today ADX Sydney 2014

science & practice 9ADX14 Sydney Businessasitstandstodayisfast and ever-changing. Trying to build a more sustainable business while just keeping our heads above wa- terisattimesasomewhatchalleng- ing and time-consuming task. It is even more difficult if we do not un- derstand the basic principles of practice management. Our health care industry is cur- rently under tremendous pressure from the government, as well as the public and private sectors, to improve health care access and control escalating costs. Changes in legislation, regulations and re- imbursement options are forcing ourhealthcareindustrytoaddress and address these issues. The de- livery of health care is a business and, as such, is subject to the same market factors, risks and con- straintsasotherserviceindustries, which require sound business principles and techniques to sur- vive and thrive. Whatisshapingyourfutureasa smallormediumenterpriseinden- tistry? Besides changing dental practice patterns owing to govern- mental and private insurers’ influ- ences,itisnewautonomies,aswell as patients’ demands and expecta- tions. In the changing world in which we live at both work and play, we are continually chal- lenged to come up with new ideas toensurethatwesustainaworking environmentthatwillbenefitallfi- nancially and emotionally. So where does the role of prac- ticemanagementfitintoyourdaily life as a clinician? The role of prac- tice management in your practice may be evolving and will require specific skills and knowledge to keep pace with the future. There are two types of knowledge we need to either acquire or learn: foundation knowledge and cur- rency knowledge. Foundation knowledge is the acquiring of base knowledge concerning practice management. Your role in your practicehasevolvedanditwillcon- tinuetoevolvebutwillrequirespe- cific skills and knowledge to keep pacewiththeever-emergingexter- nal influences upon us. Currency knowledge is the information we require on a daily basis that influ- ences us to make informed deci- sions on the running of our busi- ness. Without this type of knowl- edge, we cannot make these deci- sions, which may have either a positiveoranegativeimpactonthe business we manage. Despite the tremendous ad- vances in technology over the years, we should still continue to thirst for education and informa- tion.ThelegendaryAmericanbase- ball pitcher, Satchel Paige, once counselled the public with these words, “Don’t look back; someone maybegainingonyou.”Withouted- ucation, we will lose ground. The gaining of knowledge sets the blue- print for us to chart our own des- tiny.Theskillsneededinthepastto be a successful owner/employer arenotgoingtobeadequateforthe future. With the rapid evolution of health care practice management, successful practices, multidiscipli- nary teams, and of course all those new government compliance re- quirements and private health in- surers’ products, we are going to have to be at the cutting edge, and inmanycasesdevelopentirelynew sets of skills, to cope with the envi- ronment we will be facing in the next number of years. These in- cluderiskmanagement,productiv- ity management, e-commerce, clin- ical services management and ac- creditation. There are key areas for the per- son who is to manage the practice. This person is known as the prac- tice manager. Associated with this developing role of practice man- ager, or the person performing the management role, are a number of responsibilities(Fig.1).Thetimede- voted to each of these responsibili- ties will vary, depending on the re- quirements of the practice at spe- cifictimes;however,allwillbeper- formed at some stage. Practice management is about havingtolearntousenewtoolsand gather information that may or may not be currently on the hori- zon. The phrase “we don’t know what we don’t know” is very apt when it comes to practice manage- ment because generally in the health environment practice man- agement is a new horizon. Practice managementisamajorforce”inal- lowing you to chart your own des- tiny. I ask you whether you can do it by yourself? An experienced sailor once told me that you cannot navigate with- out a charted course. The ocean is too vast, too immense and too un- forgiving. The same is true for our future. A fulfilling, rewarding pro- fession is on the horizon, but with- outamapandacompass,wemight sail right pass it. Over the past ten years, there has been a paradigm shift in health care. No longer is it good enough to simply be a great dentist. Today’s patients expect to receive excellence in health care and health consumers are increas- inglyraisingthebarwhenitcomes to what they expect from their health providers, such as the level of service competing with the de- mands of a payment/reimburse- ment system. Similarly, the con- cept of a practice manager adding value to a health care practice has beenincreasinglyrecognisedasan essential component in the for- mula for the successful operation of any health-related business. Today, practice managers un- dertake a wide range of practice management responsibilities, in- cluding human resources manage- ment, financial management, com- pliance, the patient journey, risk managementandmarketing.Ifyou have professional, well-educated staff who are aware of the funda- mentals of practice management and are looking after those aspects of your practice then congratula- tions: you are well on your way to meeting your patients’ expecta- tionsofwhattheyconsidertobeex- cellence in health care. Now more than ever, practice managers are charged with the re- sponsibilityofreviewingandimple- mentingprocessesinpracticestoin- crease efficiency and contribute to patients’ overall experience of ex- cellenceinhealthcare.But,justlike your clinical skills, practice man- agement skills need to be continu- ally refined through a combination of ongoing education, understand- ingofyourhealthcaredisciplineen- vironment and the application of skills learnt on a daily basis. Re- member, practice management is not my job; it is my profession. Gary Smith is a life member of the Australian Association of Practice Managers, a Melbourne-based part- ner association of ADX14 Sydney. He has been a practice manager for nearly 30 years. Dental Tribune International The World’s Largest News and Educational Network in Dentistry www.dental-tribune.com AD Patientexpectationsarechanging ByGarySmith,Melbourne Gary Smith Fig. 1: Change in average allocation of time to practice management responsibilities.