Posted by Amy Carbone on Dec 25, 2019 9:00:00 AM
If you're starting a new dental practice, you're anxious to get your doors open. Don't get too hasty though; make sure the following details are taken care of before you start accepting new patients.
Technology and Equipment
The equipment and technology utilized within your dental practice can send a powerful message to patients, so it's important to make sure the message is one you want to be sending. Don't be afraid to spend a significant portion of your budget on your technology.
While it's possible to get used or refurbished equipment in fairly good condition, it's difficult to guarantee the quality, accuracy, and safety of hand-me-downs. Patients will look for red flags at the office of any service provider, and old or worn-down equipment and lagging technology will tell patients to look elsewhere for care.
Make sure your practice offers competitive technology, like same-day dental restorations and digital x-rays. Explore options to utilize new technology in order to streamline processes whenever possible.
Office Layout and Design
Most people remember first impressions distinctly, even if it's something mundane like a doctor or dentist's office. Your practice should be warm, inviting, and designed to facilitate the flow of patients from check-in to check out. Make sure your office layout and design are exactly what you want before breaking ground. Ask your designer or architect to use virtual or augmented reality technology to allow you to visualize what your practice would look like with various options.
Don't be afraid to get creative with your office design; still-life paintings aren't everyone's cup of tea. Showcase your specific personality, your approach to dental care, and your practice goals. Find ways to make essential components of your practice part of the design, such as an open-view sterilization room in a high-traffic area.
Practice Management
It can be easy to miss crucial aspects of your dental practice when you're so invested in things like equipment, technology, and office design. However, it's important to nail down your overall practice management strategy before accepting patients. If you wait until after you've started booking appointments, you run the risk of making big mistakes with your patients sitting right in the front row.
Determine what type of practice management software you'll use, how you'll use it, and what your administrative team will look like. Your team should already be in place and have a good grasp of their roles and job functions. They should understand how to utilize practice management software to manage records, file insurance claims, and process patient payments.
Payment Options
Dental care is one of the most commonly neglected forms of healthcare in the U.S., and this often boils down to cost. With inadequate insurance coverage and the rising cost of dental procedures, patients are finding it more difficult than ever to afford the dental procedures they need. By offering to finance procedures in your office, you can make dental care more accessible to lower-income members of your community.
There are several options for financing within your dental practice, including but not limited to in-house financing, automatic debits, and third-party line of credit providers. Take some time to thoroughly consider the cost versus benefit of offering payment options to patients. While not all payment options are right for all dental practices, the more flexible your options, likely the greater the benefit to your patients.
Products
Most dental practices sell a few products, or they may have quite a robust section of toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other dental health accessories available for purchase. Before formally opening your office, evaluate your business relationships with the manufacturers and/or sellers of your products. Are you getting the cheapest price on bulk orders of toothpaste? Does your chosen toy provider offer a wide enough selection of children's trinkets for the office treasure chest? Patients can become disenchanted by poor quality products, and your profit margin goes down when merchandise is too expensive, and it's difficult to switch gears when you're seeing patients.
Compare and contrast merchandise manufacturers and sellers. Make sure you're getting the products you want at the price you want and if not, shop around until you find the right quality for the money.
Ready to Open Your Doors? Give Your Dental Practice Time to Prepare
Starting a new dental practice can be a stressful yet exhilarating experience. Try to give your team the best chance of success by affording them some time to prepare to receive patients. What does this mean, exactly? Practice! Ask family and close friends to come in during the first week and let your staff get accustomed to how the office should work. Schedule appointments with extra time in between each one for the first week or two to give everyone on board a chance to learn new processes before having to put them into action quickly. Once your team has had some time to get their feet wet, you can move full steam ahead.
About Treloar & Heisel
Treloar & Heisel is a premier financial services provider to dental and medical professionals across the country. We assist thousands of clients from residency to practice and through retirement with a comprehensive suite of financial services, custom-tailored advice, and a strong national network focused on delivering the highest level of service.
Treloar & Heisel and Treloar & Heisel Property and Casualty are divisions of Treloar & Heisel, LLC.
Insurance products offered through Treloar & Heisel, LLC.
Treloar & Heisel, LLC. and its divisions do not offer practice management advice. Please consult a professional concerning this topic.
