Measuring Practice Performance by Dale Tucci

As a follow-up to the recent webinar I spoke at, the following blog is a summary pertaining to measuring practice performance in a GP practice. Tracker reports can and should be used to assist in gathering the information and through the assessment of the data practice opportunities can be identified.
You can arrange software training to retrieve the information required to measure practice performance.

Evaluate Business Operating Systems in 5 Key Areas of Practice Performance:
Practice and Hygiene Growth
Productivity
Financial Controls
Human Resources
Customer Service and Marketing

Practice and Hygiene Growth
To measure growth, the practice collects new patient number in a date range and examines new patients that will be added to the recall system. The practice can then adjust hygiene schedules to meet the added demand for hygiene treatment.

Growth, in the hygiene aspect of the practice, is also driven by active patients whose hygiene interval changes, for example from 6 months to 3 month care. This places additional demand on the hygiene schedule.

Of course, growth in hygiene, whether via new patients or by the existing patients, requires the practice to measure growth relative to patient attrition in hygiene treatment. Attrition through patients leaving the practice or remaining on unscheduled lists can be measured.

Productivity
Productivity relies on many practice factors such as effective management of provider time, meeting downtime targets and utilizing and working on unscheduled treatment.

One way to measure practice performance around productivity is assessing provider downtime relative to industry norms. For example, establish a target of 10% or less downtime in hygiene schedules and 3% or less in the dentist’s schedule. This is a straightforward way to evaluate patient management and scheduling systems.

Establishing downtime targets for the dentist and hygienist and meeting these targets is a basic practice measurement in a GP office.

Use Tracker billing by code reports to identify areas in hygienists billing that are inconsistent. In a practice with multiple dentists billing by code reports also reveal opportunities.

Lab fees can be measured monthly and compared to the practice target.

Run dormant patient reports and develop an action plan to contact patients to reactivate them or conduct a marketing survey to determine why patients fell into the dormant status. Measure the practice ability and use reports to fill provider downtime.

Financial Controls
The key opportunity within the practice is to establish systems around meeting the target of 98% collection to production.

Use software reports to manage over 90 day accounts and keep this percentage low at 10-15% of overall receivables.

A/R is an area within the practice that is simple to measure and thus performance should be reviewed twice monthly.

Human Resources
People are the most valuable asset in the dental practice.

To ensure better management of human resources cover the basics:

Job descriptions with performance measurements
Arrange for training to use Tracker
Create training plans for new hires and measure uptake monthly
Schedule regular performance evaluations
Create an employee handbook
Cross train team to improve depth of knowledge
Celebrate performance
Establish open communication through huddles, team meetings etc.

Effective human resource management has a direct impact of the practice performance.

Customer Service and Marketing
In this aspect of measuring practice performance, the key indicator of patient satisfaction and engagement is reflected in new patient referrals. For example, if the practice treated 400 patients in a month and had 5 new patient referrals, what does this indicate?

In addition to new patient referrals, positive reviews on social media can be seen as acknowledging customer care.

Every practice should be aware of its uniqueness, then design a customer service plan that supports the practice. No two dental offices are exactly alike, so service plans should be created by the team.

Ensure everyone is communicating a message about the practice always accepting patients, has a keen interest in customer feedback and discusses service in private during patient dismissal at the end of appointments.

Examine your scheduling systems and capacity with providers to ensure patients have access to treatment.

Use Tracker effectively to document and use patient preferences.

If you’re wondering if you’re really taking advantage of all the reports and plethora of features Tracker has, then reach out to the folks at Tracker and make sure. Whether it’s a simple explanation or a more in-depth training, you will surely benefit.

If you feel like connecting with me, Dale Tucci, please do. I’d be glad to meet and hear from you.