Orthodontic treatment is not always an easy journey. Many orthodontic practices work diligently to make the journey for their patients a smooth and easy one. While others create many hurdles in the orthodontic experience. These obstacles can be a source of frustration for everyone involved. They can also restrict the potential opportunities for an orthodontist to create a remarkable treatment journey. Let’s look at some common hurdles orthodontic practices face in starting treatment, and how we can remove or reduce them.
New Patient Onboarding
How difficult is it to schedule an exam at your office? Have you built the capacity to see new patients throughout the day and address their interests quickly? Most offices have a limitation in booking appointments which can lead to a large backlog. Therefore, consider the number of scheduling and TC members to efficiently meet the demand of exams. In addition, consider virtual appointment options for patients focused on convenience, and get a preliminary assessment.
Sometimes we need to hire more team members. Other times we need to expand our office footprint to build capacity. But most of the time, we streamline the process to reduce the time and steps necessary to maximize the exams in a day.
Consider your exam process and reduce the obstacles. I used to work in an office that scheduled for a long exam. They then scheduled for records and followed with a treatment conference before starting the patient. Consequently, it resulted in low case acceptance, limited practice growth, and frustrated patients. Now, we gather all records at the exam, present full fees, and financing options, and start patients quickly. Hence we greatly improve the new patient experience with technology and a well-designed onboarding system.
Starting Treatment
Do you offer appliances that patients find desirable while focusing on efficiency? Obstacles in acceptance and the complexity of your options often block starting treatment.
Is your practice able to start treatment on the same day? Building schedule capacity and efficiencies in your start process are critical to removing hurdles. At your morning huddle, look at potential schedule openings and build a schedule that has slack for greater work with your current team and facility. You can design an office with an extra chair for this ability and build a team ready to add capacity to each day.
How long are your start appointments? Aim to reduce that time, so starts are not a long, difficult process to gain greater efficiency and capacity for more starts and same-day starts. Simplify your treatment planning and appliance bonding process so you can reduce the time for your start appointments. Leverage your team to minimize doctor time on these procedures so the doctor performs the critical steps and can work well together.
By addressing hurdles in starting treatment, orthodontic offices can greatly impact their conversion, productivity, and patient experience.
