Do's and don'ts for implementing systems

As systems age, they become clogged with bottlenecks, causing frustration and stress for the team. Staff members may find workarounds for broken systems, but that leads to greater inefficiency. The solution is to replace outdated systems, but you can't change them all at once without overwhelming your team.

Start with the biggest stressor. What system gives your team the most trouble? For many practices, it's the schedule. When the schedule isn't working properly, it affects nearly every other system in the practice. Customer service, collections, and case presentation are also leading stressors for doctors and teams. Whatever system is creating the most chaos in your practice, that's the place to start.

Don't just make a few tweaks. Replacing systems can be challenging. Many practices opt for adding some refinements to existing systems, believing that they will fix the problem. Unfortunately, the result is a mix of patched-together systems with more bottlenecks than before. If systems are older than three years, they should probably be replaced entirely.

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].

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