Cliff's Notes

“Putting Patients Back in the Chair” & “The Moses Patient Appliance”

Cliff’s Notes for January 9, 2012

Cliff Marsh, Henry Schein ……Cell: 201-321-7494……Fax: 201-262-2210…..E-mail: cliff.marsh@henryschein.com

http://www.cliffsnotesblog.me

http://www.youtube.com/cliffmarsh100

The reason we do what we do, is so that we can to do what we want to do, when we want to do it!

It’s a tongue twister, but working as a team and making informed decisions, will get us there.

 

 

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”

Winston Churchill

 

This Week’s Feature on the Cliff’s Notes Channel

 Diagnostics – Dentists Save Lives!

We have entered a new world of preventive medicine & dentistry will be the cutting edge. 

http://www.youtube.com/cliffmarsh100

 

In This Week’s Issue

• Total Health – Log-On Now!
• Priority #1 – Putting Patients in the Chair!
• Product Review – The Moses Patient Appliance!
• Commentary for Sunday January 9, 2012 – Changing The Culture.

 

Total Health & Beyond – The Sleep Complete Program…….
Log On Now! www.sleepcomplete.com

15 years ago I told everyone that they would be required to have an amalgam separator and nobody listened until the last minute. 3 years ago I started warning everyone about January 1, 2015 and the need to connect to the National Healthcare Information Infrastructure and computerization, I hope you listened. Now I’m telling you that Sleep medicine will become a major topic over the next 18 months. Medical insurance coding is in place for dentists and the added healthcare services that you can offer will raise your standard of care and look real nice on your bottom line. You need to be informed! Log on NOW, the webinars are FREE!

Priority #1 – Putting Patients in the Chair………………….

“I need more patients” is what I hear in every dental office I walk into. On every DPAT report I run for clients, the re-care issues light up like a neon sign. So, how do we address this? The first thing you need to do is separate your marketing strategies into 2 programs.

The first program should target your current patient base. This is the easiest & least expensive and offers the biggest ROI. Now I know you are collecting patient e-mail addresses & cell phone numbers because that’s the only way you will be able to communicate with them; and you will need to actively communicate. There are a lot of different communication programs on the market. Some are very inexpensive, however the services are limited. You can’t consider these programs as expenses, you need to think about them as investments, and what is the ROI on that investment. The programs that I review have been selected because I believe they are top quality and when used correctly offer the highest rate of return.

Communication with your current patient base: If you’re fortunate enough to have Dentrix Software, there is a module that will automatically send e-mails & Tx’s to your patients. If you don’t have Dentrix, I would recommend a “Demand Force” style program.. These programs remind the patient about appointments and request a response. My dentist uses it. I get reminded via e-mail and my family requested Tx’s. When linked to your website & social networks, your current patient base will respond with better compliance and your schedule will be more consistent.

Your connection to the internet needs to be constant, consistent and complete. That means a website, social network page and reputation monitoring. How often have you Goggled your own name?

Take a look at this video and then call me. The new world is here and it’s not that hard to jump in. 201-321-7494 or cliff.marsh@henryschein.com.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxM66OTUw8w   2:52 Add to Demandforce D3

Patient Retention: Incentives are a must. You may not believe this, but a visit to the dentist is not high on anyone’s priority list so you need to make it a pleasant experience. This may require an office “culture change” and should not be attempted alone. An independent and objective third party needs to weigh-in. Sometimes you’re just too close to the forest to see the path through the trees. Your “pleasant patient experience” may not be objective.

You need to start with the staff. Marketing 101 “packaging is 95% of the sale”! Spend some money and buy each clinical staff member 5 sets of matching “fashion” scrubs in 5 different colors. Each week day has its color and everyone dresses the same (except the doc and business office staff). This sounds corny, but it reflects a unified team. Name nags are also needed. You will notice that the staff will begin acting more like a team and if they can’t, you made need to change the line-up. Remember, team harmony is important, your patients can sense tension and tension is not good in a dental office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd_2_vhPuhI  4:29 Add to – Kerry Straine has been recognized by “Dr. Bicuspid” as one of the top dental practice consultants in the country. If you have any questions about uniting your team and office culture, please feel free to contact me at any time @ 201-321-7494 or cliff.marsh@henryschein.com. I can also arrange a 1 hour telephone consult with Kerry with no cost or obligation.

A real nice incentive program is Loyal Patient. Take a look at www.loyalpatient.com and tell them Cliff sent you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE3MNju1p6w 2:32 Add to

Dentist Rewards Patients!

A dentist is using Loyal Patient™ Rewards (savings on travel, entertainment, and merchandise) to reward patients for good oral health.

The second program is the larger investment, external marketing for new patients (i.e. Demandforce). This requires a lot of work and attention. You need to utilize the standard and new media’s formats. Face Book, Twitter, interactive websites, etc. The idea of this program is to grow the number of patients in the 1^st program and realize the higher ROI.

The most important thing to remember is that any program you put in place takes time to work. There are no silver bullets. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or concerns.

Product Review – The Moses Patient Appliance……………..

Sleep Medicine can be a life saving function of the dental health professional. You need to look at the new programs so that you are prepared to answer the questions your patients will start asking. If you don’t know the answers, the office down the street will.

 http://themoses.com/

This new, innovative device adds another dimension to oral-appliance therapy. Stimulating protrusive tongue reflexes and an open anterior design advances the tongue and enlarges the cross-sectional area of the airway. Combined with mandibular advancement, it becomes the most effective appliance available. Two-part construction allows patients to talk, drink, open wide and close their lips, making this the most comfortable appliance available.

Below are Technical Bulletins that you will find useful when prescribing The Moses appliance. Please click on the links to learn more.

The Moses Appliance is part of Sleep Dynamics. The product has received a top rating from the CRA and the results will soon be published.

“The Implementation of a Sleep Medicine Program”

February 10^th & 11^th (12^th for those who observe) a hands-on session will be held in NYC @ the Marriott Marque.

For more information & free webinar access log on to www.sleepcomplete,com.

 

Sunday January 9, 2012……………………………….

Nothing is ever routine. Every patient, every exam is unique and special. In 2012 you need to stop being a “Dentist” and start being an “Oral Healthcare Specialist”. Welcome to the new world of medicine and dentistry is on the front line.

Take a look at this website and the Dental/Medical Cross Coding features. It’s your future!

http://www.dentalwriter.com/

Enjoy the day, your family & the weather,

Cliff

Cliff Marsh

Henry Schein Dental

P.O. Box 663 / 45 Rt. 46 East, Suite 605

Pine Brook, NJ 07058

Cell: 201-321-7494

Fax: 201-262-2210

cliff.marsh@henryschein.com

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January 8, 2012 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | Uncategorized