WRITTEN By Roger P. Levin, DDS
Dr. Kristy Vetter, the Xtreme Practice Makeover winner, tells how she and her team wrapped up 2005. Thanks to the companies on the opposite page, her office is now upgraded, improved, and enhanced.
It has been an eventful year for Dr. Kristy Vetter. The Laguna Niguel, Calif., dentist and her team won the Xtreme Practice Makeover sponsored by Woman Dentist Journal. Her practice has undergone tremendous change, including technology upgrades, physical improvements, and system enhancements.
Most important, Dr. Vetter has changed.
“Instead of just being a dentist, I am much more of a leader,” Dr. Vetter said. “I am much more aware that I am the biggest factor in the mood of the practice and the motivation of the team. It is not enough to show up for work and provide excellent patient care. I have to motivate my team, show appreciation, and give them enough words of affirmation to keep the practice moving forward.”
For change to be successful, it must be managed. As part of the Xtreme Practice Makeover package, Dr. Vetter received a yearlong management consulting program from Levin Group and products and equipment from leading dental manufacturers.
Dr. Vetter credits Levin Group Consultant Pam Healy with helping her stay focused on her practice goals and improving her leadership skills.
“You can make it good for the office or you can make it not so good,” Dr. Vetter said. “You’re here to be the leader. You can’t skip a day.”
Looking back
In early 2005, the practice was in transition. Dr. Vetter had purchased the practice a year earlier and was still getting used to her role as practice leader. In addition, practice production had been declining for several years because the previous owner had suffered an illness.
Other challenges included practice turnover (their longtime office manager left that January), undocumented business systems, an obsolete computer system, and outdated decor. A practice makeover was just what the doctor ordered.
It starts with the vision
A makeover involves both physical and philosophical changes that allow for long-term success.
“The doctor’s vision drives practice success,” Healy said.
One of the first assignments for dentists entering the Levin Group management consulting program is to create a vision statement, which describes where a practice is going. During her first visit to the Levin Advanced Training Institute, Dr. Vetter - with input from her team - created the following vision statement:
As an office, we strive to provide the finest clinical skills, communication, and education available using state-of-the-art technology. Increased profitability and job satisfaction are daily goals. Through photo documentation we are presenting ultimate esthetic options and increasing case acceptance.
“The big picture is that the practice is starting to turn around,” Dr. Vetter said. “We are starting to see our vision statement actually come alive.”
On the technology front, the practice has taken giant strides. Last year, the old computer and its antiquated software used to be down for weeks. The practice was rewired recently and has new computers with Dentrix in every operatory. “I am just getting used to the Dentrix systems and looking forward to implementing the esthetics software into my new-patient exams,” Dr. Vetter said. “We are also using the DIAGNOdent and digital X-rays.”
One of the year’s highlights occurred in December when Dr. Vetter asked office manager LoAnn Ray to tear up the scheduling book. Dentrix has enabled the practice to go paperless.
Step-by-step systems
To enhance efficiencies, Levin Group recommends implementing and documenting step-by-step systems. In February 2005, Healy began working with Dr. Vetter and her team to upgrade and document systems, including scheduling, case presentation, collections, and customer service. Healy, Dr. Vetter, and the team performed a comprehensive evaluation of its present systems. Based on the doctor’s vision and Levin Group’s 21 years of helping improve dental practices, the practice upgraded its systems and documented those changes.
“Having the systems and scripts in place has been extremely beneficial,” Dr. Vetter said. “I really feel like we are taking better care of our patients.”
One of the first systemic changes that the practice made was switching to power cell scheduling, which sets aside times for specific procedures. The goal is to achieve a more even flow during the day. For case presentation, the practice uses digital photos to show patients why treatment is needed.
“Collections have improved,” Dr. Vetter said, “because we are sending out collection letters if someone is 30 days past due, and we get that information from a report provided by Dentrix.”
Customer service is a system that affects all aspects of practice operations.
“We try to wow our patients every time they come in. Levin Group has really helped us realize the importance of the wow factor,” she said. “We place hot towels, bottled water, and apples in our reception area for patients.”
In the spirit of the makeover, the practice was also repainted and redecorated.
Patient communication is a critical component of customer service.
