Do you think everyone on your team is on the same page?  I have gotten this question a bunch lately as it relates to the dental team.  Are all the hygienists on the same page and making the same recommendations?  If you have multiple doctors, do you prescribe the same treatments to the patients?

If I make the assumption that not everyone is on the same page, let’s examine what this looks like to a patient.  In hygiene, what will it look like if one hygienist recommends an adult fluoride and the next time the other one doesn’t?  I would say it looks bad to say the least and at best creates confusion for the patient.  

In your office, does the hygienist suggest what the doctor will diagnose only to then have the doctor say something totally different?  What does that look like to the patient?  Again, not good.  Whether the doctor is more aggressive than the hygienist or less aggressive with his diagnosis, it creates lots of confusion.

Last example of course is the practice with multiple doctors.  I have heard stories where one doctor suggests something and then 6 months later the other doctor suggests something totally different.  Certainly this will create trust issues for one of the doctors.  The same for the hygienist examples too.  The last thing we want to do is create trust issues for our patients.  It often is challenging enough to get acceptance, there is no sense in making it harder on ourselves.  We have to be on the same page.  So how do we accomplish this?

I would recommend you take a few patients x-rays and intra-oral camera photos and pass them around at your next meeting.  Have everyone write down what they think is the correct diagnosis.  Then compare notes.  You might find this to be an eye opening experience.  For the larger more complex cases, if you have multiple doctors, this is a great exercise for them as well.  Discuss why you have differing opinions and see what you can learn from each other.  If you approach this by leaving the egos at the door, this could be a wonderful learning experience.  Perhaps the new doctor has some great ideas, perhaps the senior doctor has some relevant experience as to why that might not work.  This is a great team building experience if done correctly.

The next thing I would recommend to make sure you stay on the same page is to write a Prosperity Plan for the practice as a whole.  We have spent plenty of time describing your personal prosperity plan, but you should also have one for the team.  As with the personal one, you should review it as a team regularly.  Having this regular discussion about your business prosperity plan eliminates people wandering off on their own path.  It will keep everyone moving the same direction and we all understand the power of this!  Significant growth will result!

Last question:  Have you all written your personal prosperity plan?  When did you last review it?  What is holding you back?

Here is to your success, go get it.  It won’t knock on your door.

Darren Kaberna 

Connect with Darren on Google+

http://www.acceleratemypractice.com