Are you a dinosaur?

Are you a dinosaur?

I was out with a friend last night who specialises in working with medical practices and we were discussing the dramatic changes that come into place 1^st April and their potential to change the face of medical practice. We went on to discuss, how in many ways dentists and their medical counterparts are so similar;

·        Trained in clinical skills not business

·        Spend most their time in the surgery with patients

·        Spend very little time working ‘on’ their business

·        Very little awareness of the market place and their position in it.

·        Fearful of life outside the NHS

Shelia and I we also considering opticians and how they are a really good predictor for the future of both medical and dental practices.  If we had taken a walk together 25 years ago down your local high street, I am sure that we would have seen 5, 10 or even 15 local independent opticians, if we were to take that same stroll today we would see 2 or three of the large corporates, vision express, spec savers, possibly D&A and if we searched very hard down a small dark alley way we may be lucky and find a sole independent optical practice remaining.

In dentistry we can already see the rise of the corporates and the group practices and the loss of independent practices from the high street. I predict the same will come to pass for the GMP’s.

Are you going to survive the next few years or will your practice become extinct?

 

Are you a dinosaur?

 

The dinosaurs became extinct and many dental practices will do too, will yours?

How to know if you are a dinosaur

·        Low IQ What is your business IQ like? Have you spent anywhere near as long developing your business skills as you have your clinical ones?

·        Cannot hear advice How frequently do you listen to your patients to discover what their wants and need are so that you can provide them for them. Do you seek the advice and counsel of business leaders, experts’ trainers and coaches, or do you metaphorically have your fingers in your ears and chant “la la la la” ignoring what is happening around you?

·        Lack vision Do you have a plan for the future of your practice, is it in line with current and future opportunities and threats. Is your practice based on a solid foundation of values? Or do you spend all your time, on the dental treadmill, with your head down treating the patients as they come through the door and no consideration for the future>

·        Destructive and competitive is your response to a challenge to blame others, criticise your staff, patients or other practices? Do you find fault with others rather than accepting responsibility yourself?

·        Can’t regulate internal temperature. Are you over reliant on others, the NHS, your bank, your staff. How well could you cope if you lost your practice manager, key nurse or receptionist? What would happen to you if your NHS contract was withdrawn or the bank recalled your overdraft? How good are your internal communication systems set up to prevent and minimise staff conflict?

·        Cold bloodied Do you lack compassion for your patients your staff or yourself? Do you have a draconian policy for patient attendance and then frequently run late or cancel appointments at short notice? Do you design and implement your systems and protocols in an inflexible dictatorial style without the involvement of who implement them? Are your staff meetings really negative and a list of what your staff are not doing right and instructions to how to do things properly?

·        Slow moving is your mind set and practice stuck in the past? Are you still offering treatment in the style you were taught at dental school, are your opening hours 9-5 and closed at lunchtime, are you invisible because you don’t have an attractive functional website or social media presence? Is change slow and hard work in your practice?

·        Powerful strong and ungainly are you a strong opinionated principal who seldom seeks counsel from patients, staff or experts and consequently waste a lot of time money and energy. Do you find it difficult to train motivate and train staff and find you have an unskilled team that changes frequently. Have you approached a conversion or fee increase like a bull in a china shop for it to come crashing down around you?

·        Incapable of managing situations Do you avoid or ignore potential sources of conflict only to discover that they become more difficult to resolve that if you had dealt with them early. Do you find personalities and ‘difficult’ people hard to work alongside? Are your days turned upside down by a crisis, mistake or problem rather than being able to overcome or solve it rapidly? Do you bear grudges and find forgiveness difficult?

·        Needs to consume a lot of resources is your practice wasteful and over consume resources? Do you have too many staff, or staff that are underutilized ?do you have equipment and materials in cupboards that are seldom if ever used, have you been on courses particularly in business management and not implemented any changes?

·        Designed to perform one task is your only skill dentistry and have you kept your mind closed to all the other tasks that are required of you as a business owner, setting the vision, managing the finances, allocating the time, building a team, marketing the practice, selling your services, designing and implementing the systems, being a leader, looking after yourself. Is your practice limited in the products and services that you can offer to your patients?

 

You know what happened to the dinosaurs are you going to let the same happen to you?

 Please leave your comments below.
 
If you have identified with any of the characteristics that will cause your practice to become extinct and you want survive call me on 07989 757 884 or e mail Jane@IODB.co.uk to discuss how we can help.

 

www.healthyandwealthy.co.uk

www.theinstituteofdentalbusiness.co.uk



Thank you to Ayd instone for the image