Posts Tagged ‘2001’

The month of December should be a time of relaxation and remembrance of fun when we were children.

Thursday, December 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscribe) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 757.721.3332 757.721.2892 (Fax) 800.922.0866 Toll-free www.DentalManagementU.com

DYNAMIC DATA

DECEMBER 2001

Dear Doctors and Staff,

The month of December should be a time of relaxation and remembrance of fun when we were children. As busy adults, it is a time for year-end monitors, cards, gifts, and the hustle and bustle of getting ready for holiday gatherings. To add to the stress of holidays this year is the war in Afghanistan. As you read this message, look at the stressors in your life at the moment. Take inventory of them, and decide that you will not carry them into the New Year.

Our phones and e-mail lines have been exceptionally busy the past two months with requests for consulting and practice development. These requests have always been cyclic in the past, but are especially heavy with year-end numbers down for most practices. In talking with dentists who have made these calls and requests for assistance, they report that the month of September was great (it was already scheduled when 9-11 happened), but the bottom has fallen out the last two months of the year.

We have also been frequently asked to serve as a consultant to start up practices. So often recently that Pauline Grabowski, one of our new consultants, and I have designed a new practice consultation that will be tailored to the new dentist in four phases of assistance. >From the initial decision to open a practice, through the lease agreement, to the set-up of systems, interviewing and hiring of the initial staff, to the training and monitoring of the first months activities. This program is now available to dentists in all 50 states and will be part of the New Dentist Program being introduced at the Holiday Dental Conference in Charlotte, NC in Dec 2002. (More information to follow in Dynamic Data.)

The month of November has been extremely busy with the initial work being completed on the inception of our Dental Business Conferences being taken into ten states by mid 2002. If your state association would like to sponsor this sought after practice and team development program, please contact Lee Tarvin at our toll free number from 9-noon at 800-922-0866. Our congratulations to Kathy Metaxas for the success of her first DBC in Perth, Western Australia. Kathy is excited and has additional courses in motion for 2002 in other cities in Australia. Pauline Grabowski and I welcome you and your team to join us on March 22,23 in Virginia Beach for our second DBC. Our November course was a huge success with dentists and staff traveling from as far away as Michigan. Our thanks to our staff, Annie Seela and Lee Tarvin for their tireless effort in making the arrangements with the hotel and attendees. Our sincere thanks to our guest speakers who provided a wealth of information in the break-out sessions. Dr. Dick Wilson, my former employer from Richmond, VA, held court at a lunch and learn on the topic of “Staff, Your Greatest Asset”, Dr. Jeff Blackburn, also a very successful Richmond dentist, spoke on “Time Management”, Anastasia Turchetta, RDH from Edenton, NC spoke on “Assisted Hygiene”, Sheila Dalton and Courtney Wooten, dental assistants from Dr. Dick Wilson’s office spoke on “The Exceptional Dental Assistant”. Pauline and I held an optional no fee hour session from 4-5 on day one. Pauline’s course was on “Computer Utilization”, and my course was on “Leadership At All Levels”.

Dr. Jeff blackburn is a sought after speaker for dental groups across the country and is a member of our Speaker’s Bureau (see our website dentalmanagementU.com for complete details). Anastasia, the most positive hygienist in dentistry today, is also available to come into practices as a consultant to assist them in setting up the Assisted Hygiene Program for total success. Sheila and Courtney are the proud owners of a new consulting firm called “EDA” (Exceptional Dental Assistants). Their mission is to turn average and good dental assistants into exceptional assistants by teaching them the vital communication skills along with the advanced clinical skills the dental assistants of tomorrow must have.

It was an exciting past six weeks in our consulting division. We like to co-consult at least twice per year so I was honored to go on two assignments with our newest consultants in late November and early December. In late November the four of us, Susan Kulakowski, Janelle Kent, Pauline Grabowski and I were together in a lovely practice in Alabama. With the fine staff, good dentistry and improved systems, this will become our solo practice of the year for 2002. While Susan and Janelle were off to the Northwest, Pauline and I spent three days in Montana. In spite of wanting to get back to our families, Pauline and I fell in love with Montana and the wonderful people in that area. We were taken on a lunchtime trek to the foothills of Yellowstone National Park before our afternoon session the second day. By the end of our third day in-office, we knew this would become our best group practice in the 23 year history of our firm.

