Here’s Stephen Hudson’s most recent newsletter; as ever it is written in his unique style and the contents are worth a view.
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Who is Apolline?
Hello again
In his recent column in dentistry magazine, Apolline (in my opinion) shows that he just doesn’t get it. As “proof” I give you this statement:
“Whether private or NHS we should see any patient who wants to see us. We should have capacity to be able to offer anyone who comes through the door a quick check of 10 minutes and then go on and sell everything else….. at a later scheduled appointment.”
He bases his argument on the way the big optician chains operate on the high street. Hmmmm, sorry Apolline, but I’m going to disagree with you here.
1) You cannot compare opticians with dentists. They are two completely separate entities. A visit to the opticians invariably does not result in invasive surgery, nor does it routinely involve the treatment of pain. To top off the matter, most of the people visiting the opticians are not suffering varying levels of anxiety or fear. And to top it off, there are not large swathes of the population who feel they have a right to see an NHS optician…….. because there aren’t any.
2) Opening your doors to all and sundry is a recipe for disaster, and smells strangely of how many dentists ran their practices in the old GDS model. The treadmill was a result of how the dentist worked under the system, and was usually down to them treating too many patients, many of whom they didn’t like (and who didn’t like the dentist). One mistake, one error of judgement and a letter from “me learned fellow” arrived quicker than you could say “I always thought there was something not right about him”.
3) I fail to see the point of a “10 minute check” on someone you have never seen before. I can’t tell the dental status of a new patient in 10 minutes, it takes me more than that to just build rapport with someone. Rapport is essential if you are to effectively treat an individual as an individual. I would go so far as to say that if you don’t have rapport, then the patient is better off going somewhere else
4) The purpose of the branded opticians is to sell glasses. The purpose, in my opinion, of dental care is to get people dentally healthy. You do not sell dentistry, which is why I wrote this Effective Dental Sales System . By building a relationship with the patient you build trust. Through trust you can discover any concerns the patient has, as well as feeling free to report the findings of your clinical exam. You can then give them options and let THEM decide what to do, around the framework of your clinical recommendations. If you are in agreement you then do it.
Now I have visited the optician for their apparent convenience. The customer service was appalling. There was not enough staff to deal with the hoard that had descended on them that day. The shop floor staff were stressed, the establishment noisy. I was led through a veritable army of people, each performing a different task. Do I know the name of any of them? Nope. Even the optician declined to introduce herself. It was a “hello, sit down, what we doing, wear these, look at that, would you like to buy this” kind of situation. Efficient yes. A memorable customer service experience……….. no. I view it no different than going to Tesco’s.
You are more than welcome to run this kind of dental practice. Or you can develop a practice philosophy which works on the building of trust. Patients aren’t commodities, and they are not machines (unless you believe in the teachings of Gurdjieff of course). People are walking bags of hopes and fears, and they have needs. One of the most powerful human needs, especially in men, is the need to feel significant.
“Men will die for ribbons” Napoleon Bonaparte
The need for significance is a powerful force. It’s why we feel slighted when the receptionist doesn’t make eye contact, why we feel annoyed by those stupid electronic telephone answering services…
If you would like to scream abuse at someone in another country, press 1. If you would like to be kept on hold for the next 30 minutes whilst listening to a poor rendition of Bach’s Violin Concerto Number 1, press 2.
Apolline doesn’t get it. You can shop at Morrison’s, and be grunted at by a tattoo emblazoned youth at the checkout, or you can go to the local shop where you get a warm greeting. You can go to your doctor with your bad back and get some pills, or you can visit you chiropractor who spends TIME with you (hmm, I wonder why chiropractors are so popular despite the apparent lack of evidence behind their treatment methods).
Which kind of dentist would you like to be? Do you want to be open to your patient’s convenience? Or do you want to be a member’s only practice, where the patients are treated like royalty…………. so long as they follow YOUR RULES.
In my opinion (and this is a controversial view) you should make it difficult for people to join your practice. It should be a member’s only establishment, and entry is by referral from existing members only. If you are not NHS, then your patient membership should be purchased by monthly direct debit. Treatment fees are of course additional, and come at a significant discount. Your patient base must be made to feel that leaving you for another practice entails significant risk.
“Every Englishman is convinced of one thing, viz.: That to be an Englishman is to belong to the most exclusive club there is” -Ogden Nash
This does not mean you have to be prohibitively expensive. There is a call for this kind of practice, but their numbers are limited, especially in a recession. Most of us can operate an exclusive member’s only practice, based on fair fees that your local patient base can afford. Whilst this is not legal advice, I see nothing in my NHS contract that says I have to see all and sundry. The only rule is that I do not discriminate based on Race, Sex, disability, ability to pay etc etc etc. Is there anything there about only seeing people that you class as members? An interesting debate for the lawyers I feel.
And there will be patients that WANT the Tesco’s experience. And that’s fine; there are plenty of Tesco’s style practices out there. And you get to choose what type of practice you want to work in. It’s your choice, so choose wisely.
Regards
Stephen Hudson BDS, MFGDP, DRDP
Please help support the Sick Dentist Scheme and the BDA Benevolent fund by buying my book at Choose Your Reality. A proportion of the profits from its sale are split equally between these two charities
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Disclaimer: S.Hudson or SNH Publications will not be held liable for any actions taken based on the information provided in this newsletters. This information is for entertainment purposes only.
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