Month: March 2015

Time flies when you’re having fun!

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Return visits to teams we’ve worked with in the past are always fun. It’s like visiting an old friend.  And when that team has steadily made dramatic improvements to their practice and the care they deliver every day… it’s even more exciting.

I had the honor to return to Braydich Dental recently. They are located in a very small town on Ohio and while the weather was a little gray, this team is a ray of sunshine.

 

Take a look at what the Braydich team has achieved since my first visit with them in 2008…

The Braydich team has also done a complete renovation and expansion of their facility, up-leveled their marketing, gone ‘almost paperless’, added new services and hired a 3rd doctor.

 

 

 

They asked me to come back to help them…

1-    Get to THE NEXT LEVEL. See, even though they have achieved so much, they know they can do more.  They have added genetic & bacterial DNA testing, adjunctive antibiotic therapy and they want to be sure they are ‘connecting the dots’ for their patients so everyone understands the impact oral health has on their patients’ overall health.

2-    Get their team on the SAME PAGE.  Yes, they have some new team members and it is really important for everyone to share a common WHY.   It’s important to share the vision of the practice with EVERY team member. Coming to work everyday without knowing WHY creates a culture of ‘it’s a JOB’ team members. When everyone is speaking the same language and understands why they go the extra mile for patients, it’s a CAREER.

So please help me celebrate Braydich Dental! They are SO INSPIRING!

Are you ready to go chartless?

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Having been in Dentistry for over 35 yrs. there is NO DOUBT that how we practice dentistry has evolved greatly. Like many of you, I have experienced and done it all. Everything from working on patients before wearing gloves was considered, to being in a dark room DIPPING an FMX film series into the developer and fixer tanks for 10 mins, to flipping through a LARGE appointment book to schedule patient appointments in pencil (just in case they cancel or change)!

Many of the dental practices that I go into for private coaching have seen the need to invest thousands and thousands of dollars by staying current with technology. Purchasing things like dental software, digital imaging and even same day crown milling units but can’t seem to let go of the 2 inch thick paper chart! This costs the doctor, team and even the patient time and money. The thought of going “Chartless” (not necessarily paperless) doesn’t have to make you break out in a rash. Read below to see my 5 quick tips to help the clinical team go chartless!

Better Time Management by Going Chartless

You and your team have invested in the office technology, but your staff is still spending wasted time pulling, filing and writing in charts. You want to go chartless but do not know where to begin? Here are 5 areas that you can start doing TODAY as a team, so that you can begin the chartless process.

  • Starts with the front office: everything from the scheduling, electronic claims, patient communications, health histories and the accounting have to be utilized within the software first before the clinical team can effectively go chartless!
  • STOP USING PEN AND PAPER! This doesn’t mean that during an exam you aren’t jotting down the treatment plan or taking notes, it means that after you do that you take the few extra minutes to put the treatment plan, clinical notes and charting into the computer. This includes the probing (pocket depths, bleeding and recession every time).
  • Create Note templates: All software programs have the ability to create note templates. Creating the templates may take time in the beginning, but will save many minutes on each patient by cutting down on keyboarding as well as keep your notes accurate and legally sound.
  • Start scanning and importing: You don’t have to scan all of your patients’ past records to go chartless. Keep those in their chart for the legal amount of time necessary. Pick a date that you are going to stop adding letters, documents and paper to a chart. Instead scan and import those right into the patients’ electronic chart and shred the paper.
  • PICK A DATE TO GO CHARTLESS: You and your team need to pick a date that everyone will abide by! That way, when looking for important information, everyone will know whether to look in the paper chart or go to the software.

Remember true growth only begins when we push ourselves out of our comfort zones!

Rockin’ Administrators

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This month’s Mastermind Webinar takes a departure from the norm as we focus on the team members up front who support the clinical team. Administrators ~ Rockin’ it to the Next Level with special guest Julia Stone, FAADOM (Fellowship of the American Association of Dental Office Managers) promises to be an informative and entertaining webinar.

Join us as we explore all the ways your admin team can help your patients make good treatment decisions.  We’ll discuss financial arrangements, maximizing insurance benefits, scheduling to goal and how you too, as an administrator, can recieve your Fellowship from AADOM.

If you are a Dental Practice Administrator, you won’t want to miss this webinar.  In fact, regardless of your role in the dental office, this webinar is packed with great information to help you, help your patients receive their necessary care.

Mark your calendar today and join Julia and myself on our March Mastermind Webinar March 19 at 1pm EST.   

Administrators ~ Rockin’ it to the Next Level!

with special guest
Julia Stone,  FAADOM

The admin team in every dental office plays a critical role in helping patients receive the care they need.  This webinar will address several ways an administrator / office manager can assist the patient in making good treatment decisions and fitting needed treatment into their budget while maximizing their insurance benefits.  And because it’s a key component to success, we’ll discuss efficient means of departmental tracking.

During this Webinar you will learn:

  • Filing insurance to maximize patient benefits  
  • Tips on presenting comprehensive treatment plans
  • Techniques to better utilize 3rd party financing
  • Successful tracking using weekly, monthly and annual reports

 

Julia Stone has been in dentistry since 1983, started out as a Registered Dental Assistant and transitioned to front desk in 1996.  She has experience with orthodontics, general dentistry, insurance, billing, OSHA, practice management, Eagle Soft and Dentrix software, accounts receivables and payables. Julia is also an active member of AADOM (American Association of Dental Office Managers). She has worked with practice management specialist, Janice Hurley for over 10 years and she’s even had the pleasure of a professional make over. She has worked with the wonderful Dr. Frank for over 12 years and they have been working with Kim Miller of Inspired Hygiene for the past year and have had a wonderful experience.

 

agdCE credits are provided by Inspired Hygiene.

Inspired Hygiene is designated as an Approved PACE Program Provider by the Academy of General Dentistry. The formal continuing dental education programs of this program provider are accepted by the AGD for Fellowship, Mastership and membership maintenance credit. Approval does not imply acceptance by a state or provincial board of dentistry or AGD endorsement.

The current term of approval extends from 6/1/2014 to 5/31/2017.

 

This call will be available in our Mastermind Library on March 19.  If you’re not already a member of our Mastermind group, click here to sign up.

[Video] Could you help your patients eliminate one of their diabetes meds?

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At least half of CDC’s list of Top 10 Causes of Death in America are caused by conditions that have been shown to have some inflammatory relationship to periodontal disease.

Diabetes is #7. 

In 2013, there was a new diabetes consensus paper published in the Journal of Periodontology that revealed how YOU may be able to help your diabetic patients prevent the addition of a second medication.

Watch this week’s video for a quick summary of the article.

CLICK HERE for the entire article.