Ocean State’s meeting was Open Forum. 9 offices / 10 members attended. Here are some of the topics discussed:

  • What if the secondary insurance company overpays? (you have to give it back)
  • Several members are taking Chewsi and say that it was very easy (See our blog post from April for more information: https://dentalmanagerssociety.com/dms-ocean-state-chapter-gets-a-first-look-at-chewsi/)
  • A dental coaching company the dentist recently hired has been able to get the hygienist to do the perio charting that the office manager hasn’t been able to pursued them to do. Another office started offering $5 incentive and “miraculously” got 40 chartings the first week!
  • Patients who refuse Xrays are being refused care at one practice – other managers mentioned that, if the doctor tells the patients they need the xrays, they were more apt to accept them. In many cases, these are “Red Flag” patients, as one manager called them.
  • Christina has a formal dismissal letter that she will send to the group.
  • Beth has a “cheat sheet” of questions to ask when a NP calls and she will share it with the group
  • Out of the 9 offices, 8 say the NP gets a cleaning at the 1st visit, 1 said no
  • Average time for a NP visit
    • 5 = 60 minutes
    • 1 = 70
    • 1=75
    • 1 = pedo practice = 30 minutes
  • Average time for a hygiene apt
    • 3 = 45
    • 4 = 50
    • 1 = 90 min for root plaining
  • Broken Appointments – there was much discussion about the different reminder services and their impact on broken appointments and last minute cancellations.
    • 6 out of 9 offices attending charge for broken appointments
  • Hiring front desk staff was also addressed. Several managers said that they look for personality and have offered jobs to non-dental people with great personal skills.