“With the new scripting,” Dr. Vetter said, “we are much better prepared to answer questions from patients.”
In addition, cross-training has helped provide a higher level of customer service and build a more cohesive team.
Marketing
One of Dr. Vetter’s goals for 2005 was to increase her number of new patients. She employed internal and external marketing strategies that have paid dividends. She joined her chamber of commerce and networks with fellow business owners during monthly breakfasts. The practice uses a Smile Card that rewards current patients with a $25 courtesy for referring new patients.
“We send personal notes to patients, thanking them for coming in,” she said. “Each team member has one day of the week that is her day to send notes.”
Other strategies include visiting area schools, hosting a Mother’s Day coffee outside the office, and passing out toothbrushes and brochures to nearby businesses.
Thanks to these marketing efforts and systemic improvements, the practice achieved a production increase greater than expected in 2005.
Teamwork and leadership
Dr. Vetter credits her team for making the practice makeover a success.
“My team is amazing,” she said. “They are so supportive of the changes and the vision for the practice.”
To keep the practice moving forward, Dr. Vetter leads the team during both the good and tough times.
“I have tried to affirm my staff when things are going well and motivate the team when things are slow. For example, September was a tough month,” she said, referring to the time when a team member was out for an extended time due to an illness. “The team was down, and I was a bit low myself. The team was looking for a leader. I had to step up and be one.”
Dr. Vetter called a staff meeting to get everyone refocused.
“We discussed everything that was going on, and we found a way through it,” she said.
Looking ahead
Dr. Vetter completed her makeover, but the journey continues. She wants to keep the momentum and enthusiasm going throughout 2006 and beyond.
“We are starting this year with a more cohesive team, and we are all ready to meet new challenges. Our attitudes are positive, and everyone is focused on making the practice vision a reality.” ■
Thank you for ...
installing screens and computers in operatories, AMI DENTAL TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES; burs, AXIS DENTAL CORP.; doctor, hygiene, and assistant chairs, CROWN SEATING; tile for the office, DALTILE; thediscount, DELL COMPUTER CORP.; esthetic software: e-billing and e-claims, intraoral cameras, digital X-rays, DENTRIX; offering unlimited items from your catalog: Xenolite Lead-Free X-ray Aprons, Alginators, Zone cements, GingiBRAID retraction cords, Slim-Line X-ray viewers, PeelVue Sterilization Pouches, Styptin and Hemogin-L hemostatics, Clean and Lube Wipes, storage bins, trays, etc., DUX DENTAL; eight hygiene cassettes and Sidekick Sharpener, HU-FRIEDY; DIAGNOdent, KAVO AMERICA CORP.; anything we wanted and CE at Discovery Dental Summit in San Francisco, KERR; a digital camera, Zorcaine anesthesia, and a photo docking printer, KODAK; one year of consulting, LEVIN GROUP; photography for the WDJ cover, MARY McALEER; a sterilizer, MIDMARK CORP.; tile installation, MIKE EVANS BUILDERS; three framed pictures for consultation area and office, MOTIVATIONS BY MOUTH; the basket of samples, OMNII; loupes and the Zeon Lumen Arc light, ORASCOPTIC; three chairs and units for operatories, PELTON & CRANE; 12 Rota-dent toothbrushes, PRO-DENTEC;
the office painting, MARK RUSSO; practice-building and marketing items: bags, totes, pencils, magnets, newsletters, calendars, mugs, postcards, SMARTPRACTICE; carpet installation, JOE SMITH; five toothbrushes for the staff, SONICARE; setting up computers and installing Dentrix, Jim Davis of STELLAR ENTERPRISE; facilitating the PELTON & CRANE chairs, DENTRIX, and organizing much of the makeover,
Rich Kofron of SULLIVAN-SCHEIN DENTAL; the high-speed curing Elipar FreeLight 2, 3M ESPE; the support system that works with Dentrix software, TROJAN; the Sterilox water filtration and purifying system, ULTRADENT; 10 SenSonic toothbrushes, 30 waterpiks, and electric flossers, WATERPIK; prophy angles and paste, evacuation tips, Birex, and cleaner, YOUNG DENTAL and BIOTROL INTERNATIONAL!
Sincerely,
Dr. Kristy Vetter & WDJ
