Me.  I. I try not to use either of those words, yet here I do it again…and again.  How do you turn Me and I into WE? The answer is delegation, cooperation, and training.

My business consultant made a comment to me the other day that got my attention.  Afterall, I do pay him each month; Rhonda says I should at least listen to what he says with an open ear.   “One great employee is worth three good ones.” My first thought was yeah, right. Then he went on, “How come I can consult two businesses that do the exact same thing; they have the same number of employees; yet one of those businesses does $8M a year and the other only does $2M?”

It’s the employees.  It’s YOUR employees.   Do you engage them in your DSM practice?   Do you let them interact with the patients?  Within the bounds of your state dental board, do you allow each of them to do as much as possible?  Or are you like most dentists, micromanaging your team and constantly looking over their shoulder? I hope not!

Here’s a quote from Herb Kelleher, perhaps you’ve heard of him; he’s the guy who started Southwest Airlines. “We have a strategic plan.  It’s called doing things.”

Strive to build a stellar team who engages a patient, each at some point along the preferred path, from the first phone call, to tracking down sleep studies, to verifying insurance benefits, to getting the Rx/LOMN, to scanning, to follow up, etc.  You are only as successful as your team.

SUMMARY:

Strive to be the best you can be

Assemble the BEST team possible

Be proactive; Be smart; Be efficient

You want to make DSM an integral part of your practice. Schedule your consultation today. No pushy sales people. No hidden agendas. We just want to learn about the current role of DSM in your practice, your goals, and determine if DS3 can help. Join 1k other dentists as a DS3 Member before May 5th and get special introductory savings.

Wondering how DS3 can help guide you to your goal to implement Dental Sleep Medicine, do more of it, help more patients, and increase production? Well, just hear what your colleagues have to say – check out these testimonial videos!

Setting goals is a part of life. Obstacles on the path are a part of life, too.  Let’s just face it. It’s how we choose to view and deal with these obstacles that will determine how and if we overcome them.  When a dental practice makes a commitment to add Dental Sleep Medicine (DSM) to its list of services it’s important to understand that will obstacles might surface, and there are ways to move past them.  There is no obstacle large enough that it should prevent any dental practice from offering this life saving treatment. Control what you can control and minimize barriers. There will likely be enough of them with insurance or difficult patients.

Here are a few tips to help prepare a team in advance of encountering DSM-related obstacles.

1. Education: Do this together as a team. It is essential to provide everyone with a foundation on which they can grow together. Understanding the clinical aspects of DSM is just as important as understanding all the processes involved with a successful DSM practice.  Before the team starts talking about Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) with patients, an education plan needs to be established.. This education can be done remotely or live in person. Or both. It just needs to be done TOGETHER.
2. Coaching: Ongoing coaching and support for the dental sleep team is vital to success. If the dentist is solely responsible for DSM in the practice, it will create a road block. DSM is largely team-driven. It takes a village. Be sure to team up with an organization that provides continual, ongoing coaching to help with everything from clinical aspects of DSM to case presentation and medical billing.
3. Software: DSM has a lot of moving parts. Using a software developed especially for DSM in a dental practice will allow streamlining of all the processes and allow the team to stay organized so nothing falls through the cracks.  From screening tools to electronic medical billing, make sure the software is cloud-based, simple and easy for the team to use.
4. Support: This includes utilizing a 3^rd party medical biller to manage the medical billing process. Let the experts handle the medical billing. The nominal fees most charge are worth your team’s sanity and time.  Who better to help overcome DSM medical billing obstacles than an experienced medical biller who specializes in billing for DSM for dental practices?

To get started on the right path, contact me at 877.95.SNORE x2.  Our industry experts are available to provide all the education, coaching, software, and support to dental practices committed to making DSM a priority.