Dr. Tom Giacobbi returns with a focus on your dental practice's schedule and how to make it the most efficient it can be for you, your team, and your patients.
Check out his latest installment in the Just A Minute, Doc series below.
Video transcript
"Yeah, I have no idea why it smells like that, but I'm going to have to call you back in a minute.
"Do you run your schedule? Or does your schedule run you?
"The most important part of every day is having a morning huddle. Many practices are missing out on this critical step. This is an opportunity to review the schedule for the day, answer questions people might have, and identify any potential bottlenecks.
"The second part of scheduling is how your schedule is built. For example, if you don't love doing class II composites, then limit the number of class II composite patients that you'll see in a day. If you're having an issue getting emergency patients fit into the schedule, then build in some time blocks for emergencies, and pay attention to why people are coming in for those last-minute emergency appointments. Maybe there's something you can prevent from happening in the future.
"Lastly, patient hand offs are critical. We use routing slips in the office, but whatever your system is, when the doctor comes in to see the patient for the first time, the dental assistant should really be managing that conversation and relaying the patient's concerns to the doctor. When the doctor comes in to do a hygiene exam, the hygienist has a wealth of knowledge about the patient they've spent some time with, and they need to relay that to the doctor.
"And finally, when the patient's heading to the front office to check out, whichever provider has taken care of that patient, that information needs to be communicated so the patient can check out and be on their way.
"Now, let's get back to work."
