The reception position is crucial to the productivity of a practice. It’s one of those jobs that, when it’s done well, everything just flows. However, when the front desk is handled badly it can cause chaos.
Appointments are scattered across the book, leaving gaps that create an unproductive stop-start rhythm. Patients are booked into the lunch break because “that was the only time they could come”. Emergencies are squeezed between productive appointments, making everyone stressed and late.
An appointment has no notes, so the dentist has to ask, “Why are you here today?” A crown insertion is booked before the laboratory work has returned. Payment arrangements haven’t been explained, creating an argument at the front desk. Two molar root fillings are booked back-to-back late in the afternoon, when everyone’s energy is fading.
What’s it take to run a successful front desk? There are only three things you need to do.
First, you have to recognise that the front desk is not just about answering the phone and finding empty spaces in the appointment book. The front desk organises the flow of work in the practice and so must take control and not let patients run the show. If a patient tries to push the front desk around, the dentist must support the front desk.
Second, the front desk needs scheduling rules to follow. The rules should specify which procedures go in which parts of the day, how much time each procedure requires and where to put emergencies. The lunch break and finishing time are sacrosanct.
Third, the front desk must check tomorrow’s appointment book at least a day in advance to allow time to fix problems. Is the next day’s laboratory work back? Are the appointment the right length? Are the appointments in the right blocks? Have financial arrangements been confirmed with patients?
A well-functioning front desk is vital. If you do the three things above, your practice will become more productive.
