Looking beyond the clinical boundaries of running a practice is vital for providing the outstanding experience patients are seeking. Patients are consumers looking for an experience that wows them. To make it happen, dental practices must embrace elements to create that feeling, just like Starbucks was able to nail the factors that bring in coffee-lovers again and again.<\/span><\/p>\n Making a cup of coffee is easy, but enjoying a high-quality fresh-brewed cup at a brand name shop, with fast service, where predictability and convenience are key elements, is the secret that Starbucks has understood. Let\u2019s take a step back and apply this to dental practices\u2026<\/span>How is it possible to give patients that same service and grow exponentially with it?<\/span><\/p>\n What can dental offices do to deliver <\/span>predictability of service<\/i><\/strong> to their practice just like Starbucks brings predictability in taste, speed of service and atmosphere? Experts that have mastered the steps for business success, go about it via implementation of 6 Sigma concepts. <\/span><\/p>\n 6 Sigma is a process of quality management that involves finding weak points, determining the reasons behind them, and applying a repeatable strategy to improve them. We\u2019ll discuss two prime factors that have been determined by experts to create predictability in dental practices:<\/span><\/p>\n How is it that Starbucks is able to make each location efficient and successful? Operational Efficiency is a prime ingredient, and it\u2019s commonly overlooked by many dental practices.<\/span><\/p>\n Chew on this – practices that streamline with a one-stop system of operations are more successful. The reason it works for Starbucks and will work for you is the following:<\/span><\/p>\n Putting ourselves in the patient’s shoes helps get a grasp on why they select practices that streamline with efficient services. <\/span>SRS Web Solutions conducted a study on the effects of dental practices streamlining operations, and found a <\/span>400% increase in office productivity<\/a>!<\/b> With such a powerful figure, it shows how efficiency directly correlates with improving the flow of daily operations. <\/span><\/p>\n Further research has narrowed down 5 manual office operations that hold back productivity and efficiency. These include:<\/span><\/p>\n Dental practices that manage Accounts receivable<\/a> manually, frequently complain about late payments, and collections that continue to increase month to month. On top of that, paper invoice errors create havoc and eat up valuable time to correct.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Automating the billing process at your dental office creates a predictable procedure for how patients receive and pay bills. <\/span>A survey conducted b<\/span>y <\/span>SRS Web Solutions shows that <\/span>60% <\/b>of patients<\/span> prefer to pay bills via their smartphone <\/b>and out of them,<\/span> 35% would pay immediately<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n W<\/span>ith the vast majority of patients being smartphone savvy, and weary of paper invoices, it would make sense to automate the process for patients with text-to-pay, collecting same-day payments. Dental practices that switch to automated accounts receivable<\/a> upscale faster payments and improve patients\u2019 experience.<\/span><\/p>\n Why is it that \u201c<\/span>87% of patients say<\/a> they were slapped with a surprise bill in 2021?\u201d One critical reason is an inadequate insurance verification process. Manual Insurance verification<\/a> leaves patients susceptible to human errors and slips in the process that give rise to ambiguity about insurance coverage. <\/span><\/p>\n The countless faults in old-school manual insurance verification can devastate your dental practice revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n On the flip side, Automated insurance verification saves practices the headaches of inaccuracies, revenue loss, and lengthy phone calls. Eligibility reports are pulled up in seconds and provide reliable coverage information that does away with unexpected patient bills.<\/span><\/p>\n Printer jams, missing signatures, lost charts, scanning, and data entry errors – do these sound familiar? An entire host of challenges are created by paper-based intake processes. <\/span><\/p>\n Although paper intake forms<\/a> are still being used at dental practices,<\/span> 81%<\/b><\/a> of patients<\/strong> have advanced to a different wavelength, preferring providers that offer <\/span>online forms and remote patient intake processes. Streamlining your documentation process is an integral part of operational efficiency. <\/span><\/p>\n Smart practices select software that gives patients online access to complete forms, and integrates them into your practice management system for easy transfer and storage. Just imagine your front office no longer having the burden of manual data entries, printing, scanning, or paper hassles. <\/span><\/p>\n A paperless documentation system is an all in one solution that minimizes human intervention, scales up your practice, and allows for doubling the number of patients in a day without the need for hiring more staff. <\/span><\/p>\n How many calls does your practice miss on a weekly basis? Based on reports gathered by SRS Web Solutions, the average practice misses 20% of new patient calls. That\u2019s a staggering amount of missed opportunities for new patient exams. <\/span><\/p>\n With the vast majority of your patients being attached to their smartphone, why not utilize it as an easy avenue for patients to self-schedule appointments? Let\u2019s face it – low traffic will sink your revenue over time. 24\/7 online scheduling<\/a> puts patients in the driver\u2019s seat to book an appointment at their leisure without having to pick up the phone. <\/span><\/p>\n No-shows are a headache for all dental practices across the country, putting a huge dent in profits. The old-school method of calling patients to remind them of appointments has become a nuisance for on-the-go patients who expect more high tech communication.<\/span><\/p>\n SMS reminders with 2-Way texting<\/a> capabilities, are the perfect answer to freeing up your front office from the office phone, and are exactly what patients have been asking for. No more wasting time trying to get a hold of patients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Do your patients need to pick up the phone to communicate with your office? In a study conducted by <\/span>Pubmed<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> 95% of patients had access to text messaging and preferred it over phone calls or email<\/b> communication. This begets the questions of – where does your practice stand in providing a communication channel that meets patients expectations? <\/span><\/p>\nHow Starbucks \u201cwowed\u201d Coffee-lovers<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Operational Efficiency<\/b><\/h2>\n
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\u00a01. Manual Billing via Paper Invoices<\/b><\/h4>\n
(2) <\/b>Traditional Insurance Verification done via phone calls<\/b><\/h4>\n
(3) <\/b>Paper Forms Intake Process with Manual Data Entries<\/b><\/h4>\n
(4) Appointment Scheduling & Reminders via Phone Calls<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n(5) <\/b>Old School Phone Call Communication without ability to text<\/b><\/h4>\n
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