Darwinism in Dentistry

Peter Gardell

13 years ago

I just went through a bad conversion. No I'm not talking about the born-again type. I was using an older PMS that the company felt was so great that they didn't have to upgrade it. I also have made significant changes to the imaging systems in the office, so I wanted a software package that allowed me the flexibility to do what I want. I went with Eaglesoft, and they were very good with getting me the package I wanted.

The problem - and it was due to me not thinking it through - was that all the patients of my former partner, and all my inactive patients were switched to be my active patients. Wonderful.

Well, only one thing to do: put the tunes, on roll up the sleeves and get busy.

After sitting down and going through the motions, I did start seeing a good purpose in this exercise. Usually when you are going through your reports trying to keep track of patients (more specifically, the patients you lost), it is a number you can easily overlook. What is normally a trickle, a non-factor, turned into a brick wall I just drove into.

As I evaluated the "lost patient," I was able to look for trends. Were they emergency patients? Were they people that were a "1 and done" ? If they returned, was it only for another emergency? Were they a simple prophy? Did they set-up a re-care visit and no-showed?

Was there a pattern on who they experienced first? You might think your systems are in place and followed, but your plans might not be followed when you are in the back treating patients. And most of the time, people who are not happy will not say anything, they just won't return.

Due to the interesting economic times, were they regular patients who stopped coming two or three years ago? I have a lot of financial houses around me, and the past few years haven't been good to them.

I am still evaluating a lot of the info and looking for trends. As things materialize, I will keep you in the loop.

So when things happen, be an optimist and look at how you or your office can benefit from your journey to find a solution.

Think Darwin.