1. Chapter 2 Dental Team Management
DH300

2. Learning Objectives
Determine goals and objectives for a dental practice.
Explain business etiquette.
Identify the five Rs of good management.
Identify functions of an administrative assistant.
Explain employee empowerment.
Define time management.
Explain the purpose of an office manual.
Describe recruitment and hiring practices.
Describe new employee orientation.
Manage staff conflict.

3. Establishing Practice Goals
Develop a practice philosophy: basic concepts about patient care, business management, auxiliary utilization, health and safety, and continuing education for the practice.
Develop practice objectives: specific positive action statements that indicate the expected results.
Determine a mission statement: statement that speaks in the way the practice is to be managed and the role of the staff and the patients.
Develop practice policies: statements of basic policy that will affect both staff members and patients; covered by broad heading followed by specific policies.

4. Establishing Practice Goals
Develop procedural policies: broad statements can be broken down again into specific objectives and further defined into specific tasks for all of the common office procedures.
Develop business principles: dentist outlines in numeric terms the budget process for the practice and procedures for managing business activities.
Develop a practice standard: dentist identify a quality standard that defines a self-performance level and performance level expected of the staff.
Develop a staff recognition program: guidelines should be established for hiring a qualified staff, selecting a wide range of creative benefits, and establishing a competitive salary scale that reflects productivity and cost-of-living increases.

5. Professional Etiquette in the Dental Office
Greet coworkers in a friendly manner daily.
Introduce others who do not know each other.
Greet patients as they enter the office; stand when you greet a patient.
Introduce yourself.
Use “thank you” and “good-byes”
Learn how to handle rivals with tact.
Be a team player.
Dress and act professionally.
Use correct grammar, pronounce words correctly.
Make patients feel important.
Ch 2 pg. 12 box 2-1 (more in book)

6. Basic Job Responsibilities of the Administrative Assistant
Maintain patient and staff relations
Schedule appointments; set up meetings; maintain all patient and financial records; maintain recall and inventory systems; etc.
Operate electronic office equipment
Use telephone, voic , ; manage web sites; upgrade and recommend office software; provide computer training.
Manage records
Manage patient records, insurance forms, HIPPA, financial, clinical data; maintain employee records; OSHA records; accounts payable; collections; order invoices.
Manage mail
Manage incoming and outgoing mail; maintain an system.
Chapter 2, pg. 13, Box 2-2

7. Five Rs of Management
Responsibility: denotes duty or obligation; follow through and project completions.
Respect: consideration or esteem given to another person; each dental team member must respect the others’ education, skills, and values.
Rapport: mutual trust or emotional relationship that exists among the office staff members.
Recognition: achievement; can come in the form of verbal praise or a sign placed in the office recognizing employment and credentials.
Remuneration: monetary recognition of achievement; should be based on education, merit performance, longevity, and cost of living.

8. Job Responsibilities of Administrative Assistant
Schedule appointments
Set up meetings/conferences
Set up/administer financial arrangements with patients
Maintain recall and inventory
Design office manuals/pamphlets
Implement state and federal regulations
Arrange for risk management and OSHA seminars
Supervise appropriate office support staff
Manage web sites
Computer and software training for employees
Managing patient records, employee records, MSDS forms
Manage incoming and outgoing mail.
Pg. 13, Box 2-2

9. Basic Skills of an Administrative Assistant
Conceptual skills: ability to acquire, analyze, and interpret information in a logical manner; how an idea would affect the practice.
Human Relations skills: understanding people and have effective interaction with them; involve communication, motivation, and an ability to lead.
Administrative skills: use all of the other skills effectively in preforming admin functions; establish and follow policies, procedures, process paperwork, coordinate activities.
Technical skills: understanding and supervising effectively the specific processes, practices, and techniques required of specific jobs in the business office; allows performance of day- to-day operations in the office.

10. Ethical Administrative Assistant
Respects the dentist and practice concepts
Good listener
Maintains frequent communication
Utilize feedback
Make ethical decisions
Avoid unnecessary delays in decision making
Delegate authority
Identify constraints within which work must be done
Exercise self-control
Make time for staff
Respect diversity
Build and develop strong relationships
Be visible
Learn from mistakes
Expand the leadership role.

