Mark Allen explains how to support your practice and keep patients coming.
Workflow is a word that pops up in every course, event and catalogue. Every practice should aim for an efficient workflow and if a product, tool or material can help dentists maintain it, this is a selling point, a good reason to try and buy.
The dictionary defines workflow as “The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion”. So, it describes a journey. This past year, every practice would have had to refocus on and adjust daily workflows, the journey that every patient makes from pre-treatment, to the time spent in the chair and beyond. Efficient workflow has never been more important; now patients are returning, they need to know that their experience – their journey – will be smooth and stress-free, which means every member of the team working in unison. Successful dentistry relies on good teamwork and in 2020, if you were a practice with a great team, you would have been able to navigate your return to some kind of normality a lot quicker.
Ways to improve workflow
Good, efficient systems need to be in place for workflow-enhancing products, tools and/or techniques to be effective. Since reopening, your protocols will have been adapted out of necessity. Even if you have a packed schedule, you will have reduced capacity to incorporate enhanced infection control and allow more time for deep cleaning and disinfection. Many practices have made initial consultations virtual, too, which certainly frees up practice time and proves convenient for lots of patients.
An efficient patient journey would have been a priority before the pandemic, of course, but the key to making reopening a success would have been communication. This includes regular communication between clinical and non-clinical staff to agree on the appropriate number of patients per day, for example, and also between practice and patients. The lines of communication with all patients, current and new, must remain open to reassure and inform, so they know what to expect at their appointment. Although restrictions for people’s social behaviour in the UK are set to remain for some time (and are subject to ongoing change), dental practices are still open and by now you will have made a significant dent into any backlog.
Nonetheless, in order to maintain a good workflow, you must keep regularly reviewing and auditing the patient journey and be prepared to make tweaks along the way, this is also important to ensure that you are fully compliant with current guidance. If/when the guidance does change, contact patients immediately before they present for their treatment, via text, email, or phone, whatever is most appropriate. If you can hear back from, or speak directly to as many as you can, you’ll eliminate as much confusion as possible.
Find the techniques, use the materials
Workflow, contact, and communication are closely intertwined then, because communication is the basis on which you can develop solid, efficient processes. Another way to maintain and also improve efficient workflows is to consider the techniques you use, and the tools, equipment and materials needed to deliver them. The trend towards favouring minimally invasive procedures had been building steam for a while. For examples of how ethical dentistry and smooth, time-efficient workflows support each other, we can look to things like modern orthodontic appliances that gently move teeth and create new smiles in a just few months and all in a day implant therapies.
For restorative work, improving workflows has been possible thanks to development of revolutionary materials, some of which allow the restoration to be tried and fitted chair-side. If you are delivering restorative treatments, and have not yet switched to these multi-tasking composites, now would be the time. This will not only make the patient journey and your workflow more efficient, but the very best quality, flexible materials (literally and figuratively) will also not compromise results. The latest technology has been used to create composites that are great to handle and manipulate, as well as offering enduring aesthetics and functional stability, which means a happy patient who will spread positive word of mouth recommendations. One example of a restorative material that aids a smooth workflow is Coltene’s Brilliant EverGlow submicron hybrid composite, which dentists report offers great handling and sculptability and requires less time spent polishing to achieve a long-lasting lustre.
Efficient workflow means positive patient journeys. Ensuring your processes are smooth also means you will be creating a good environment for your team as they keep pushing on, offering the highest quality care despite the ongoing challenge of these times. You can improve your workflow by constantly reviewing your processes, prioritising communication and selecting the tools and materials that support efficiency, but that will never compromise a beautiful, brilliant and enduring final result.