Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2016-09-22, 10:58:51 | version 1.38.0
science & practice 25th EAO Annual Scientific Meeting 10 You might think that in finan- cially challenging times the last thing you need is a new member of staff. For a practice to thrive and prosper in a difficult financial cli- mate, however, it has to become more efficient, more competitive and more profitable. One way to do that is to introduce a treatment co- ordinator (TC) into the team or if you already have one then to offer appropriate training. This is a rela- tively new role to the European market, but in the US, where the role is a central part of any practice, it has proven to dramatically add value to the patient expe- rience, reduce in chair time and in- crease case acceptance. The introduction of a well- trained TC will change your entire approach to new patient care, as well as increase profitability. While many practices know how to at- tract patients, their case accept- ance ratio is low. The first contact, first visit and follow-up are the most important elements of the new patient process, yet they fre- quently represent a wasted oppor- tunity because of a lack of skill, focus, time or all three. In my experience, a major down- fall of practices is the unwill- ingness of practitioners to delegate the new patient process to staff, or what we call the TC role. This is of- ten due to a wide range of factors, including the practitioner’s percep- tion that the patient wants commu- nication on his or her treatment to come from the practitioner, the per- ception that patients pay to see the practitioner, a lack of trust to em- power staff or time to train staff, and the financial implications of in- troducing the new role. Relinquishing new patient management to well-trained staff is not a new trend, although its appli- cation has been limited in Europe. However, patients’ expectations, competition for private work and the team’s demand for career pro- gression and job satisfaction are key drivers for introducing the TC role. The TC concept A TC is someone in your prac- tice who, with the right skills and training, will facilitate the new pa- tient process. He or she bridges the gap between the new patient, the practice and the staff. The TC pro- motes and sells the practice and its services by demonstrating their true value to prospective patients, frees up the practitioner’s time, increases case acceptance ratios and, resultantly, increases practice profits. Consider the time spent by the practitioner with the new patient and calculate how much of that time is non-diagnostic. A TC can of- ten reduce up to 60 per cent of practitioner–patient time. Rather than this being a barrier to pa- tients—which is indeed what many practitioners perceive to be the case—in my experience, patients ac- tually feel much more at ease with the TC and therefore better in- formed. Doctor time is not always doctor time. As a typical example: if an new patient appointment is 30 minutes, but the clinical part is ac- AD Introducing a treatment coordinator: The bridge to case acceptance By Lina Craven, UK © garagestock/Shutterstock.com