DrBicuspid.com Practice Management Insider: Addressing the late cancellation

Dear Practice Management Insider,

In this edition of the Insider, the Madow Brothers address a constant problem in dental practices -- a patient calls at 10:00 a.m. to cancel their 2:30 p.m. appointment. What do you do? Can the appointment be saved? They offer a solution to this issue that is good for your patients, your practice, and your revenue.

Also featured in the Practice Management Community, just as your body needs proper nutrition, your mind also requires regular, healthy mental nutrition. Instead of worrying about the things you can't control, feed your mind with positive mental nutrition. Scheduling Institute President Jay Geier offers ways you can get your daily helping, so that you can become the successful leader that your practice needs.

As the CEO of your practice, you need to have a clear picture of its financial status and performance. You should also exercise fiscal discipline to ensure that your expenditures are cost-effective and that as much production as possible is converted into income. In other words, you need to create a comprehensive, detailed operating budget -- and abide by it, according to Dr. Roger P. Levin.

Have you thought about how your supply and exam rooms are organized? Is your practice wasting time looking for supplies? By keeping supply and exam rooms neatly organized, your staff will be more efficient. This is just one of five tips that Allen Crow of Easy Dental outlines that can help eliminate stress and help your practice become more productive.

In his latest Naked Dentist column, Curtis Marshall draws an interesting parallel between well-known dog trainer Cesar Millan's methods and what a dental practice needs to do to thrive. As Marshall helped a practice in Utah understand, a practice can't stop once its numbers start to improve.