If there's anything good about a pandemic or crisis, it's innovation. Some companies immediately pivoted and have an amazing story of survival and success during the pandemic. Well, innovation begets innovation, and it's time for dental practices to evaluate their own business models.
Accumulate cash. When the pandemic hit, more than 90% of dental practices had less than one month of cash on hand, and if there was no government Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), many more practices would have permanently shut down. It should now be standard for practices to have three to four months of cash on hand to protect against any potential crisis or inevitable recession that is simply part of normal business cycles.
Don't forget to reevaluate your hygiene department model. There are many ways to increase hygiene productivity and production, including encouraging dental hygienists to promote product sales, identify gingival and periodontal treatment, call overdue patients personally when they have downtime, and discuss cosmetic dentistry and implants with patients. Practices can even hold "power hygiene days" when temporary hygienists are brought in to help get extra hygiene patients in.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
