- The Oral-Systemic Link:
How it Affects the Relationship
Between Dentists and Patients
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Emergency Education in a Patient-Centric Practice
Providing customer service that doesn't fall by the wayside in emergencies
Michael Varallo, DMD
HoHoKus Dental Associates
For a dental practice today to shine, it must have some characteristic that patients recognize as above and beyond the competition. In my practice, we rely on a patient-centric customer service philosophy to distinguish ourselves and build relationships with loyal patients. Every day in our team huddles, I ask my staff, “What is our core business?” They know that the answer is “people,” not “teeth.”
One of the ways in which we put this philosophy into practice is by emphasizing patient education for everyone who comes in our doors. We want our patients to feel fully informed about their treatment choices and empowered to make their own decisions. Because patient education is so central to our practice, we've developed procedures for incorporating it into every appointment – even dental emergencies. We find that taking the time for patient education can actually have a very positive effect on productivity, in addition to resulting in satisfied patients and increased referrals.
Educating the emergency patient
Our practice follows a procedure that ensures emergency patients are cared for at every step in the process, yet creates minimal interference with the existing schedule. We rely on our patient-centric service to highlight and underscore how patient education can keep a practice running more efficiently.
When an emergency patient comes to the office, he is greeted by an assistant, who collects the patient's data and updates his medical history. While this step is not unusual, our increased efficiency results from what we do next. After taking the patient's history, the assistant takes a digital intraoral photo of the patient's emergency concerns, and then brings the photo to me in the operatory where I am working. I am able to examine the photo and give the assistant instructions on whether an X-ray is necessary and on possible treatment options, all without stepping away from the patient in the chair.
Those possible treatment options are the basis for the education we conduct with the emergency patient. Following any necessary X-rays, the assistant shows the emergency patient several CAESY Patient Education presentations that highlight his issue and some potential courses of action. With this method, by the time I am finished treating my regularly scheduled patient, the emergency patient has already been informed about his treatment options. When I am ready to examine him clinically, we can jump right to addressing any questions he has about the treatment options he's just been presented. The regularly scheduled patient does not have her treatment interrupted, and the emergency patient has been cared for from the moment he arrived at the practice. Meanwhile, the practice continues to run on schedule because all necessary data has been collected and assessed prior to the time I walk into the room.
Third-party validation
That kind of efficiency benefits the practice, of course, but this procedure is also a major benefit to the patient. My philosophy is that patient education helps patients make informed decisions. We find this is very reassuring to patients, and that helping them make informed decisions in this way results in fewer bumps down the road. For example, one patient with a broken lingual cusp elected to have chairside bonding done after viewing the CAESY Patient Education presentations. The videos we showed mapped out what might happen to her restoration for years down the road, so the patient was fully aware of the pros and cons of the treatment she selected. In the event that her restoration fails, she won't feel surprised or ambushed, because she knew that was a possibility when she selected bonding.
We also make copies of the videos and photos and send them home with patients on CD-ROMs, which are customized with an informational jacket from our practice. This allows the patient to review the options again if desired, and also to share the information with family or friends.
In addition to the benefits of patients feeling more in control, the third-party validation offered by the intraoral photos and CAESY Patient Education presentations can make a real difference in their willingness to buy-in to procedures. Patients are able to see the image of their tooth and recognize the same condition in the video, making the mental connection and increasing their motivation to address the condition properly. This validation is a powerful motivator for patients.
Productivity gains and increased referrals
Though it may seem that thoroughly educating patients on a number of treatment choices might increase chairtime, in actuality we've found that our treatment times have been cut by one third. We're able to see more patients, and the value they receive from their visits also increases. We're also able to keep our schedule on time, which we pride ourselves on as another reflection of our focus on patients.
Patients appreciate this level of treatment, which is reflected in our growth and number of referrals. Our revenues were up 22 percent for the first quarter of 2008, and up 8 percent for 2007--without an increase in fees. We rely on productivity and referrals to grow our practice, as opposed to external marketing, and we see at least 20 new patients a month. Our challenges now are managing this growth and maintaining our emphasis on customer service.
It is said that 30 percent of your existing patients refer 100 percent of your new patients, but there is no way to identify which 30 percent--you have to satisfy everyone. Practicing this way allows me to do great dentistry in a very efficient manner, and in a way that really does impress patients. In addition to being lucrative for the practice, this level of care builds loyalty and trust. As a result of our focus on customer service and patient education, our patients leave the office saying “thank you,” and we know they'll be back.
