Social Media For Dentists

Social media has changed the way most businesses operate in 2015 and the world of dentistry is no different. Not only are dentists expected to provide a service, but now many practices are expected to be electronically accessible and engaged with their patients beyond their scheduled appointments through a variety of social media websites and platforms.

Websites are supposed to do more than merely provide a phone number to call and driving directions to your practice. Patients want a full service web portal where they can check your available time slots, make appointments, look at your practice, read about your staff, and look at before and after photos of some procedures that are performed in your office.

Patients want dynamic information and interaction that your website may not be able to provide. Keeping patients engaged through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or even Pinterest is key for customer retention and new business. People are busier and more distracted than ever. Mrs. Smith who came in for a cleaning a year ago may not have logged on to Facebook thinking about her next dentist appointment, but while browsing through family photos she might see a quick note from your office reminding her that it's time for a checkup.

Knowing where and how you are discussed in cyberspace is just as important as reaching out to current and potential clients. Review websites such as Yelp and Foursquare are very helpful with shaping your practice’s image. Negative reviews can spell doom for you as many patients take to it to get things off of their chest that they may not have wanted to tell you in person. You want to be able to respond politely to any grievances one may air about your practice and let other readers know that you care about the concerns of your patients and will do better next time. Conversely, if your patients walk away satisfied, you can ask them to leave a review for you online which will help drive new patients to your practice.

All of this may sound daunting but it in today’s times, it is a way of life. A good social media presence is just as important as your friendly receptionist, or a fresh coat of paint on your walls. It is the new face of your company. Do not get left behind. Use it to your advantage and watch your business grow.

Please give us a call to learn how social media can help grow your client base, boost revenue, and stay engaged with your patients.

Salaries In The Dental Office - National Statistics

One of the most common questions I receive while in my travels through various dental offices is by far - "How much should I be paying my...(dental assistant, hygienist, office manager)?"

That is a very loaded question. Dental office team member salaries can vary based on experience, office location, type of dental office and so many other variables. 

Lucky for us, Dental Products Report has congregated information from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics to bring us a great resource for checking salaries.

See the report here!

A.R.T.S and D-TECH Go To Uganda

Recently, I teamed with a non-profit organization which is run by Dr. Gunther Heyder here in Washington, DC. Last year, he started an organization called A Reason to Smile (ARTS) to bring dental relief and education to the people of Africa.

The ARTS project is a self-run clinic that brings all of its own materials, instruments, and some medications. It's mission is to provide direct care, education, and supplies so that we are advocating proper oral hygiene, oral health, and infection and disease control that can be maintained after our visits. The team we have here in the US consists of a wide variety of professionals, including dentists, dental staff, educators, lawyers, and other humanitarians.

We are planning a trip to the Sitabalee village in Uganda in November of 2015. We will be joining forces with TASAAGA (http://www.tasaaga.org/) and using their facilities to bring dental care and education to these areas for 10 days. The success of the first trip to Senegal in March 2015 was very encouraging, and were excited to bring relief to another area of Africa. We hope to see about 1,000 patients in a refugee camp and the surrounding area, which is greatly affected by poverty and lack of access to healthcare.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me with any questions. You can also visit the website at http://africanreasontosmile.com/.

Your consideration is greatly appreciated, and your donation (either financially or as a volunteer) would truly make a difference to hundreds of people!

Dentists - Opt In or Opt Out of Medicare?

https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1311.pdf

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/Downloads/CMS-4159_FAQs.pdf

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/Prescriber-Enrollment-Information.html

Background Checks On Dental Team Members?

Wow! Last week's post regarding embezzlement produced an avalanche of responses and pleas for help. I figured I would follow up with a few posts outlining additional information which could assist with reducing the instances of embezzlement in the dental office. One way a dental office could reduce theft in their practice is to implement better hiring standards. In particular, the dental industry as a whole does not routinely utilize background checks when hiring new team members. Hiring someone who is responsible for managing hundreds of thousands of dollars for your business without a background check is the equivalent to playing business roulette. Protect your practice! Contact us for guidance on improving your Human Resource systems.

*The Society for Human Resource Management states 45% of all resumes contain one major fabrication.

*The Wall Street Journal states 34% of all application forms contain outright lies about experience, education and the ability to perform essential functions of the job.

*The Small Business Administration said that employees at all levels falsify their backgrounds.

*According to the Bureau of National Affairs, from $15-25 billion is lost each year due to employee theft.

*33% of employees admit to stealing a product or money from jobs in the last three years. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates dishonesty by employees costs 1%-2% of gross sales. It is estimated that 30% of business failures are directly related to employee theft.

*8.9% of applicants have a criminal record.

*The cost of hiring, training, and then terminating one employee can be very expensive. According to William M. Mercer, Inc., turnover costs a minimum of $10,000; 20% of respondents indicated turnover costs exceed $20,000.

Employee Embezzlement

Many of you know that D-TECH offers a full range of dental billing and medical cross coding services to our dental clients. In the last 3 months, our Dental Billing department has uncovered 3 separate instances of employee embezzlement. In the most recent case, the total loss (although numbers are still climbing as we conduct the investigation) has reached $20,000.00+. Luckily, we were able to catch the irregularities in time, but some are not so lucky. Don't let this happen to you!

The ADA has published a very helpful guide complete with case studies, red flags, Human Resource guidance and more. Take a look at the attached link. It may save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

As always, if you need our assistance with running audits, reading reports or understanding your statistics, do not hesitate to contact us.

http://ebusiness.ada.org/assets/docs/2260.PDF?OrderID=227352