I was asked to write a monthly column for the Seattle King County newsletter each month. (I have been honored to be a speaker there annually for the past 14 years.) I thought the readers of Dynamic Data might like to have a review of this column as their “pearls” for the month. Please see the attached for those questions and answers.

And don’t forget to take some time for yourselves this busy holiday season. Schedule a one hour massage, reflexology for your tired feet, a half day of pampering at the local salons for women and men. And last but not least, take time to count your blessings, be with your loved ones, and pray for our peace in the coming New Year.

Seattle King County Question/Answer Attachment

Q 1- What do I say to a patient who will not schedule appointments that will go beyond their insurance maximum?

A 1- Remind patients that the employee benefit plan which their employer has chosen for them covers basic preventive and basic restorative care. Ninety-five percent of all adults need more than basic dentistry. You can also say, “Mrs. Winters, you are one of our fortunate patients. A portion of your needed treatment is covered by your benefit plan. How we wish all our patients were this lucky, as many of them must pay their entire fee themselves. ” The “kiss of death” phrase in a dental practice which causes patients to be co-dependent on their plan, is: “Mrs. Winters, I’ll have Judy call your insurance company to see what they’ll cover”. Implying that if it isn’t covered, the patient will not want to have the treatment is the very reason some practices have more trouble with insurance co-dependency than others.

Q 2- How do I know when my practice will support another hygienist?

A 2- First, know how many true active patients you have. You need one full-time hygienist for every 800-1000 active patients. (Depending on whether the practice sees patients 4, 4.5 or 5 days per week and also the mix of adults and children). The wave of the future is to have two chairs per hygienist and a designated assistant for those two hygiene chairs. The hygienist can see 14-15 patients per day in this model.

Q 3- What are your thoughts on confirming appointments? What is your thought on the patient who cancels their appointment when they are called to remind them of this appointment?

A 3- I’ve known for years that 1/3 of the patients are annoyed and frustrated with the confirmation call, 1/3 of the patients will not be there without it, and 1/3 of the patients use the call to say, “I was just getting ready to call and cancel that appointment”.

Rather than a reminder or confirmation call, I prefer to call it a courtesy call. The appointment cards should have at the bottom, “This time has been reserved just for you. Consider this card your confirmation”. In other words, the appointment is confirmed when the card is given. The courtesy caller should say, “hello Mrs. Winters. This is Beth from Doctor Brown’s office. This is your courtesy call to let you know, we’re looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at 10″.

Q 4- How do you feel about having a senior citizen discount if you already offer a cash courtesy discount?

A 4- Twenty years ago, cash allowances for prompt payment or senior courtesies were popular. In today’s dentistry, we don’t see as many allowances due to the fact you can not discriminate with bank card patients. if you offer a 5 % cash courtesy for collecting the fees up front, you must also allow this on credit card patients which increases the write offs up to 8%. The percentage paid to use the credit cards is a business expense that is not allowed to be passed on to the patients. Senior citizens are often demanding of their senior courtesy when in fact, many seniors are financially well off. Most dentists realize when you take 10% off the top, you take 30% off the net. In fact, I no longer recommend any courtesies unless the practice wants to adopt a needy family or two and donate their services. Courtesies can get completely out of hand and are in fact an apology for one’s fees. NOTE: never refer to allowances or courtesies as “discounts”. These are blue light specials at K-Mart that tarnish one’s professional image.

Q 5- How do you convince patients to come in the middle of the day or take their children out of school for appointments. How do you deal with everyone wanting the after 3 PM appointments?

A 5- Some practices that are a true “bedroom community” (people take public transportation into town and are only in their homes to sleep), give incentives for patients who can come between 10 AM and 3 PM. For every appointment made between 10 and 3, the patients’ names go into a fish bowl for an end of the month drawing for four $50 gift certificates. These can be for a local restaurant, movie tickets, floral shops, food and toy stores.

It is amazing that the same parents who claim they can’t take their children out of school for dental appointments now find a way to get them there when they learn of the mid day incentives. They now say, “Oh, I’m sure they can all come in mid day, my mother-in-law will bring them.

Q 6- How much detail should go into an office/financial policy sheet that is given to each new patient?

A 6- Firm yet friendly financial guidelines must be fully understood by the entire dental team before they can be introduced to new patients. Making the patients feel you are more interested in their care than their money should come across, yet the practice must be run like a successful business which requires certain policies.

