Setting Up a SMART Dental Practice

Setting up a dentist business involves a sharp understanding of project and systems management and in fact you might have to hire a consultant or employee with experience in that area to set it up correctly.

 

Most professional dentist hire experts that are proficient in SMART objectives. These are objectives that can immediately applied to a business.

 

A SMART objective is an objective that’s specific.  That accounts for the S in the objective. The fact that this objective must be measurable accounts for the M in the word.  The A stands for attainable; all objectives must be attainable.  If it is relevant; that’s the R.  The last letter in the acronym is a T and that means that whatever the objective is — it’s timed. That is all of the components in SMART objectives

There are a number of SMART objectives that can be directly adopted specifically by a dentist.  For instance the S in SMART for a hygienist would be to get as many encounters with patients as possible as encounters generate money for the practice. That would also be the goal of associate dentists. A SMART objective helps you define every single role in the office.

 

The other thing you have to consider about objectives in dental practice is that they can be quite complex. For instance they are not just about volume. An objective in dentistry should not only take productivity into consideration but also the overall experience of the patient. High volume does not necessarily mean excellence of experience for the client and in the end a low quality treatment may even cost you clients, as they will not return.  Long-term gain should be part of the picture when it comes to strategizing how your office will work.

 

An important objective would be to maintain a more motivational environment by creating specific and measurable goals for your employees to meet every month.

Not all objectives should be directly about money. Measures should also be taken to make sure that employees are on track when it comes to maintaining a long-term vision of what your company wants to accomplish. Incentives and rewards should also be given to employees who are motivated and seem to be doing a good job.  Part of your objectives should be to hold regularly scheduled interviews so you have some kind of feedback and measuring system in place to gage how your employees are doing and how well you are communicating your goals to them.

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