PracticePartner.Dental

Infection Control, Pursuing Your Passion, & 👻 Ghost Hunting

robertdavidhays — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:57:21 +0000

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The Accountability Advantage: 🔓 How to Unlock the Implementation of Continuing Education

robertdavidhays — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 11:15:36 +0000

Have you ever taken a CE course that you found incredibly valuable, but struggled to implement what you learned?

It has always been a challenge for me, so I am striving to make some changes in hopes of staying connected to why I enrolled in the first place.

My goal is to help dentists and their teams fight to retain their independence, increase top line revenue, surgically attack overhead, create the practice of their dreams, and keep patient care at the center of everything we do. One of the ways I hope to deliver on that mission is by sharing and publishing ideas and resources that I believe will have an impact. In 2005 my first printed newsletter went out to 150 dental practices and the only response I got back was a doctor informing me that I had misspelled his name on the address label. Clearly there was some room for improvement. I continued to write, and eventually migrated to an approach that was hybrid print, online and email. But I have always battled with maintaining consistency.

So, I finally sought help in the way of targeted and specific continuing education.

Last fall I completed the Great Founders Write course and cohort, led by Ben Putano and Grant Nissley. I enrolled again for the January session, but failed miserably because didn’t listen to my intuition about seasons in life and prioritization. But that’s a topic for another day. I also completed Matthew Ray Scott’s Medical SalesRX curriculum focused very specifically on connecting with busy dentists and teams in a way that honored their time and attention.

Both of these courses were incredibly informative, and provided some new tools that I know will have an impact on my ability to connect with the dental community. What I think you will find valuable, however, has nothing to do with the content of the CE, but in what I learned from each of them about implementation of new ideas and strategies.

Hope you find this useful in your own efforts as well.

Your friend the calendar

I have a love / hate relationship with to-do lists. The old gray matter isn’t quite as sticky as it once was, so I have to write everything down or it evaporates into the ether. In a vacuum, a to-do list could easily fall into the Parkinson’s Law trap, and expand to consume an infinite amount of time and energy. So, for me, it has become critical to be super intentional in blocking time on the calendar for specific types of tasks. Implementing a new skill requires the same diligence in blocking time in my schedule. So, in the case of writing and producing content, I have a recurring block for idea creation, a separate block for writing, one for editing, and a final for organizing and publishing. Without the plan and schedule, we’re left to own devices and rely on the hope that we could squeeze the time into our already busy schedules.

Cohort based learning

The Great Founders Write course baked in a cohort-based approach to learning. This was wildly beneficial, as you work with peers in the course who are learning right alongside you, and support each other with completing the project benchmarks and providing collaborative feedback and guidance. Over the years I have participated in a number of dental study clubs, and seen first-hand the impact of encouragement and sharing that can come from peer-supported learning.

If you are taking a course that doesn’t incorporate a cohort-based approach, are there ways to create your own with other participants? This leads me to the secondary benefit of cohort-based learning – accountability partners.

Accountability partners

Like having a buddy at the gym, knowing that someone was there with you working to accomplish the same feat made it a lot harder to skip out on a session (using a little healthy guilt in my favor) and made me want to be there to support my partner. To support my efforts through Medical SalesRX, a few of us have started a monthly group session to review the content of the course, check in on each other’s progress, and establish mutual objectives to continue leveling up.

The reality is that life gets busy, and it has been all too easy for me over the years to abandon a goal when the going got tough. Having an accountability partner has been a massive unlock. Who can you recruit as an accountability partner? Have a colleague hoping to incorporate a new procedure or treatment approach? Maybe even a business strategy to elevate some area of your dental practice? Find that fellow passionate learner, and the results for both of you are sure to be outsized compared to going it alone.

What has worked for you when learning and implementing something new? Would love to hear from you!

Looking for first-rate Continuing Education to try out some of these strategies? Check out the upcoming programs available through the American Independent Dental Alliance, Goetze Dental, and affiliated partners.

Are you a fellow #dentalnerd? Subscribe to the PracticePartner.dental newsletter and join the tribe!

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What a Home Foundation Contractor Taught Me About Case Presentations

Rob Hays — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:57:37 +0000

What My Foundation Repair Contractor Taught Me About Case Presentations

Have you ever had to have major work done on your house? As in, repairs that are totally un-fun. Maybe a new HVAC, plumbing, mold remediation? Issues that lie just under the surface and may not even be causing any known or visible issues yet?

