Month: March 2022

Business management tools refer to the systems, applications, and methods used by dental practices in their day to day operations. These tools are used to ensure that they can keep up with changing markets, ensure a competitive position within those markets, and improve their performance. Many of these tools shared by our dental CPA in 21204 can be used to help manage your operations and guide your practice towards success.

Mission Statements

These are short statements that define what your practice is and identifies your goals. According to Forbes magazine, a mission statement must answer these questions:

• “What do we do?”
• “How do we do it?”
• “Whom do we do it for?”
• “What value are we bringing?”

Mission statements provide a sense of direction that helps your practice make beneficial decisions and plan for the future. It also gives a clear, defined purpose, and acts as a motivational tool to encourage your staff to work towards a common goal.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning builds off of mission statements. It is the process of defining a direction for your practice, and making decisions that contribute towards that direction. A proper strategy outlines how your end goals will be achieved by the means you have.

Strategic planning can be simple, and has a demonstrable impact on your practice’s success. Write down your core values, and create a vision of where you want to be within five years. Then determine what the steps are that will help you achieve that vision. Make sure to stress these goals and vision to your staff and explain how they tie in to your mission statement. This will ensure they work towards them every day.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the act of using data analysis to improve business relationships with your current and potential patients. CRM compiles data from a wide range of sources, including your practice’s website, marketing materials, and social media. Using the CRM approach helps you learn about your patient base and how best to cater to their needs.

The best way to bring customer relationship management into your practice is to invest in a CRM system. These are software programs that can store patient information, record notes about their treatments, and manage marketing campaigns all in one central location. There are many of these systems designed specifically for dental practices, including Curve Dental, Dentrix Ascend, Denticon, and more.  Contact our dental broker in Towson, MD to learn more.

Leadership

You’re more than just an owner of a practice. You’re also the leader of your team. Having quality leadership skills is more than just being able to delegate and hire the right people for the job.  It’s about staying in control emotionally and being consistent in leadership.

It can take a long time to reach a point where you’re consistent, and that’s perfectly fine- but don’t settle for half-measures. Communicate with your team and ask them for suggestions about what you can do to lead better.

All of these management tools and more can help improve the performance of your practice. Our team has resources to help you learn more about business management tools and how to maximize your potential. Contact our dental accounting firm in Towson, MD to find out more.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) refer to a set of quantifiable measurements used to gauge a dental practice’s long-term performance. KPIs are used by dental offices to measure progress towards tangible goals, such as increasing collections by 20% in a year, or improving patient retention rates by 5%. Using these goals to evaluate specific areas of your practice will show you where you can improve in order to better your financial success. Contact our dental accounting firm in 21204 to learn more.

The Different Types of KPIs

KPIs can be organized into several different types, depending on what area of your practice they affect. There are five categories:

• Inputs – Inputs refer to the resources used in producing outputs (see below). For a dental practice, inputs can refer to the supplies used during the day, such as tools and cleaning solutions, along with the time investment from the staff.
• Process – Also called “activity,” these measure the processes used in producing outputs (see below.) For dentists, process KPIs measure the cost of performing procedures, such as how much fluoride is given to a single patient or how much anesthesia is used during a surgery.
• Outputs – Outputs refer to measurements that indicate the amount of work done and what was produced. In most businesses, outputs refer to tangible products. In dentistry, outputs can be used to assess things like how many patients are seen in a day.
• Outcomes – These KPIs are more abstract, focusing on accomplishments and impacts. Patient satisfaction and positive retention rates are two major outcomes practices can focus on.
• Project – Like outcomes, project KPIs are rather abstract. They are meant to answer questions related to milestone progress towards important initiatives. For example, adding a specific amount of new patients via a marketing campaign is a project KPI.

How Can I Use KPIs In My Practice?

One important thing our dental accountant in Towson wants you to keep in mind is that KPIs do not have to be tied to financial data. Outcome and project KPIs can help improve a practice’s relationship with their patients and community. Every aspect of a practice can be analyzed and improved through smart use of KPIs. Establishing them is an easy process:

1. Write a clear goal for the KPI.  Tie the goal to a key business objective, something integral to the organization’s success. Make sure the goal is strategic, otherwise it will not translate into tangible outcomes.
2. Communicate the new KPIs to employees. Be sure to not only explain what the goal they’ll be working towards is, but why they’re working towards it. Someone on staff may even have an idea to improve it.
3. Review KPIs regularly. Use records and hard numbers to track progress. For example, if a process KPI is set to reduce fluoride use to make stock last 10% longer, compare the amount of fluoride used before and after the goal was introduced.
4. Evolve your KPIs if need be. If the results fall short of expectations, fine tune the goals or change directions entirely. Change may bring about a new, more efficient way of getting to the same destination.

Key performance indicators are an effective strategy to get your practice to where you want it to be. They are easy to define and act upon, making them reliable ways to track progress. For more information on KPIs and how they can be used to grow your practice, contact our experienced dental accounting firm in Towson, MD today for more information.