Easy-to-use dental clinic productivity software can increase production by 30% and keep staff and patients smiling.
Have you ever stopped to wonder how much productivity is lost every day as you and your team dash from one end of the practice to the other to discuss and juggle patient needs? Running a busy dental practice doesn’t have to mean running around.
This article will discuss ways to increase productivity and billing with a dental practice communication and patient flow management system that reduces client wait times and boosts employee satisfaction.
The challenges of running a busy dental practice
Perhaps this scenario is familiar: Anne is busy with an implant patient in one of your operatories when Jim taps on the door to request a recall exam for one of his hygiene patients. Jim sees that Anne is busy, so he leaves for a few minutes. When he returns, Anne is still attending to her patient, but Jim is now in a bind since his recall patient is still waiting—and this is a common occurrence.
At this point, you have one unhappy employee possibly considering a move, a patient who will soon tire of waiting, and a bottleneck in production. This problem is not going away on its own, and despite all advancements in dentistry, there have been few solutions to address it. In a time when customer and employee reviews can make or break a business, something must be done.
A breakdown in intra-office communication and patient flow management has serious repercussions, from poor staff morale to reduced patient satisfaction to diminished production. One dental clinic noticed that when communication was lacking, an average of 7.5 minutes per hour was lost in productivity for every member on the team. This could equate to an hour (or $250) lost in billings per team member per day. If you have a 10-person team, the potential daily loss is a massive $2,500. Fortunately, there is a solution: Flow.
The uses and benefits of Flow dental clinic productivity software
Flow is a communication and patient flow management system built by dentists. Just 14 months after implementing their Flow solution in their 8-operatory clinic, production increased by 30%. Team morale and patient retention rates also improved, with 94% of patients (in a clientele book of 5000) returning for cleanings and exams and staff churn dropping below 4%. At a time when the Canadian dental workforce is “expected to face a strong risk of labour shortage over the period of 2024-2033,” retaining staff is critical, as is keeping patients coming back.
How does the Flow solution have such a positive impact on patients and staff? Employees appreciate Flow since they no longer need to wait for colleagues or pester them for follow-ups. Patients love the fact that Flow moves them faster through their appointments and out of the chair faster, minimizing and even eliminating wait times.
How does the Flow solution work?
Flow is an easy-to-use digital workflow integration application available exclusively through Frontier Dental. It requires virtually no training and takes less than 5 minutes to set up in clinics of any size. Flow works by subscription and runs on tablets. Installing a Flow tablet in clear eye view is recommended everywhere communication needs to happen, from the reception area and offices to the operatories, sterilization room, and staff room. A Flow Chromecast system is also available for hands-free monitors.
Flow dental clinic productivity software facilitates easy and effective communication between rooms. For example, Flow enables a staff member in one room to communicate with all other rooms to request a service, such as a recall exam or operatory refresh between patients. No more running around, chasing, or waiting.
Conclusion: Keeping business moving forward and patients happy is all about flow
Building a fully connected dental practice doesn’t have to be difficult and can be highly beneficial to the bottom line. Eliminating bottlenecks and barriers to productivity, the Flow solution streamlines workflows, boosts billings, and keeps staff and patients happy. Learn about our special Flow bundle deal.