Does that sound AT ALL familiar?

Any chance that a conversation with your patients about a non-yet painful but imminent abscess sounds a little like those home repairs? Not a fun remodel (cosmetic or ortho anyone?), or on the other side of the spectrum – my basement is flooded (holy moly doc, this hurts, please get me out of pain) where immediate resolution is required.

We recently dealt with some of these, “wait, what exactly is going on under the surface?” issues at our home, and paraded contractor after contractor through for evaluation, assessment and proposal to solve our problem. As I sat across from these experts in their arena, I couldn’t help but draw the parallels with diagnosis and case presentations with your patients.

Here are my observations:

How much homework have they done before sitting down in your chair? I will tell you, that the poor contractor who was last in line dealt with a far more informed consumer than the first.
Presentations and the right tools are great, but only half the battle.
Scripts that are surface-level and robotic create a wedge in the relationship and hurt communication.
The right tools, leveraged in a path of co-discovery and partnership are where I felt most connected and trusting in the provider.
When we think about presenting options, opt A may be more comprehensive, opt B may feel more temporary or incomplete, but opt C always exists of doing nothing.
Your patients may or may not be seeking second opinions.
There’s a human on the other side of that presentation, who is coming to you with preferences, biases, preconceived notions about dentistry. How do we meet them where they are?
You may have a better sense of what to present, or at least how to present, if you take the time to understand the consumer sitting across from you.

Ultimately, those providers who took the time to ask thoughtful questions and understand with sincerity what was most important to us, were who we ultimately chose to complete the work. Have you articulated clearly, and provided training on how you want case presentations handled in your practice Here are a few questions for discussion with your team to get you started:

How do you think about case presentation?
What tools are you leveraging for diagnosis and case presentation that help your patients make an informed decision?
When do patients move forward with treatment and when do they select option C?
How can we effectively track case acceptance?

I’m certainly no expert at hiring contractors, but if you’re looking for ways as a dental practice owner or team to fight to retain your independence, increase top line revenue, surgically attack overhead, create the practice of your dreams, and keep patient care at the center of everything you do, I’m always grateful for the opportunity to help. If you ever want to chat or have questions, please drop me a line or grab time on my calendar.

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The Year of Falling Off a Surfboard 🌊🏄‍♂️

robertdavidhays — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 21:02:55 +0000

Surfing is hard.

Paddling out.

Waiting.

Deciding which wave to paddle into.

More paddling. Focused. Rapid paddling this time.

Nope.

Not enough.

You missed it.

Start over.

Paddle paddle! You got one!!!

Oh bummer. Lost your balance and face planted for a round of sucking salt water.

Start over.

And then?

The payoff.

Oh, that sweet 60 seconds of acceleration.

And the sensation of being carried by the immense power of the ocean.

This kid from Kansas was incredibly lucky to have had the chance to live in Hawaii for nearly a year, to have a friend in Remo Sagastume who took him out on the water for the first time, for Maria and Guy Kaho’ohanohano to have welcomed him into their ohana, and to many others who were gracious and patient teachers.

During my time in paradise, I tried to soak in every moment and get out on the water often. Here’s a secret about surfing that I’ve found to be true in attempting anything new. Get comfortable being terrible at first. For me, the journey of learning and pushing myself was every bit as rewarding as the fleeting moments up on the board, with wobbly knees and mediocre balance.

In a two hour session I might spend only minutes actually engaged in what could be called “surfing.” I’m sure that others perform better, but to me it didn’t matter. Half of the time paddling back and forth to the right break. Equally as much time sitting with the ebb and flow of the ocean watching the set roll in, with the hope of finding a wave that might be gracious enough to let me dance with it. Then in 30 second bursts to paddle with everything you’ve got in an effort to match the momentum and drop in. More often than not I would fail, either unable to catch the wave, or wipe out using my forehead as a surface pressure tester on the water. Not going to lie. That hurts. And depending on the location and the specific break, I found more than my fair share of rocks or reef, and the occasional shallow sandbar. Scars are cool, right?

The day before I jumped on a plane for my move back to the mainland was drawn to steal a few final moments on the water. It was evening, and my favorite spot was calm. But it didn’t stop me from grabbing a board and making my way out about the equivalent of a football field from the shoreline. Diamond Head in view on one side and the massive expanse of ocean as far as the eye could see on the other. There were no waves to ride that evening. But there was a magnificent sunset and time to reflect. To reflect on a once in a lifetime opportunity to call this incredible place my home. To reflect on the year of paddling and falling and paddling and occasionally surfing.