Using positive words for positive results is the key to successful collections. Patients should be given a list of the financial options available. IE: “Mrs. Wagner, for your convenience we also offer Visa, Master Card and Discover, in addition to our normal cash or check services”.

“We are also happy to let our patients know we have a financial partner called _________________ , for those patients who wish to have interest free, longer-term financial assistance”.

Q 7-How can an office without a hygienist (due to the shortage) maintain a strong continuing care program while also doing the restorative, meet production goals and stay on time?

A 7- The hygiene department is the “backbone” of the practice. Finding a hygienist is not impossible even in remote areas. If however, all resources have been tapped, and there is still no hygienist, there is no way the dentist can continue to do the restorative, meet production goals and stay on time. I have consulted two practices in 23 years that have in fact, a successful practice without a practicing hygienist. These dentists have become proficient in delegating everything in their state dental practice act that dental assistants can do. They delegate most of the patient education to the qualified assistants. This helps in rare occasions when a practice is between hygienists. I would not recommend this pace to all practitioners.

Q 8- How do you approach a patient (who has a crown or bridge to do so it can be spaced out , and who can’t pay their portion of treatment) about a finance program when they say they aren’t interested, (don’t use credit cards, etc. or you know they may not qualify)?

A 8- I use the friendly, “we’re here to help you Mrs. Weaver” routine. “In fact, at our practice we believe in doing the dentistry right, not over. You’ve had a lot of break and fix dentistry in the past. If we can find a way to deliver total quality care, and make it affordable to you, do you mind if we introduce you to this type of care?” Patients will then find a way to pay for good dentistry just the way they find the way to pay for anything else they want.

If there’s a fear of them not qualifying, I would be very hesitant to do a major treatment plan without strict, yet friendly fee arrangements. Most people have a source of money in time of need. It is our job as dental professionals to make the patients want what they need by outlining the benefits of the care. It is also the job of the care-givers to be upbeat and not too dogmatic about the fees which is a turn off to all levels of socio-economic patients. Linda Miles, CEO LLMiles and Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 800.922.0866

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.721.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates – DEC 2001

Miles & Associates Linda L Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 Phone: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892 800.922.0866 Toll-free

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Welcome to fall and the fourth quarter of 2001

Saturday, October 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscribe) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 757.721.3332 757.721-2892 (Fax) 800.922.0866 Tool-free www.DentalManagementU.com

DYNAMIC DATA OCTOBER, 2001

Welcome to fall and the fourth quarter of 2001. I hope the first three quarters of 2001 have been good in spite of the economic downturn many practices are reporting, especially since the attacks on America a month ago. The stock market has bottomed out (hopefully) and will start to rebound. Many dentists over the age of 55 are re-thinking their retirement plans as of a month ago. The worst thing anyone can do is panic and get out of the market. Many wise investors use this down time to purchase stocks, knowing it will eventually improve as has been the market’s track record over the past decades.

We have had a tremendous response to our two day Dental Business Conferences hosted by Pauline Grabowski and LLM&A. Clients from as far away as Michigan are coming to Virginia Beach November 30 and December 1st for the best management investment a practice can make, according to the positive feed-back received from attendees in the past. While things are a little slower, smart dentists use this time wisely to “sharpen their axes”, so that when things return to normal, they will be ready and able to hit the ground running with a higher degree of efficiency, improved communication, team cohesiveness, and improved marketing strategies. Managing a dental practice is truly a team effort so bring, don’t send the staff. Don’t delay! Limited attendance means some offices may have to wait until March for this program, which is on a first come/first registered basis. Pauline Grabowski is a local Virginia Beach consultant I met last year when I learned of her training center for dental business staff with a heavy emphasis on computer training. Pauline and I are also in the midst of creating a New Dentist Consultation for start up practices. This program will be available in the spring of 2002. Pauline will also be our Licensed Dental Business Conference Trainer in the state of Virginia, joining nine others who will represent a particular state beginning next year. Many people have asked if I am semi-retiring. Actually, I’m slowing down to “shift gears” on many new and exciting projects. My joy is designing new and better ways to assist dental teams in their quest to better serve their patients. Annie Seela, Director of our Speaking/Consulting Network is the familiar voice you hear when calling PMG Management to register for the Business Conference at 757.497.2040 or toll free 888.507.0409.

