Question for Dentists and Clinic Owners

[Dr. Dentist]

Hey all!

What's the number 1 pain point in your day-to-day operations?

What's one area of running a clinic you need the most help with?

For me:

Thing I hate: scheduling. We still rely on phone calls and appointment requests through our website. I hate how there's no accountability for the patient and it's not really their fault as they often forget or don't feel all to obligated to respect the appointment. Makes some days go haywire, and others be dead quiet (not ideal)

Thing I need help: Acquisition and retention. Getting new patients and activating existing ones. Direct mail and ads in the local paper used to work, but the neighborhood has changed over the years and everyone is online. I tried hiring a social media manager but the results were worse than direct mail. Having trouble getting patients to WANT to come in for regular hygiene appointments. Hygiene makes up about half of my total production, and I'd like to get it higher so I can start transitioning away from day-to-day practice.

Curious to know everyone else's thoughts. Do either of the above sound similar to you? How bad is it for you on a scale of 1-10? Curious to know what methods everyone's using to address these or whether I'm the odd one out experiencing these challenges


Cheers,

- a frustrated dentist who owns and runs his own clinic

 

[Cloud]

I’m not an owner or dentist, but as a patient I prefer places that send out email confirmations. I get a confirmation email once appointment is made and then a follow-up about a week before the actual appointment date. I’ve seen some places use some sort of calendar link attached to the email, so by the press of a button, the date is placed into your calendar.

I feel calling to confirm patient dates to be an inefficient use of time. Almost two years with my current place and it’s all been done via email. The only time I call is to reschedule. Maybe it’s because I’m in my 20s and prefer the convenience of technology, which has placed a greater preference on texting/emailing.