A well-trained, empowered office manager functions as the practice’s true operational leader, driving efficiency, supporting growth, and freeing the orthodontist to focus on clinical care.
By Roger P. Levin, DDS
The key to an effective and efficient orthodontic practice is the office manager. Not all practices have an office manager, and those who do often have one who was promoted from within the office and doesn’t have formal management education or experience.
Developing a High-Level Manager
If you want your office manager to operate at a higher level, education, training, and mentoring are required. Some orthodontists are willing to put in the time to make this happen, but most either do not have the management background themselves or would prefer not to spend time engaged in these activities.
The Office Manager as the Practice’s COO
An orthodontic office manager should oversee the practice’s day-to-day operations, allowing the orthodontist to focus exclusively on clinical care and patient relations. In other words, the orthodontic office manager is just like a chief operating officer in a large business. Most office managers would love to function as the COO of the practice. They look forward to making a difference and driving the practice forward. They just don’t know how because they haven’t yet been effectively trained.
READ MORE: What Should an Orthodontic Office Manager Actually Do?
Bringing the Office Manager Into the Business Side
Start by including the office manager in setting practice goals. Two key and perennial goals: annual production and the orthodontist’s income. If you are not comfortable sharing your income with your office manager, then you do not have a real manager who can handle all day-to-day operations. True world-class office managers run the practice and part of their role is to ensure that the orthodontist has the right income.
Handing Off Day-to-Day Operations
Next, make sure the office manager understands that the orthodontist does not want to be involved in day-to-day operations. Scheduling, financial arrangements, running on time or running late, no-shows, last-minute cancellations, overdue patients, overdue collections, insurance management, and so on should all come under the responsibility of the office manager. In a nutshell, the office manager is responsible for everything other than the clinical activities in the practice.
A world class office manager is rare today in orthodontics. Most office managers can succeed with comprehensive training and mentorship to understand what they are supposed to do and how to get it done. OP
Photo: ID 144746593 © Fizkes | Dreamstime.com
Roger P. Levin, DDS is the CEO and founder of Levin Group, a leading practice management consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on orthopractice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and over 4,000 articles and regularly presents seminars in the U.S. and around the world. To contact Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit levingroup.com or email [email protected]