It has been a month of redefining what’s really important in life since September 11th. In August I was concerned about the cabinet door in our new home that wasn’t quite right, and the draperies that were supposed to be delivered in 6-8 weeks and were late. Funny how those things are now “small stuff” and ridiculous concerns compared to the aftermath of the attacks on America. For those of you who missed the presidential speech on September 20th, you missed one of the best speeches I’ve heard in my lifetime. As you know I love studying body language. Did anyone notice Hillary Clinton’s body language when the cameras were on her three times during President Bush’s speech? My audience in Ft. Worth the following day definitely noticed she wasn’t exactly a happy camper! Speaking of Ft Worth District Dental Society, what a great group of caring, sharing dentists and staff. Dr. Paul Davis asked if I thought it would be appropriate to pass a basket for the Red Cross Disaster Fund at our seminar of close to 300 people. We were pleased to announce to the audience that over $3500 was collected which made all of us feel good. Have you noticed how our country has united and become so much closer to the principles we learned from the good people in our lives? I told my audience last week in Minnesota that I have a new seminar topic entitled “The “F” Words Are All That Matters” (Faith, Family, Friends, and Freedom).

While driving around town running errands and keeping appointments the other day, I was intrigued by a local dentist’s radio ad, which was very professionally done. I immediately called his Virginia Beach office to inquire as to the results of the ad on Sedation Dentistry. After learning just how successful the ad and the procedure has been, I asked Dr. Jeff Leidy to send me some information so that I might pass it on to my readers of Dynamic Data.

Here’s the information:

I have been using oral conscious sedation in my practice for approximately one year, and I would like to relay my experiences with this method of treatment delivery. Dr. Michael Silverman introduced me to this protocol through the D.O.C.S. organization, of which I am a member. D.O.C.S. stands for Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation, and was formed and founded by Dr. Silverman. His impetus for its creation is to reach the estimated 145 million people actively avoiding dental care out of fear or lack of time. These people are not active patients in any dental office, and seek treatment only to relieve a toothache. Unfortunately, this cycle of emergency care can often perpetuate unpleasant experiences, and often these individuals even lose trust in personal recommendations and referrals. Dr. Silverman and D.O.C.S.’s purpose is to provide its members with standardized training and continuing education in oral conscious sedation, establish equipment and supply sources for its doctors, and provide general support for its practitioners through tested promotional and marketing strategies. The marketing materials are an important element of incorporating this protocol into an office, since patients who benefit most from sedation dentistry must be made aware of this technique, and they are not a regular dental patient at any office. The D.O.C.S. materials are designed to reach this select group of potential patients. D.O.C.S. membership includes a pledge to follow its guidelines. Oral conscious sedation is inherently very safe, but to ensure that a practitioner is fully prepared for every circumstance, D.O.C.S. offices are to be properly equipped and patients continuously monitored per D.O.C.S. recommendations. Fortunately, this is very easy to do, as the organization provides sources for the medications and equipment. Their recommended monitoring equipment even comes with presets already programmed. It’s ready to use. The guidelines require limiting oral sedation to generally healthy adults, using the American Society of Anesthesiology rating system. Patients with more complex medical conditions may also be treated using oral conscious sedation, but additional guidelines apply to these circumstances. The medication itself is not new. It is in the benzodiazepine family and has been used for decades. Dr. Silverman’s contribution has been the refinement of the administration of this medication for dental treatment. In addition to new levels of comfort for the patient (many of them do snore during treatment), there is a strong amnesic effect from the medication. Many patients remember little of the appointment the next day and they are extremely pleased about this aspect of the process. Besides comfort, the second greatest benefit is the ability to perform multiple procedures during longer appointments. The patients do not physically tire, as they would with full awareness, and time perception is altered. A patient who has just completed a four-hour appointment may think they were under treatment for fifteen or twenty minutes. This technique has been tremendously helpful to my practice. In addition to providing care to individuals who would otherwise never be reached, it is something that we can offer our existing patients who require extensive treatment. They are simply not fatigued as they would be without sedation, and they appreciate the time saved over traditional multiple appointment treatment plans. For additional information contact the D.O.C.S. organization at 610. 630.9400 or SleepDentistry.com. For questions regarding my personal experience using Dr. Silverman’s method please contact me at 757.362.9663 or VirginiaBeachSedationDentist.com.

