More and more dentists are adopting same-day care models. Why? To meet patient expectations and remain competitive.
Typically, the patient considers cost, quality of care, and time involved. There’s plenty of competition, and you can help set your practice apart by squarely addressing these factors.
Offering the convenience of getting immediate care and needing fewer return visits—as well as high quality care and transparency about cost (and making it affordable)—meets those key patient concerns.
Same-Day Care
What It Does
Dentists who can provide diagnostics and care on the same day dramatically improve their patients’ health, resulting in higher patient loyalty.
Practices committing to same-day care often see a productivity increase of 15% or more—with only a minor increase in supply and material cost.
What It Takes
To be able to offer same-day care, you’ll need to establish efficient routines; and equip your team with the right tools, teaching and technology.
- Have an efficient system for scheduling and stocking operatories.
- Set operatories up for same-day care, equipped and ready with needed supplies.
- Have an easy-to-use practice management system that’s able to coordinate care seamlessly—from booking appointments to the office visit, billing, insurance, and scheduling the follow-up.
- Be able to send patient records (ePHI) with full HIPAA-compliance from one inbox to the next.
Patients expect their records to be accurate and quickly accessible by staff. When their protected health information (PHI) needs to be sent to them or other providers, they expect it to be sent with a click. - Keep your team’s clinical skills current. Your team should be up-to-date on the application of varnish and sealants, and other clinical skills. Quality care is continually influenced by advancing science and technology. You and your team must stay current.
You want your patients to experience a seamless chain of positive events at your practice.
What Else Will Help You Stay Competitive?
Genuine concern for your patients. Quality care begins with having authentic concern for the patient’s well-being—as well as their wallet and schedule.
Provide full transparency about cost and time. When a patient arrives, offer him or her a chance to move forward with care that day. Show him the cost and time involved. Carry transparency through the final conversation at checkout. You can help make care affordable through means like consumer or healthcare credit cards.
Foster genuine staff concern for patients. Encourage your team members to offer services in the best interest of your patients, rather than simply selling. You could implement a simple, results-based incentive program. It could be monetarily based, additional continuing education, or sponsoring a social event like going to a baseball game.
“Consumers…take a greater hand in managing and paying for their own health,” according to a recent study published by Strategy&. “They are quickly becoming better informed, more discriminating on price and quality, and increasingly willing to walk away from poor service.”
To remain competitive, a practice must be smarter, faster, and more affordable (and have a bigger smile). Think of competition as an exciting opportunity to improve, instead of a practice-threatening obstacle.