No doubt you're feeling the effects of the staffing shortage. But there's help—try these ideas to keep critical team members focused on patients while other important tasks are covered by outsourcing.
In talking to dentists through the years, many say that the most difficult part of being a business owner is dealing with team members and personnel issues.
When a team member must be replaced, efficiency drops.
The industry has shared that it takes 18 months for a new team member to become as efficient as the team member they replaced. That’s a lot of time!
Dental business owners have to decide what tasks must be done in the practice, where to find trained professionals for those tasks, and what tasks can be outsourced.
Dental patients often like to come into the office and see the same faces. The customer service component cannot be outsourced.
Hands-on dental treatment from the dentist, dental assistant, and hygienist cannot be outsourced. But to some degree, other tasks can be done on an outsource basis.
Many opportunities to simplify
The most effective bit of outsourcing is in the area of insurance. It’s very helpful to have an outside company like All About Teeth LLC to obtain breakdown of benefits, upload them to patient profiles, and complete the process.
Our company can create claims, send them for payment, and post payments and forward statements to patients after the claims have been paid.
Many also call on delinquent accounts and follow through with collections. Often one member of the company is dedicated to the same office, so they become familiar with the team and patients.
The economic gain for the practice is far more than the investment in this outsourced position.
Because of the shortage of dental professionals, this is one less position the dentist must fill, which leaves more time to focus on the team members who are essential for necessary face-to-face interactions with patients.
Offices will never be efficient and effective if they remain in the pre-COVID world.
The only sure thing today is that change will occur. Offices will never be efficient and effective if they remain in the pre-COVID world. Practice owners who are proactive and seek solutions before they even need them will always be a step ahead.
Customer service must stay in the office. To keep that service sharp, there are many tasks that can be outsourced.
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