THE VALUE OF HAVING A DAILY PRODUCTION MEETING TO IMPROVE SERVICE TO YOUR CLIENTS AND PATIENTS

Coordination is one of the most vital functions of running a successful hospital and can often be a turning point for a hospital in improving service and working as a team to deliver exceptional service to patients.

I recommend starting each day with a fast, 5 to 10 minute, production meeting to provide an opportunity for staff to get in communication and get coordinated. This is not necessarily a sit down meeting, but a rapid coordination meeting to get the day started. (If you have staggered schedule shifts, you could work this into a meeting at the start of each shift.)

The following are points to cover in your daily coordination meeting:

1. which client and patients are coming in

2. what the production looks like for the day and what needs to be produced to make financial

benchmarks.

3. any special announcements that all staff should be aware of

4. monthly promotions

5. who is going to be working on reactivation calls to get past clients back into the office

6. coordination on existing or new protocol

All staff, including associates, play an active role in this meeting by being:

1. on time

2. prepared with relevant charts and information

3. focused on what needs to be accomplished for the day

A good example of how a staff member could greatly contribute during this meeting is as follows.

A client who is bringing in a patient today who has a lengthy treatment plan but was only scheduled for a small aspect of the treatment plan today. You just found out there is a canceled appointment and/or free time in the schedule. You suggest that the client could be quite willing to extend the time of the visit to have more treatment done for the patient. By conveying this to the entire staff at the meeting, everyone can act in coordination. When the client and patient arrive, a concentrated effort can be made to motivate the client to complete more treatment during today’s visit.

This approach is of benefit to the patient and the practice. It is always best for a patient to complete his/her treatment plan as soon as possible to avoid additional problems and costs and is a real service to the client as well.

Another example could be the office manager using the meeting time to go over a promotion that the office is running and role play drilling (or other forms of drilling) the staff on how to inform clients of the promotion so that the staff feel comfortable and can provide all the information necessary to scheduled patients.

You could also use this meeting, if you are the owner, to go over any new treatment protocols and can drill the staff so they are comfortable with the new protocol, ensuring that clients and patients receive the best possible service.

These are just a few examples of the value of the morning meeting.

Implementing a daily morning meeting can establish a better team, improve service and care to patients and increase the financial viability of the practice as a result!

THE VALUE OF HAVING A DAILY PRODUCTION MEETING TO IMPROVE SERVICE TO YOUR PATIENTS

Coordination is one of the most vital functions of running a successful practice and can often be a turning point for a practice in improving service and working as a team to deliver exceptional service to patients.

I recommend starting each day with a fast, 10 minute, production meeting to provide an opportunity for all staff to get in communication and get coordinated with regard to the following.

1. which patients are coming in
2. what the production looks like for the day and what needs to be produced to make financial benchmarks.
3. any special announcements that all staff should be aware of
4. monthly promotions
5. who is going to be working on reactivation calls to get past patients back into the office
6. coordination on existing or new protocol

All staff, including office manager, owner, associates and general staff, play an active role in this meeting by being:

1. on time
2. prepared with relevant charts and information
3. focused on what needs to be accomplished for the day
4. Keep the meetings up beat and positive

A good example of how a staff member could greatly contribute during this meeting is as follows. 

A patient who is coming in today has a lengthy treatment plan but was only scheduled for a small aspect of the treatment plan today.  You just found out there is a cancelled appointment and/or free time in the schedule.  You suggest that the patient could be quite willing to extend the time of the visit to have more treatment done. By conveying this to the entire staff at the meeting, everyone can act in coordination.  When the patient arrives, a concentrated effort can be made to motivate the patient to complete more treatment during today’s visit. 

This approach is of benefit to the patient and the practice.  It is always best for a patient to complete his/her treatment plan as soon as possible to avoid additional problems and costs.

Another example could be the office manager using the meeting time to go over a promotion that the office is running and role play drilling the staff on how to inform patients of the promotion so that the staff feel comfortable and can provide all the information necessary to scheduled patients.

You could also use this meeting, if you are the owner, to go over any new treatment protocols and can drill the staff so they are comfortable with the new protocol, ensuring that patients receive the best possible service.

These are just a few examples of the value of the morning meeting.

Implementing a daily morning meeting can establish a better team, improve service and care to patients and increase the financial viability of the practice as a result!

