By Kara Masterson
Even the busiest dental office in the state can use some improvement on its efficiency levels. Every office has some type of issue that is holding them back from reaching their highest efficiency potential. With so many patients coming in and out every day you have to make sure that your office is running as smoothly and as quickly as possible. If you make your office as efficient as it can be your patients will notice and they will definitely appreciate it. It may even be part of what helps keep them coming back. Efficiency can really make a huge difference. The following are six tips that you can use if you wish to improve efficiency within your office.
Use Digital Filing and Cloud Storage
One thing that you can do to increase the level of efficiency in the dental office is switch to a digital filing system. A digital filing system is good for the environment, and it keeps your office from accumulating clutter. You can perform the switch by hiring a third-party company to do it. You will lose time for your business if you try to do it yourself, or you attempt to get your employees to do it. This can really help make finding patient information a lot easier and a lot faster.
Get Rid of Waste Usefully
You can also make your dental office more efficient by getting rid of the waste in a constructive manner. For example, you could evaluate your dental scrap to see if you can do anything positive with it. You may be able to get a small return on devices like crows or fillings that are made of gold.
Cross Train
Cross training is effective no matter what type of business your run. Teaching employees to do various jobs puts them in a position to help your dental office if you are ever down a few people. Your employees can take over each other’s positions if an illness or emergency hits the office.
Outsource an Answering Service
Outsourcing some services can boost productivity within your dental establishment. For example, you can hire a third-party company to answer the telephones for you. They can help you during business hours and after business hours. They can even help answer basic questions so that you can avoid spending the time to help out. Shop around so that you can price the services from several companies.
Install New CRM Software
CRM software can greatly increase efficiency. It can help you to email your patients, schedule appointments, check on the patient progress and keep notes on the patients, as well. CRM software is available for small to large dental offices. You can use a comparison tool to find the best product.
Over-Staff the Site
Always over-staff your site. You should have at least one extra person in rotation who can give breaks or come in if someone calls out of the office. Two extra people would make a perfect allotment. That way you can always make sure that all of your patients are getting the help that they need when they need it.
Heed the above-stated tips and your dental office days should flow quite well. Begin with the tip that is easiest for you to achieve. Small and steady changes can really help make a big difference over time. By taking the time to make your dental office more efficient you can help provide a better car experience for your patients. It may seem like a lot of work now, but down the road it will be well worth it.
About the Author:
Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.