I recently had a discussion with several dental consultants and dentists about what they would recommend or do to send condolences when a patient passes away. One recommended flowers because so many of the attendees would read the note that comes with the flowers so it was a good way "to get your name out there".  I personally was offended by that idea and found it self-serving. One of the dentists mentioned a handwritten card because it's more personal and takes more effort. I thought that was very good advice.

The two purposes of a dental office morning huddle are Problem solve anticipated problems in advance of the current day.  The team knowing where the practice stands in relationship to monthly goals and working together to come up with solutions to get on goal when needed. Not all practice owners want to set daily and monthly goals. I recommend doing so but, the practice owner decides.  The huddle also acts as a bridge for staff transitioning from their day to day lives to the business day.  Huddle Report Form: A customizable huddle form will be supplied to you. The form is gone...

The organization of a practice is, in essence, composed of ensuring you and your staff members know how to efficiently and effectively process: a. New Patientsb. Returning Patientsc. Emergency Patients When we begin with a new client he evaluates where the weak links are in handling new, returning and emergency patients. He then systematically strengthens each of the weak links through training. The following functions are a few examples of where weak links are often discovered:    a. New Patient phone callsb. Processing new patientsc. Financial arrangementsd. Patient retentione. Scheduling (low production days, no shows, cancels, etc.)f. Little or no effective...

“Every mistake is an opportunity to learn.”  Let your employee know you appreciate them without any “but” or ‘however”. Otherwise why do they still have a job? Let your employee know that “every mistake is an opportunity to learn.”  Let your employee tell their side of the story. Listen. Do not assume.  For some situations it could be one strike and you're out on the other hand always weigh an employee's value versus non-optimum behavior. In general discipline should be done on a gradient.  Until you are comfortable correcting employees, you can simply pull this policy out with your employee present...