The corona crisis has destroyed the economies all over the globe, but I am very sure that the economies will rebound back. Human societies are infinitely resilient & have survived wars, pandemics, famine, etc. & I am sure that not only we will survive the Corona crisis but come out of it much stronger.
In this blog I will try & outline a few basic strategies in post corona practice.. I will try to be as brief as possible. If anyone wants some more thoughts, ideas or concepts you may please contact me & we will schedule a telecon in which I will elaborate my views depending upon the specific concerns the dentist may have. This would be absolutely free,
I have divided this topic into a few parts. In this first part I will take up the gross & basic issues. So now let us start :
- The most important part is to convey to the patients that dentistry is safe & your clinic is taking all precautions of infection control & to prevent cross contamination. This can be done by various means like email newsletters, posters in the clinic, amateur videos, professionally produced videos etc.
This would be the first & foremost aim in the patient outreach programs of any clinic.
Your staff, receptionists & the patient coordinators must also be trained to convey this to your patient. However the only way this can be conveyed to the society at large is when the patients actually walk in & they experience the infection control procedures first hand & then they spread this by word of mouth publicity. The infection control procedures should not impinge on the dignity of the patient & disturb him. He should not be made to feel that he is a source of infection.
- The next important point could be to work out your increase in operational costs & then try & find out how to recover the same. There can be no universal guideline for the same & every dentist will have to figure out what is best for his practice.
- Till the time the corona scare is present the number of patients in the practice will reduce. Patients will only seek emergency dental treatment. So either you have to be prepared to take a hit on your income or you increase your professional charges so that you still earn the same even on a reduced patient base.
- The economy is dead & will take time to revive. At this point as I am composing this blog, it is not possible to predict when the economy will be back to normal. Much depends on the Government policies & how much support they provide to the industry. The number of higher end cases like implants, FMR, smile redesigning is always a function of the GDP & the amount of disposable income with the patients. So right now it would be better to concentrate on getting practice back on track, staff training, setting infection control protocols, etc. Once the economy is alive & kicking than you can concentrate on the higher end cases in your patient outreach program. Till that time astute professional & personal financial management is necessary.
* To reduce costs try & do bulk purchases with your friends & refrain from panic buying. Invest only in proven technologies. Do a proper & a complete research before you invest in any new equipment.
* Now one of the most important concerns weighing on every dentists mind i.e. when will be my professional receipts be back to normal?
As mentioned by me before the professional receipts in the practice of dentistry is dependent on the state of the economy. As the economy limps back to normal the professional receipts will be restored. They will be restored faster in mature practices following sensible infection control protocols & those who avail of professional help.
- Take professional help from practice management mentors. You cannot increase your income by watching videos on social media. The practice management mentor will have to work with you & your specific situations, collect data specific for your practice & then he could suggest solutions for your practice. The practice management mentor will work with chartered accountants, investment consultants etc & others to get your practice back on track.
So right now just concentrate on getting the practice back on track, implement infection controls, staff training & do not loose contact with patients. You will have to do some innovative patient outreach activities.
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Thanks & best regards,
Dr. Veerendra Darakh
I remember soon after demonetisation also there was a lull in implant practice…. For almost 6-8mnths there was not a single pt willing to undergo FMR.Time is the best healer. Things started coming back to normal n dentistry bounced back. I am sure even this time round things will come around albeit a little more slowly and with a little more investments to be done in the clinic protocols to lure the patients back.