Jameson Blog
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Nitrous Oxide Consent Forms
By Nancy Dukes, BA, RDH, CBM Are you currently using a separate Consent Form for Nitrous Oxide for each patient and each appointment? Are your patients filling out the general Consent Form and a very specific Nitrous Oxide Use Consent Form when appropriate? In discussion of comprehensive legal documentation with practices, often the issue of consents is raised. I would like some thoughts on this subject, as it has been my understanding that doctors should of course use any consent forms required by their states but also have separate consent forms for major procedures such as endo, crown and bridge and ESPECIALLY elective procedures such as cosmetic dentistry. At times Jameson coaches have shared with some of our clients a general consent form they may use but we advise that special consent forms should be drawn up by the doctor and his legal counsel and/or use ADA provided forms. Most importantly, refer to your own state’s bylaws to make certain your and your practice are always in compliance according to the state board. [ add comment ] ( 159 views ) Complaints of High Fees by Cathy Jameson We are hearing more and more doctors express frustration and concern about patient’s complaints about fees. In fact, as a company we did not recommend fee increases last year to most of our clients. If they wanted to implement a fee increase, we supported that, but did not initiate the recommendation. (We usually recommend a soft increase every year, in coordination with the increased cost of living). First of all, with this patient that expresses difficulty or gets upset with your fees, I would recommend that you try to get the patient on the phone or send them a letter telling them that you appreciate their concern and want to speak with them in person to work things out. Tell them that you have appreciated them as a patient and want them to continue to be a part of your patient family. Then express how much you would like to have that conversation face to face rather than on e-mail. As you know, e-mail or regular mail, are the worst ways to communicate because you do not have any interaction of body language or tone of voice. These two factors account for 90% of the perception of the message. Thus, so much can be misinterpreted with the written word. I wholeheartedly encourage you to make a personal call to this patient and ask her to join you for a conversation for the purpose of hearing her concerns and working out the situation. What you may want to do is offer her complimentary dental cleanings and evaluations for a family member for the next year, if they proceed with treatment (or for the whole family or something like that). In fact, you may want to use that concept as a marketing tool. When someone concludes their treatment with you, offer them one year of complimentary cleanings and evaluations. The cost to you would be minimal compared to the fees received from a completed treatment. This is just one idea—you can think of many others. Also, remember not to let the minority rule the majority. If there are a few patients complaining about the fees and leaving as a result of them, then this is not a big problem. If this is happening to such a degree that your overall turnover is suffering, you may want to consider lowering your fees to an acceptable level for both you and the patient or you may want to do more added value marketing options, like the one I suggested above. Certainly, be ever cognizant of your own overhead and if you reduce fees, you may need to look for areas you would have to lower costs of operation. [ add comment ] ( 203 views ) Leadership: A skill or a gift? There are those that believe that leadership is an inherent gift – that there are those born to lead and those that are not. But, what if leadership was a SKILL? What if you could learn the skill of leadership, no matter where you fall on the leadership scale right now? What if you could become a great leader in your own right? What if I told you this was not just a hypothetical question, but was absolutely possible! If you were to ask your average Joe on the street what makes a great leader, you would probably hear a variety of common stereotypes. But, the truth is there have been multitudes of great leaders throughout history that were as different as day and night, but became the great leaders because they used their personal strengths to their advantage and led from their natural tendencies. Here are just a few areas that strengthen a person’s ability to lead effectively: 1. Great communication skills. Learn how to effectively LISTEN and COMMUNICATE with your team. This takes a lot of practice, but if given the energy and time it deserves you can take your ability to lead up several notches and see a positive difference in your work and personal relationships! Great books to help with this skill: • Great Communication = Great Production by Cathy Jameson • Be Your Best by Linda Adams 2. Strong decision making skills. Become a more efficient and effective decision maker. Take procrastination out of your life! In hindsight, most leaders would probably say that many of their leadership regrets come from not making a necessary – and most likely difficult – decision sooner. Great books to help with this skill: • Good To Great by Jim Collins • Broken Windows Broken Business by Michael Levine • Execution by Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy • Visit our web site’s homepage at www.jamesonmanagement.com for a complimentary audio download of Cathy Jameson speaking about Leadership and Decision Making. 