Raise your producton and lower your stress

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

Practice management isn’t about doing one or two things right. It’s about implementing a multitude of high-performance systems and strategies that generate the positive results you want — higher production, lower stress, and a better quality of life.

Blaze a new path of high achievement and break through to success. Implement these five tips and reap the rewards of a high-performance, low-stress practice:

1. Drive the practice vision. The best companies are not driven by a powerful leader, but rather, a leader’s powerful vision. When doctors create a vision, they often rediscover their original passion for dentistry. The result can be one of the most deeply rewarding experiences in dentistry — bringing your own unique vision to fruition and making your personal and financial goals a reality.

2. Always be upbeat; use positive language. In the business world, there are very few highly successful negative people. Negative people tend to miss opportunities. They spend their lives explaining why something won’t work and, worse, they usually have no positive effect on others. A positive approach, enthusiasm, and excitement give you the ability to influence other people.

3. Give encouragement and compliments to patients. If patients are doing a great job sitting still for a lengthy procedure, compliment them. They’ll appreciate it and feel better about the appointment. Saying something as simple as, “You seem very relaxed in the chair! You’re a great patient. Did you know that?” will instantly put patients at ease, especially if they aren’t quite as relaxed in the chair as you say they are!

4. Say “thank you” often to staff members. Most people appreciate being appreciated. This can be as simple as saying “thank you” or “nice job” after team members have completed a task or somehow gone above and beyond in their responsibilities. Your appreciation for team members’ efforts can be shown in any number of ways, which can be as simple or stylish as you prefer.

5. Ask questions often of both patients and staff to improve your understanding. A lack of information about your patients and staff does not serve you well. You know the clinical procedures inside and out, but you may be unaware of situations that you would do better knowing about. Maybe a patient needs extra reassurance that the treatment he or she agreed to is the right thing to do. Too much information is always better than not enough.

Reprinted with permission from Levin Group.

Author bio
Roger P. Levin, DDS, is chairman and CEO of Levin Group, a leading dental management consulting firm that is dedicated to improving the lives of dentists through a diverse portfolio of lifetime services and solutions. Levin Group may be reached at (888) 973-0000, or www.levingroupgp.com.