Firing dental patients is sometimes necessary to protect your practice integrity, team morale, and workplace culture. When a patient creates conflict that upsets team members or doesn't fit your practice values, letting them go early is better for everyone involved, including the patient, than prolonging a poor relationship.
- One disruptive patient can negatively affect your entire team's morale and performance.
- Saying goodbye to bad-fit patients early is easier for both the practice and the patient than prolonging the relationship.
- A formal plan and process for patient termination ensures it's handled professionally and respectfully.
- Removing problematic patients creates a happier, more productive practice environment for remaining staff and patients.
Have you ever dreaded telling a patient goodbye? In the latest installment of Just a Minute, Doc, Dr. Tom Giacobbi has some advice on why it's the right thing to do for your team and practice, and sometimes for the patient.
Video transcript
"Guess what I'm doing? This is the happy dance after you fired a patient.
"Wait a minute. That seems a little bit extreme. Let's face it, every dental practice at some point needs to say goodbye to a couple of patients in the practice. And there's a variety of good reasons, but the bottom line when you have to let a patient go is you have to protect the integrity of your practice, the team members, and the culture.
"And if you're letting a patient really upset one of your team members, that's going to translate throughout the practice. And the old saying of one bad apple can spoil the bunch is true.
"Sometimes it's just not the right fit, and saying goodbye earlier is far easier for everyone involved, including the patient, than it is to suffer through someone that's just not a good fit for your practice.
"Take the steps. Make sure you have a plan in place to say goodbye the right way. And everybody on the team's going to be a little bit happier.
"Now let's get back to work."