AUTOMATED ANSWERING SERVICES ARE LOOSING YOU GOOD PATIENTS

It’s time to get rid of automated answering services during working hours.

The truth is that if you are using an automated answering service during working hours, you are loosing potential new and returning patients.

By survey, most patients feel that it is very impersonal to be received by an automated answering service and they get the idea that you are too busy to see them, so they rapidly hang up and move on! It reminds them too much of a big corporate operation – very impersonal and uncaring. They feel that once they get the automated answering service they are a number being handled by a machine and no longer a patient being cared for.

I can understand using an automated service when the practice is closed at the end of the day, but outside of that, there is no reason you should. Patient communication is one of the most important aspects of patient care. It will make or break a practice.

It can occur that your front desk gets flooded with incoming calls or has to work with a particularly talkative person, preventing them from answering incoming calls or patients coming into the office as quickly as they’d like. I find that the automated answering service is still not the way to go. I’ve had success in addressing this by working out alternative staff that are assigned to answer incoming calls when the front desk coordinator is unable to or by training the front desk coordinator to politely place a call on hold, so they can handle incoming calls or patients. This prevents the need to have patients talk with a robot to schedule their next appointment.

Good communication skills are valued as much or more by patients as clinical skills. Personal contact with you and your team, whether positive or negative, is the most memorable aspect of the medical care they are looking for. Patients assess the quality of their care not only on clinical excellence, but also on the quality of communication with the practice staff.

Getting rid of the automated answering service, establishing the personal touch with your patients and implemented the following guidelines will improve patient contact and thus build patient satisfaction. 

 

Telephone Communication

• Answer before the third ring.
• Smile as you speak to the caller.
• Begin with an appropriate greeting (per the policy of your office).
• Find out the reason for the call without being abrupt. 
• Offer to help the caller.
• Speak pleasantly despite pressures.
• Speak professionally.  Avoid jargon or slang.
•  Refer to the caller by name. 
•  Gather the necessary information (name, phone number, reason for the call) when taking calls for other staff members.
• Record phone messages accurately to avoid confusions. 
• Ask permission before placing callers on hold.
• Thank the patient for calling.  End without sounding abrupt.
• Check the off hours answering machine for messages at the beginning, middle and end of each day.
• Get back to people as soon as possible.
• Revise the off hours answering machine message once per month.
•  Revise the outgoing message to reflect closure for meetings, training, vacation, etc.

Reception Communication

• Smile and greet patients by name as soon as they enter the practice.
• Use the patients’ surnames until invited to use first names.
• Know the reason for the patient’s appointment.
• Sit or stand erectly and make good eye contact.
• Listen to the patient’s point of view and show that you understand.
• Answer questions in a concise yet complete manner.
• Explain the reason for appointment delays and offer the patient the choice of refreshment or a rescheduled appointment.
• Speak pleasantly despite pressure.
• Avoid jargon and slang.
• Explain clearly the financial policies of the practice.
• Use short sentences and simple language when giving instructions.
• Let patients know they are welcome in the practice.

In summary, if you get rid of the automated answering service and establish the best possible personal relationship with your patients, you will see your patient satisfaction improve and you practice will benefit in improved patient numbers and better practice viability.

It’s all about service!

HOW TO FILL “HOLES” IN THE APPOINTMENT BOOK FOR A VETERINARIAN

Here is a list of “places to go” when confronted with holes in the schedule.  This can be used as a checklist when trying to fill the appointment book.

1. If you have e-mail where clients can ask for appointments, such as with Demand Force or Vet Street, check your e-mail.

2. Maintain – and check – your “short call list”.

3. Maintain – and check – a “missed appointment list”:  listing any client who has missed an appointment who has not yet rescheduled.

4. For recall clients, look at the “overdue recall list”.

5. To fill grooming, wellness and geriatric appointments, check on patients coming in for the exams who might be overdue.

6. Check for patients that could take advantage of specials you are offering. Call them to let them know about the special.

7. Look at later days for any treatment that could be brought forward.

8. “Incomplete treatment list”.

9. Reactivation list.

10. If you offer any type of pet insurance program or payment wellness program, toward the end of the year, call patients with unused benefits.

HOW TO FILL “HOLES” IN THE APPOINTMENT BOOK FOR A DENTIST

Here is a list of “places to go” when confronted with holes in the schedule.  This can be used as a checklist when trying to fill the appointment book.

