Best Practices to Follow for Your DSO or Group Dental Practice — Part 1

It’s refreshing to think about growth. So, when you’re positioned to expand, it’s essential to follow best practices for your DSO or group dental practice.

But growth isn’t possible without challenges:

• Aligning vision and care standards
• Communication
• Team culture
• Patient dynamics
• Practice management

Those are fundamental. And it would make sense to unpack each within the context of a best-practice mindset.

”We’re not in (solo mode) anymore…”

As a solo dental practice owner, you’ve probably accepted and face the previously mentioned challenges. Now that you’ve achieved a measurable level of success, you’re compelled to up your business-of-dentistry game.

More than ever, you’re perhaps discovering (and comfortable) with being somewhat of an organizational CEO instead of a one-practice CEO.

Now it’s a matter of building your organization and investing in those consistent best practices that can sustain your new enterprise.

Phase one best practices for your DSO or group dental practice

Plug-and-play, standardized systems

Everyone on the same page is better than random, whatever-works-for-you systems. Sure, each location will have its own thumbprint, but the processes are rooted in what works within your initial practice.

Think in system prototypes. In essence, what’s proven and tested can (and should be) reproduced and trained into each subsequent location:

• Write, publish and promote it across your organization
• Adapt management styles rather than altering systems
• Apply to every area — clinical, business, marketing, etc.

Clear, connected communication processes

Team synergy relies on clear communication. That synergy applies to each individual practice and your overall organization.

Communication processes help drive new initiatives and new protocols into your team culture. Those processes also impact the way your team interacts within their respective departments.

How you communicate evolves. Face-to-face connections are still fundamental, but they’re supported (and often replaced) by digital communication channels.

Effective communication protocols have an “evergreen” quality. That means whether in-person or online, the message is clear. Effective communication protocols include:

• Instill a personal (rather than corporate) tone within your communication.
• Train your team in communication techniques.
• Invest in technology or routine gatherings that keep your multiple teams connected and informed together.

And speaking of your teams…

Build and promote a positive team culture in each practice

This ultimately comes down to how well you hire. Whoever is tasked with hiring must understand, own and maintain your organization’s team culture.

Not all team hires will stick around. Reasons will vary, but make sure that team culture isn’t among them by:

• Leveraging the leaders among your team(s) to evaluate culture “fit” when hiring. This might vary from practice to practice according to each practice’s thumbprint.
• Trusting team input and perspectives during the hiring process.
• Clarifying the hiring process across your organization and assuring it’s followed in each practice.
• Encouraging an adaptive mindset among your teams. This helps create room for growth.

Design an engaging patient experience

Treatment acceptance is an end result. The path to acceptance relies on how well you/your team engage your patients around their oral health solutions.

Technology and team additions can help improve your patient connections. For example, an intra-oral camera provides patients real-time perspective on their condition and your diagnosis.

And team members tasked with treatment coordination can give more focused attention to the dynamics around a patient’s case and recommended treatment, as well as financials and insurance.

Prioritize follow-up

Broken appointments, cancellations and no-shows create those annoying schedule gaps. Strategic follow-up routines can help reduce your ratios. Create schedule consistency through the following ways:

• Automate your appointment reminders, follow-up communications and unscheduled treatment prompts.
• Know each patient’s preferred communication mode — phone, email, text, social media direct message, postcard, etc.
• Educate patients via your blog and social media content about the value of appointment and treatment follow-through.

Keep in mind that best practices rely on best dental practice management solutions. A cloud-based system covers these bases and more.

These best practice-themed resources can assist your practice expansion:

• 3 Keys for Group Practices to Drive Better Outcomes
• Starting Your Dental Practice With Cloud Software

Keep everyone on the same page with a trusted cloud-based dental practice management solution

Dentrix Ascend from Henry Schein One centralizes data, supports the structure of your practice and/or DSO and provides scalability as your practice or organization grows.

Learn what makes Dentrix Ascend the right solution for your dental practice or DSO.

Request a demo today.