What new risks will you take? Are there procedures you would like to learn and implement in your dental practice? Are you ready to get comfortable being uncomfortable in the pursuit of learning something new? My hope is that you are finding ways personally or professionally to push beyond your comfort zone, and that you have mentors and teachers to support and encourage you on the journey.

While I’m not qualified to teach surfing lessons, if you’re looking for ways as a dental practice owner or team to fight to retain your independence, increase top line revenue, surgically attack overhead, create the practice of your dreams, and keep patient care at the center of everything you do, I’m always grateful for the opportunity to help. If you ever want to chat or have questions, please drop me a line or grab time on my calendar.

Sending aloha!

-Rob

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The Invisible Employee on Your Dental Practice P&L

robertdavidhays — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:55:59 +0000

There’s a trope that has made it’s way through the dental community that “dentists are bad business people,” and it drives me bonkers.

Most every business owner I know has learned by doing. By taking action, failing forward, learning, and growing. So, please repeat after me to silence the haters – “I am a great businessperson and practice owner who is learning and growing every day.”

As is everything in life worth pursuing, owning and running a dental practice requires study, effort, perseverance, and finding trustworthy partners to lock arms with on your journey. I am from a family of small business owners and have seen first-hand both the challenges and rewards of running a business, and am a passionate advocate for the private dental practice. After a stint in the advertising world, I was incredibly fortunate to have found a career home in the dental industry that has now spanned nearly twenty years. My objective is to help dentists and their teams fight to retain their independence, increase top line revenue, surgically attack overhead, and create the practice of their dreams. All the while keeping patient care at the center of everything we do.

If your experience in working with a dental supply partner ends with your order of 2 x 2’s arriving in a timely fashion, I’d like to suggest that your friendly neighborhood Cotton Roll Jockey might have more to offer. Interview a few different reps from different companies and see what you think. You may decide not to change a thing. And that’s ok.

Here are a few questions to ask if you decide to take my advice:

You visit hundreds of offices in a given month

-what are you seeing as market trends?

-what’s working really well for other practices?

-know of any amazing team members who might be looking to make a change?

What new technology developments are positively impacting patient care?

What new technology developments are creating significant time savings and return on investment for the practice?

What do you notice in my practice that could use some attention?

Are there formulary or contract price options that might help reduce supply spend?

What additional practice and business resources do you have at your disposal outside of clinical supplies?

Some reps will decide this is a great opportunity to try and sell you stuff. That’s not always a bad thing. But the best reps will start to ask questions back about your personal goals and vision for the practice. They will want to go through a process similar to the one you use in working with patients, with a proper diagnosis and assessment before working up a treatment plan. If you are able to develop a real partnership it can help in tangible ways like expediting a service technician when your compressor decides to blow up, reducing down time and resulting lost revenue. A resource for HIPAA and OSHA annual review. A project manager and trainer for equipment and technology.

But they can also manifest as an invisible employee on your P&L. Someone with whom to discuss and explore practice growth opportunities. Networking for associates, hygienists, assistants, office managers, and practice acquisition opportunities. A partner to work with you on finding ways to both grow top line production, and surgically attack overhead to expand the pie for profitability and reinvestment. Because a healthy, profitable practice can do more for it’s team members, more for it’s patients, more for the community, and reward you the business owner for your investment.

For good measure as we close, let’s circle back to our mantra that kicked off this article – “I am a great businessperson and practice owner who is learning and growing every day.”

If you ever want to chat or have questions, please drop me a line or grab time on my calendar. And if you’re in the Kansas City metro area, and are interested in turning the above questions on me, I’m always grateful for the opportunity.

Here’s where to connect:

rhays@goetzedental.com

https://calendly.com/robhays/practice-partner?month=2022-10

https://practicepartner.dental/

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Digital Doc inPractice Interview with Brett Wilson – REPOST from goetzedental.com

robertdavidhays — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 14:08:48 +0000

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Planmeca inPractice Interview – REPOST from goetzedental.com

robertdavidhays — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 13:54:26 +0000

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Dental Membership Plans with Kleer – RE-POST from goetzedental.com

robertdavidhays — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 13:38:52 +0000

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