By Roger P. Levin, DDS
Remarkably, many orthodontic practices—even ones with declining production—do not hold regular morning meetings. In most instances, they used to hold a morning “huddle” but stopped because they judged the experience to be unsuccessful. The problem is, simply holding morning meetings does not guarantee that they will be conducted correctly.
To hold an effective morning meeting—what Levin Group calls the Daily Business Meeting—orthodontic practices should always review the following items:
Month-to-Date Collections Versus The Collection Goal: Are you ahead or behind? Are you sharing this information with the staff? When teams understand the practice goals, there is a genuine opportunity for them to come together and work toward common goals.
Monthly Starts: Are they where they should be? Have too many consults not converted into starts? If this is the case, the practice needs to know immediately so steps can be taken to improve the start rate.
Open Time: Are there holes in the schedule? Too few? Too many? Can a cancellation be filled in? How about if there is a call regarding an emergency? Can the practice get the individual in that day? Always expect the unexpected.
Referred Patients: Who referred today’s patients? GPs? Parents of current patients? This must be established so that these referrers can be tracked (and thanked). Orthodontic practices must be keenly aware who is referring to them and in what numbers.
Target Siblings and Observation Patients: Are there any patients coming in who have siblings who should be identified for possible evaluation? Don’t forget about that day’s observation appointments. Is it time for conversion to orthodontic treatment?
Highly successful orthodontic practices understand that morning meetings help create a more efficient, productive day. Use these discussion points to create informative Daily Business Meetings that both the doctor and the team will find beneficial.
To learn how to run a more profitable, efficient, and satisfying practice, visit the Levin Group Resource Center at www.levingroup.com/ortho. You can also connect with Levin Group on Facebook and Twitter (@Levin_Group) to learn strategies and share ideas.
