The tyranny of the “check up”
Chris | March 9, 2010Whenever I meet a principal with an average daily productivity of less then £1500 (and that accounts for over 80% of you) I automatically ask how much of their time is spent delivering the dreaded “check up”.
And, of course, the answer is “80% of my time”.
I have never understood this as a business model – the senior dentist in the practice delivering the most junior work?
Wouldn’t the principal in any other professional service firm oversee the routine work and deliver the most complex?
- accountant
- lawyer
- architect
- hospital consultant
Perhaps only medical GP’s, slaving over a full waiting room of the elderly, the infirm and the pregnant would be a similar fate.
And look how much of their work is now being “passed down” to nurses and others.
The mantra is always the same:
my patients wouldn’t want to see anyone else, they have been with me for years
or
I couldn’t find any other dentist who would look after them as well as I do
Neither is true – and that has now been proven by numerous practices who have moved “maintenance” to associates, therapists and/or hygienists (under supervision) and with excellent results in terms of business efficiency, customer satisfaction, team pride and a healthy bottom line.
CLICK HERE to see a letter introducing the concept to existing patients.
Chris, this is fundamentally wrong. The check up is a patient giving permission to find something and is a vital part of their relationship with the dentist. Patients change dentist very reluctantly as it is a personal, invasive service. The dentist they regulary see must always do the check up and THEN they can be referred on.