The Practicon Viewpoint by Ann Page Griffin

FOUR PRACTICE MANAGEMENT TOOLS THE DOCTOR SHOULD REVIEW DAILY

Pretend it is late afternoon of a very busy, somewhat frustrating day. Five o’clock is approaching. The last patient of the day is checking out. You, doctor, are bone-tired and eager to go home. So is your staff. Question: what is the minimal amount of information you need to know to understand how things went today? Was production on track to meet the monthly goal? Collections too? Are patients keeping appointments as scheduled? Is the hygiene department fully busy? Do you need to be aware of any problems with patients today?

Four items should be on the dentist’s desk at the end of each day: three are daily reports; the fourth is the actual bank deposit or the deposit receipt if a trusted staff member made the deposit earlier. Careful attention should be paid to all four, noting questions to ask staff the next day.

The four items are:

·      Daily Activities Report that includes production and collection totals with comparison to the daily goals, the show rate for appointments kept as made, adjustments to production and write-offs from collections, and other pertinent data necessary to provide a snapshot of the day. (An example of the Daily Activities Report can be found on Practicon’s website at practicon.com in the Practice Management; Knowing the Numbers section of Free Resources for Your Practice.

·      Day’s schedule—a hard copy noting the name of each patient seen and the treatment delivered. Include the name and phone number of patients receiving extensive treatment that day so the dentist can call them at home that evening.

·      A brief narrative/explanation of any noteworthy problems with patients seen that day. With this explanation, the dentist can decide if follow-up is necessary.

·      Bank deposit or the bank receipt for the deposit.         

These four items represent the minimum information a dentist/owner should review daily in order to keep a finger on the pulse of his/her practice. Daily review allows problems or discrepancies to be caught early and potential blockbuster issues rectified before they become a major crisis.