually no existing internal systems to enable the addition of clinical skills and the delegation to capable teams members in order to implement the changes: this requires guidance or leadership from the senior clinician. in many cases the clinician does not have the management skills to both lead his/her team and initiate change, it is not something we learn in dental school! A consultant should be able to assist the clinician and the senior staff looking to improve the following areas of the practice in order to assist the clinic to implement the changes needed to offer the new skills to attending patients: u recall systems u staff training u Patient communication systems u Diagnostic systems u Case presentations u treatment scheduling the aim of the Dr institute through its consulting program is to: u Develop a ‘team mentality’ that permeates the foundation of each clinic u Assist the senior clinician to develop leadership skills to guide the team in its growth and development u Provide hands on training in clinical skills in the areas of Perio, Ortho, sleep dentistry, tMJ therapies and expanded Cosmetic Digital smile Design procedures u Bring in-house specialist skills includ- ing: Cosmetic orthodontics, sleep ap- nea assessment, tMJ splint therapies, veneers and digital smile design Evaluation of dental practices from a consulting perspective the following key points have been identified as areas needing improvement for the delivery of sustainable clinical care within dental practices to create organic growth: Recall Systems the lack of input into practice management systems by the reception team, often leads to a general inability to capture patient recall time-lines and deliver monthly reports to activate the ongoing care of the “active patient group” Staff training at induction: Poor training programs lacking shadowing techniques to ensure the new staff member is fully trained in the area of their job description at job changeover: Commonly the receptionist leaves and the senior nurse or a new dental receptionist (with minimal dental training) takes over the role of practice management. this can lead to poor training for input of patient data that impacts back into collections, recall systems and patient treatment management. after course attendance: training the clinical and support staff in the new areas requires management skills and often the clinician either doers not have the time or the ability to manage their team.....this is the role a clinical and management trained consultant can provide. Patient communication Patient communication skills are not taught at undergraduate level and the associate becoming a senior clinician does so with patient communication as a survival technique. the inability to communicate with the patient their needs and wants leads to low productivity and often the patient spending their dental life in a practice in a state of “supervised neglect” Patient Diagnostic evaluationPatient examination procedures lack the systematization of photography and diagnostic pathways that allow the clinician to present a series of treatment recommendations in a clear step by step process that is the foundation to practice organic growth. Case presentation Along with diagnostic systems, the key determining factor of practice growth is the number of successfully delivered treatment plans and their management through to maintenance. Treatment sequencing After treatment planning, treatment sequencing with financial counselling is the key skills that need to be learnt and delivered by the whole clinical team to ensure case acceptance “How do you eat an elephant … a bit at a time.” u For further information on ‘how you can create your ideal practice’ go to: www.drinstitute.com.au Consultants in dental practices: Should I consider one? M rKetIng Any service delivery process must follow a system