1. If you have e-mail where patients can ask for appointments, such as with Demand Force or Lighthouse, check your e-mail.

2. Maintain – and check – your “short call list”.

3. Look for any family members of patients who are already scheduled who are overdue and need to come in.

4. Maintain – and check – a “missed appointment list”:  listing any patient who has missed an appointment who has not yet rescheduled.

5. For hygiene, look at the “overdue recall list”.

6. To fill hygiene appointments, check on patients coming in for restorative who might be overdue for a cleaning.

7. Look at later days for any treatment that could be brought forward.

8. “Incomplete treatment list”.

9. Reactivation list.

10. Toward the end of the year, call patients with unused insurance benefits.

HOW TO FILL “HOLES” IN THE APPOINTMENT BOOK FOR A OPTOMETRIST

Here is a list of “places to go” when confronted with holes in the schedule.  This can be used as a checklist when trying to fill the appointment book.

1. If you have e-mail where patients can ask for appointments, such as with Demand Force, Eyecare Advantage or Vision2020Online check your e-mail.

2. Maintain – and check – your “short call list”.

3. Look for any family members of patients who are already scheduled who are overdue and need to come in.

4. Maintain – and check – a “missed appointment list”:  listing any patient who has missed an appointment who has not yet rescheduled.

5. For regular optical appointments, look at the “overdue recall list”.

6. To fill medical appointments, check on patients coming in for medical exams who might be overdue for a medical eye exam.

7. Look at later days for any treatment that could be brought forward.

8. “Incomplete optical care list”.

9. Reactivation list.

10. Toward the end of the year, call patients with unused insurance benefits.

THE OPTOMETRY OFFICE FINANCIAL “MAKE OR BREAK POINT”

Every practice has a financial make or break point.

This is the point, financially, where you are either making enough money to operate, pay yourself, your employees, all the basic operational cost, continuing education cost, the utilities, etc. Above this point you are making it. Below this point you are breaking it.

As a practice owner it is one of the most important tasks you have to work out what the financial “make/break point” is for the practice.

To do this take the following steps:

1. Take the last 3 months average of spending (include any amounts that are suppose to be covered that may not have been necessarily paid) and determine what your bottom line income needs to be to pay your basic bills (which, includes doctor and staff pay, utilities, bills, etc).

2. Compare this against the suggested ideal financial percentages of an optometry practice and determine where you are overspending.

It is important in managing the finances of your practice to monitor on a regular basis how much you are spending in your various expense categories.  Even more important than watching the gross amount of each cost is keeping an eye on each category as a percent of your collections.  Below are some guidelines to help you evaluate your key expense categories:

            Category                                              Percent of Income       

Cost of Goods Sold                                   27% - 33%

Staff Salaries and Benefits                          18% - 23%

Occupancy Costs                                        4% - 9%

Equipment                                                  3% - 5%

Marketing/Advertising                                2% - 5%

General Office Overhead                            6% - 9%

Doctor’s Compensation                             30% - 35%

These ranges can vary depending on the peculiarities of your practice.  But these are ranges that work for many successful practices.

In evaluating these percentages, you must realize, of course, that the higher the production level of a practice, the lower some of these percentages will go.  A smaller practice will have higher percentages because there is a minimum requirement to these costs just to open your doors.  As the practice expands, these percentages can come down.

Monitoring these costs and percentages on a monthly basis will help you confront and stay in control of your financial planning. 

3. While you work to increase your practice’s income, start planning, using an executive meeting (which I have laid out in a previous blog post), your weekly and monthly spending so that it is kept within your budget and the ideal percentages.

The office manager should be included in the basic financial planning so they understand the financial needs of the practice and can manage the practice with viability in mind.

(Note: If there is a concern on giving to much financial information to someone that is not an owner, they should at least be familiar with the percentages of the practices finances.)

4. Once you have your “make/break point” financial target figured out implement a bonus system (profit sharing, which I have posted about earlier) that awards the staff a certain percentage of the income that is above the “make/break point”. The percentage would be set-a-side and paid out quarterly to help motivate your staff to make your “make/break point” financial targets and would give them great responsibility to increase their own income by increasing the practices income.

Doing the above steps and using the suggested percentages as benchmarks for your practices financial wellbeing will give you much greater control of your finances and assist you achieving financial stability for the practice.

Good luck!