11. Staff Communication
Communication: essential element in management and a vital link in establishing a meaningful relationship among the admin assistant, DDS, other staff members, and patients.
“Quality Communication=Positive Interaction”
The success of a dental practice is measured by the ability for staff members to communicate with each other and the patient.

12. Creating Positive Staff Interactions
Help others to be right, not wrong
When possible, have fun
Be enthusiastic
Be bold and courageous; take chances
Help others achieve success
Have a positive attitude
Maintain confidentiality
Avoid gossip
Speak positively about others
Say “Please” and “Thank you”
If nothing positive to say, say nothing at all.
Pg. 15, Box 2-3

13. Channels of Communication
Formal communication: may be downward, upward, or horizontal.
Downward: when a dentist issues an order, or mandate, that is disseminated to the staff members at the next level; includes instructions, explanations, and communication that helps the employees.
Upward: employees should be free to express attitudes and feeling; includes suggestions, complaints, or grievances; lack of upward communication=dissatisfied employees
Horizontal: transmitting info from one department to another.

14. Channels of Communication
Informal channels: the “grapevine;” can carry rumors, personal interpretations or distorted information.
Fear often causes an active grapevine.
Responsibility of the administrative assistant to listen to the grapevine and eliminate rumors by explaining the true facts.
Admin assistant needs skills in handling tension created by the grapevine.

15. Empowering Employees
“empowered employees attempt to work above and beyond their anticipated capabilities”
The DDS that gives employees the power, ability, and permission to accomplish office objectives and perform legal tasks independently will have the edge over the competition.
Create an environment where employees: behave as an owner of the job and company, behaves in a responsible manner, sees the consequences of the work they do, included in determining solutions to problems, direct input into the way they do their work..

16. Staff meetings
Morning huddle: once a day; lasts 10 to 15 minutes; review patients for the day and what each patient needs.
Routine team or staff meetings: once a month; an effective means of keeping communication channels open; time to define and review the goals for the practice and help motivate the staff; should not be used as a gripe session.
See pg.18, Box 2-5.

17. Managing Conflict
Admin assistant should review the details of the complaint and seek to resolve the issue quickly.
1. Make time available: as soon as possible to discuss the problem.
2. Listen patiently: to all the issues, keeping an open mind.
3. Determine the REAL issue: when a deeper concern may be the cause of the problem.
4. Exercise self-control: avoid arguments or expressions of personality conflicts between the complaining parties.
5. Avoid a delay in decision making: allowing a conflict to go unresolved can cause undue stress on entire staff
6. Maintain a record: document meetings should the conflict arise again.

18. Barriers to Communication
Patient communication: prejudice, poor listening, preoccupation, impatience, or impaired hearing.
Staff communication: status or position, resistance to change or new ideas, attitudes about work, communication difficulties with coworkers.

19. Advantages to hiring a Skilled Administrative Assistant
Understands dental terms
Good interpersonal communication
Understands clinical data/transposes clinical data to financial data
Able to explain treatment procedures to a patient
Promotes or sells dental care
Understands the consequences of dental neglect
Practices infection control
Follows OSHA guidelines
Understands appt sequencing for various dental procedures
Less likely to make common errors
Pg. 19, Box 2-6

20. Solutions to Eliminate Time Wasting
Use a to-do list
Use an answering machine or voic if phone is interruption work
Do not procrastinate
Keep stress levels low
Plan short and long range goals
Plan time to finish projects with no interruptions
Do not socialize too much with staff
Eliminate unnecessary work.
Pg. 19, Box 2-7

21. Designing a Procedural Manual
Helps maintain maximum efficiency in the dental office and a means of communication.
Includes: DDS philosophy of practice, defines job responsibilities for each team member, techniques to be used in procedures in both the business side and clinical side of the office.
All members of the team should be allowed to contribute equally.
See pg. 20 of your book for an example

22. The Personnel Policy
A fair and equitable personnel policy should help eliminate conflicts.
Can be altered to satisfy the needs of an individual office.