A good friend of mine, Timothy Brown, CEO of the ROI Corporation (Toronto, Canada) recently asked me what three tips I’d share with someone just starting a practice, someone who’s growing a practice, and someone with a practice in peak productivity. Beginning this month is the first of my three answers.
1. Calculate your “break-even” point.
If you don’t know how much must be produced and collected each day, there is no way to plan for sound cash-flow management or profitability. Examining each end-of-day report enables one to know the practice’s current fiscal condition and reduces the potential for an unpleasant end-of-month financial surprise. Make scheduling adjustments as needed.
2. Be on time.
I’ve written before about the importance of seating patients on time. According to research by Futuredontics, it’s the number one factor which determines whether a patient will return. In a young and growing practice, minimizing the loss of new patients is critically important. Time your most common procedures, use practice management software with ten-minute increments, add a unit for difficult patients, and always keep an empty chair. Consider the concept of “interrupted hygiene” as the practice grows.
3. Know your software.
Many practitioners eagerly embrace educational opportunities to improve their clinical skills, but often fail to enhance their practice management knowledge, including understanding their software. Knowing your software enables one to download important key practice indicators to better manage the practice in “real time,” while significantly reducing the risk for employee embezzlement.
There are, of course, many other factors that contribute to the success of a newly established practice, but these three are critically important to recognize.
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“”What are stumbling blocks and defeat to the weak and vacillating,
are but stepping stones to victory to the determined soul.”
~~Orison Swett Marden
