{"id":2639,"date":"2018-01-10T03:18:18","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T03:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/?p=2639"},"modified":"2018-01-10T03:18:18","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T03:18:18","slug":"staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying on Time &#8211; Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2645\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM-300x198.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM.png 436w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>I firmly believe that the doctor is ultimately responsible for staying on time. No matter how perfectly crafted a schedule might be at the start of a day, it can all go to hell in a handbag if the doctor does not stick with the program. At the core, it becomes simply an issue of respect &#8211; an agreement and an understanding that the patient\u2019s time and the patient\u2019s life is just as important as yours. And I do find that people\/patients will respect your time in direct proportion to the way you respect theirs. It has to become a major part of the DNA of the practice\u2013we will stay on time!<\/p>\n<p>So what can a doctor do to consistently maintain an on \u2013time schedule?<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Do not perform definitive therapy for emergency patients. While I strongly advocate that emergencies should be seen on the day of the call, the main goal should be to relieve pain or anxiety. Diagnose the problem. Get them comfortable, of course. And then reschedule for definitive therapy.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Resist the temptation to present elaborate treatment plans in the hygiene room. This creates delays in both the hygiene schedule and the doctor schedule.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Stop taking personal calls during business hours \u2013from your stockbroker or a golf buddy. Totally unacceptable. And please don\u2019t think that patients in treatment rooms are not aware of what is going on. When some-one is reclined in the dental chair and hears the doctor gabbing instead of paying attention to them, it is very aggravating.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Do not agree to or allow a treatment schedule that you know is unsustainable or unrealistic. I could spend six hours discussing proper scheduling, but this is obviously not the place to do that. However the two most common scheduling errors that I observe are related to unbridled optimism: an inadequate time allowance for a known procedure, and an inadequate time allowance for a patient put in the schedule for an unknown procedure like a toothache or broken filling. Both of these situations almost guarantee that the doctor will fall behind.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Be aware of the implications of bad judgment calls. This typically happens when a scheduled procedure is not progressing well. Maybe the patient was late, maybe an impression has to be repeated because the tissue was bleeding. There are a million examples. It\u2019s important to know when to punt. Don\u2019t mess up an entire morning or afternoon by stubborn determination to finish a procedure.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/expectations-from-your-morning-huddle.html\">Insist on a morning huddle.<\/a> I find that practices that consistently use a huddle significantly increase productivity, reduce stress, and are way better at staying on time throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>There will be, of course, situations where despite your best efforts, you get behind schedule. If you can anticipate this, it is always a good idea to call a patient to let them know you are running late. This beats their sitting in your reception room waiting \u2013 and waiting \u2013 staring at the front desk person and looking at their watch. When you keep someone waiting more than fifteen minutes, they start mentally counting up all your faults! In this day and age where new patient flow is so key to success, be aware that it is unlikely that a patient will feel compelled to refer friends and family to your office when that patient is kept waiting. \u201cWhy further compound my problem and make this doctor even busier when he doesn\u2019t even have time to see me!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Above all else, take the stress out of your life. Stay on time. Everyone will be much happier.<\/p>\n<p>This is the second of five posts on how successful dental practices can increase their growth and profitability in 2018. Next week\u2019s topic \u2013 consistent Internal Marketing.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I firmly believe that the doctor is ultimately responsible for staying on time. No matter how perfectly crafted a schedule might be at the start of a day, it can all go to hell in a handbag if the doctor does not stick with the program. At the core, it becomes simply an issue of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Staying on Time - Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018 - Jodena Consulting Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Staying on Time - Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018 - Jodena Consulting Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I firmly believe that the doctor is ultimately responsible for staying on time. No matter how perfectly crafted a schedule might be at the start of a day, it can all go to hell in a handbag if the doctor does not stick with the program. At the core, it becomes simply an issue of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jodena Consulting Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-10T03:18:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM-300x198.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mayer A. Levitt, DMD\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mayer A. Levitt, DMD\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/\",\"name\":\"Staying on Time - Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018 - Jodena Consulting Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM-300x198.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-10T03:18:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/02cb6ba6ee03ce3b0f24db59593cb185\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM.png\",\"width\":436,\"height\":288},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Staying on Time &#8211; Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Jodena Consulting Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/02cb6ba6ee03ce3b0f24db59593cb185\",\"name\":\"Mayer A. Levitt, DMD\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/author\/levitt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Staying on Time - Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018 - Jodena Consulting Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Staying on Time - Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018 - Jodena Consulting Blog","og_description":"I firmly believe that the doctor is ultimately responsible for staying on time. No matter how perfectly crafted a schedule might be at the start of a day, it can all go to hell in a handbag if the doctor does not stick with the program. At the core, it becomes simply an issue of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/","og_site_name":"Jodena Consulting Blog","article_published_time":"2018-01-10T03:18:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM-300x198.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Mayer A. Levitt, DMD","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mayer A. Levitt, DMD","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/","url":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/","name":"Staying on Time - Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018 - Jodena Consulting Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM-300x198.png","datePublished":"2018-01-10T03:18:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/02cb6ba6ee03ce3b0f24db59593cb185"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-03-at-1.51.33-PM.png","width":436,"height":288},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/staying-time-strategy-2-increase-growth-profitability-2018\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Staying on Time &#8211; Strategy #2 to Increase Growth and Profitability in 2018"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/","name":"Jodena Consulting Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/02cb6ba6ee03ce3b0f24db59593cb185","name":"Mayer A. Levitt, DMD","url":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/author\/levitt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2639"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2646,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639\/revisions\/2646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}