3. Effective problem solving skills. This frequently falls under the communication skills category, but problem solving can also involve the ability to delegate, to manage your time efficiently and to set goals. It’s a mouthful and from afar can feel very overwhelming, but it just goes to show that if you put the right skills to work you can find solutions that meets everyone’s needs and you can make those solutions a reality, together! Great books to help with problem solving: • Be Your Best by Linda Adams • Great Communication = Great Production by Cathy Jameson • Goals! by Brian Tracy Written by Carrie Webber [ add comment ] ( 264 views ) Next week in Plano, Texas, dental assistants from around the country will gather for a one-of-a-kind meeting that is designed specifically for them — Professional Dental Assisting (PDA). This is the fourth year for PDA having made previous stops in Indianapolis (twice) and Norfolk, Va. Cathy Jameson was one of the keynote speakers at the first PDA in Indianapolis, and her message of the dental assistant’s value has been echoed by other speakers in PDA’s history. I was recently asked to pen an article for a magazine devoted to the dentist about the current state of dental assistant salaries. Of course, I accepted the offer and wrote the article below. Sadly, my article was rejected because the editorial team at the magazine felt it was "too negative toward the doctor." I was also told, "The doctor hears these complaints all the time, so why print them?" Folks, there is a thing called "reality" out there. Yes, these are tough times. Yes, people are hurting right now. Yes, dental assistants deserve more pay. If you don't believe one or more of these three statements, you're burying your head in the sand. That's my take. Dental assistants ... keep fighting the good fight. Keep believing you're worth every penny you make ... and much, much more. I wrote the article below with you in mind. I am the editor of Dental Assisting Digest (DAD), a monthly e-newsletter that goes out to more than 25,000 dental assistants around the country. I love my role with DAD because I enjoy talking to dental assistants and getting their perspectives on office trends and favorite products. I've heard more than one doctor say his or her dental assistant is the heartbeat of the practice, and I am a firm believer in that statement. During my talks with dental assisting groups around the country, one of the hottest topics among them seems to be salaries and benefits. I recently put together a salary survey and sent it out through DAD, asking dental assistants about their hourly wages as well as their perceptions of their pay and benefits. Last June, we posted our first DAD salary survey. During that survey, almost 800 DAD readers took the time to fill out the five-question online salary survey. Of the respondents, 81% made less than $22 per hour, and a whopping 97.7% made less than $30 per hour. In January, we wanted to find out a little more about those 97.7% who made less than $30 per hour, so we asked dental assistants to fill out another survey. This time, 502 responded with their honest opinions about their wages. What did we learn? The majority of dental assistants who answered fall into the $16 to $18 per hour range, with 35.6% in that range. What was the best news from the survey, in my opinion? There were only 3% of respondents who made $10 or less. What was the worst news, in my opinion? There were 3% of respondents who made $10 or less. I am so looking forward to being at PDA 2009 next week. I know these assistants will leave the meeting energized, refreshed, and ready to make their job not just a “job” but a “career.” My hope is that their employers will see the dedication in their eyes of actions, and reward them. [ add comment ] ( 195 views ) Over the past year Jameson has provided a “mystery patient” service to our clients. In a nutshell, we call in as a prospective new patient and participate in a new patient call with the business administrator. Throughout the call we are evaluating the level of customer service, whether they are implementing communication skills taught to them by their Jameson coach and if they are gathering the appropriate information – and are able to lead that caller to the optimal end result – scheduling an appointment! We then give that information to the client’s coach and they are able to work on these areas with the team at the next consult. Here are a few simple items that are more often than not missed in these calls: 1. Ask for the caller’s name. Sounds simple enough, right? You would be amazed at how few calls I finish end with the dental practice knowing my name! How can you move into the driver’s seat of the conversation if you never know the person you are speaking with on the phone? 2. Speak clearly, pleasantly and loud enough for the caller to hear you. I have often found it difficult to continue a conversation with a dental practice if I can’t understand what they are saying or if they sound less than thrilled to be having a conversation with me. Think of local stores, customer service lines, or businesses where you’ve had great customer care. Call and speak to them over the phone – take notes on what you liked about those call experiences and implement them into your practice’s telephone technique! Who says that healthcare providers can’t be just as customer service oriented as the next business? Sometimes it’s as simple as a clear, pleasant greeting! 3. Stay in control of the call! In a new patient call, there’s quite a bit of information you need to gather while also moving that patient to ultimately scheduling a new patient appointment with you. It is imperative that you answer that caller’s questions, but it is just as important that you stay on task and don’t lose control of the call. This way, the caller feels listened to, but you also are able to get that conversation to go where you need it to go – into the schedule! This is easier said than done, but can be accomplished with a little active listening and great communication skills! There you have it – three simple items that seem to wreak havoc on business teams throughout the land! Take the necessary steps to eliminate these problems and you will find more and more new patients walking through the door! If you want more help with this area of your practice, Jameson now offers a special program focused directly on telephone technique and the new patient experience called the Mystery Patient Program. Give us a call today to discuss scheduling this program for your practice: 877.369.5558. [ 1 comment ] ( 1151 views ) |
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