Opinion E


very day, I see exam- ples of errors all around me caused by ineffective communication.


I preach endlessly about the importance of being crystal clear in giving instructions because we make the assump- tion that our instructions are being followed at our peril. I could give countless exam-


ples, but I will focus on just a few here to make the point that, when it comes to running your practice, do not assume anything, but check what is actually happening. How about the practice I was


in recently where the dentist’s book is quiet but was previously quite steady? The first question I asked is how many patients have had their recalls sent out or have been telephoned to schedule their recall? The second question is


how many cases have been started but not finished for whatever reason? In this simple example,


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the really inexperienced, very young receptionist said that she had not sent recalls out for over three months because she had not been asked to and in reply to the second question she hadn’t got the first clue! The dentist looked in amaze- ment at this and all he said was that he assumed that ‘she’ had sent the recalls and he also had no idea how many cases were incomplete. If you saw my article in


the last issue, entitled ‘Eyes wide shut’, this further confirms the principle of a business owner not having a clue about what is going on and not seeing the obvious fixes. One afternoon of, for


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Column


with Dr John Barry


Anyone for the telepathy course?


starters, gathering informa- tion on who had not been in for between a year and ı8 months, and then looking at incomplete treatments, followed by four hours of phoning patients, generated three days of recalls and two days of finishing treatments. This exercise probably will


generate another couple of week’s of work and suddenly the book and the account looks better. My point here is that the business owner should assume nothing and should give clear, concise instructions to their team on what to do and check until they are sure that the staff are carrying out these instructions. As per the title, staff are not


telepathic and do not know what you want unless you tell them. To ignore this advice could destroy your business and your wealth. The phone calls to patients who had incomplete treatments highlighted some major


issues that I want to share with you. In this example there was about €20,000 worth of incom- plete treatment, some of it complex but quite a bit of it was minor work like restorations. When examined, some of


it was simply patients calling to cancel and saying they would ring back and forget- ting. They simply needed a little prod/reminder. It had not been done but was simple to fix. Some were saving up but when offered to part pay on a monthly basis they were happy to do so. Some needed reassurance on the actual treatment. In conclusion, please stop


assuming and be proactive. There are very few practices that could not be busier with a little activity as I have described. More tips to follow in the next issue.


®


John Barry is operations director of The Dental Plan and director of The Dental Business Academy.


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