5 Common Medical and Dental Practice Mistakes
Making mistakes is normal for any medical or dental practitioner just setting out to build their own practice, but just because it’s normal doesn’t mean you have to. Here we have 5 common medical and dental practice mistakes and the best ways you can avoid them in your start-up.
Nowadays, many professionals are venturing into the start-up field to build their own medical or dental practice. In fact, the industry is expected to continue to grow to keep up with the high demand for healthcare professionals.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare occupations have a projected growth of 16% from 2020 to 2030. Overall, this shows that with the growing demand for healthcare services, more and more practices will stand out and grow as the year progresses.
Starting your own medical or dental practice can be a new and scary journey if you don’t know how to go about it the right way. The first thing to grasp is that it is normal to make mistakes, especially within the first year. During this time there will be many new moving pieces, and thus small mistakes may happen. We are here to help you avoid common mistakes and even give you some tips and tricks along the way.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Don’t do things you’re not good at
As the owner of a new practice, you may feel pressure to manage every aspect of your practice. It is normal to think you should be on top of every transaction in your practice. However, the most common mistakes made occur when a startup practitioner tries to handle aspects, they have no knowledge of. It is good to ask for professional help with the things you don’t know about. Being able to own up to your weaknesses as a person can help your practice grow.
2. Don’t ignore the math
Some practitioners may ignore the business math side of the practice when starting out. This includes finances, call volume, website visits, marketing efforts, technology, patients seen per day, staff utilization, etc. Paying attention to the key factors will be very important in the overall success of the practice. In fact, knowing how to navigate the math will help you initiate the process of continuous improvement which will result in creating a positive profit margin. The numbers ultimately help you make informed decisions and help you plan for managing patients’ volume without compromising your service quality.
3. Don’t take your employees for granted
Treating your employees just as well as you treat your patients should be a core value for your medical or dental practice. Your practice won’t operate smoothly if you don’t have employees who will serve your patients the right way. Furthermore, it is important to remember that your employees help manage the workload so the practice can continue to grow. However, it is critical that you do not take this help for granted. Make sure that you offer reasonable yet competitive compensation and benefits and can provide the best working environment. All in all, this will help them stay motivated to work and offer the best quality service to their patients.
4. Don’t ignore your patients
Building relationships with your customers is significant for your practice because they will be the ones who keep your business alive. Without patients, a medical or dental practice has no purpose and ultimately will not stay open. Building strong relationships with your patients and showing that you value them can be accomplished by things like simply asking how their day is and learning about their interests. These both encourage your patients to seek out your services in the future and can also inspire them to recommend you to their peers. Exemplary patient care service is one of the biggest factors that lead patients to recommend your practice to friends and continue to return themselves.
5. Don’t lose sight of why you’re doing this
It’s only human to lose sight of your purpose or inspiration when starting something big and meaningful. As time passes and operations get busy, it is easy to let these foundational pieces slip into the background. However, it is important to remember the key purpose and mission you set when you started to build your startup. Taking time daily or weekly to pause and reflect on what you started and how far you’ve come will help you keep your mission clear. Additionally, this reflection will help you stay grounded even when busy and committed to your goals and continuing to grow.
How can Streamsoft help your medical or dental practice?
Streamsoft is a healthcare digital marketing agency in Texas whose primary goal is to help medical practices streamline business operations to deliver a better patient experience. Within their medical and dental startup services, Streamsoft will help you get your practice up and running successfully. Streamsoft will be able to help you answer all of your questions and address any doubts regarding starting this journey of building your own medical or dental practice. Streamsoft even has a uniquely crafted startup checklist that you can download from their website. It can help you get started on your journey by giving you an outline of tasks for building your practice. What are you waiting for? Consult now with Streamsoft and see how they can assist you.