Sincerely, Jeffrey R. Leidy, DMD

Looking for that special gift for special patients or people in your life? Wendy Bentley, of “Always An Occasion”, a local Virginia Beach business woman will ship UPS the most beautiful gift baskets that make you look good! Birthdays, Anniversaries, Thank You for Referrals, Celebrate Your New Smile, Boss’ Day, Staff Recognition, Holidays, etc. Wendy will personalize each gift with your very own ribbon emblazoned with your name or practice logo for a nominal one time only set up fee. Send her your personalized mugs and she will send them for you (one at a time or by the dozen back to you for giving out personally). Corporate accounts welcome. Tel. 757.499.3064, fax 757.499.3065. Visit Wendy’s web-site at www.alwaysanoccasion.com

For all those practices wishing to schedule me personally to do a One Day Focused Seminar in the first half of 2002, please call 800.922.0866 as soon as you decide, as my schedule for the first half of 2002 is quickly filling. Remember that my senior consultants are also available to do follow up consulting and twelve months of follow up monitoring for those clients who need monitored monthly. We are very proud of Anne Knouse, Vicki Turner, and Denise Holick who have been with us for a combined 16 years. Joining these three consultants is Janelle Kent and Susan Kulakowski of Ft. Myers, FL. I am blessed with five of the best consultants in the dental industry. I can count on them to stay on the cutting edge of dentistry and deliver more than the clients expect. To speak with one of our consultants to learn more about their services as consultants and speakers, call Lee at 800.922.0866 and leave a message. Char Sweeney of Michigan, who has been part of our firm since 1990, is back on the lecture circuit after a two-year break to spend more time with her young daughters. I spoke at the University of MN last Friday and had so many compliments from Char’s appearance there two years ago. For a speaker for your next dental association, call our toll free number 800.922.0866 or visit our web-site and meet our consultants and the independent speakers who are part of the LLM Speaking/Consulting Network. (www.dentalmanagementU.com)

Linda Miles, CEO LLMiles and Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 800.922.0866

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.721.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates – Oct 2001

Miles & Associates Linda L Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 Phone: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892 800.922.0866 Toll-free

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September 11, 2001 will be a day that etches the history of our country while branding us with fear for our freedom.

Thursday, September 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscribe) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter. Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 757-721-3332 757-721-2892 (Fax) 800-922-0866 Tool-free www.DentalManagementU.com

DYNAMIC DATA SEPTEMBER, 2001

September 11, 2001 will be a day that etches the history of our country while branding us with fear for our freedom. Last week the things that bothered us seem trivial today in the aftermath of the attacks on NY and DC. As we go through the motions of each day, our hearts are heavy and our minds are clouded with doubts that the once bright future will ever be the same.

Our phones and e-mails have been busy with questions of “what can I do, I have just signed my life away on a new office loan”, or “should I abandon the plan of starting a new practice from scratch?” Will the economy be stable enough to move forward with my plans? I know of three friends who just started a new business leaving the comfort of a full time job to launch their business. Should they abandon their plans?

While the changes that took place in our world Tuesday of this week will definitely impact the outcome and future of many practices and businesses, we can not let the perpetrators win. To give up future dreams and goals, to alter our lives even a little means defeat. Americans are strong and forgiving. These acts of terrorism however can’t be ignored.

As one doctor said, “our first impulse is to turn Afghanistan and Pakistan into parking lots if they are in fact responsible for this”. But as this wise man also said, “if you have a mouse in your house, you don’t blow up the house to get rid of the mouse”. While we all have our personal opinions, we must stand by our President and his advisors and know that they know much more about this than we know. We must have faith in the system and accept the plan that is proposed by our government.

The Virginia State Dental Meeting was cancelled the day after the attacks. As much as I was looking forward to speaking Saturday, September 15th, and seeing all my Virginia friends, I respect the Executive Director’s decision and fully understand that in Washington, DC, going on with the plans would not have been wise. With air traffic so unpredictable, it is likely many other meetings will be cancelled or postponed. Pauline Grabowski, a local Virginia Beach Consultant and computer trainer, and I will be teaming up on November 30th And December 1st for our very requested Two Day Dental Business Conference here in Virginia Beach at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel overlooking the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. Anytime there is a slow down in the economy people must make lemons out of lemonade. We are encouraging dentists to bring, not send their entire team as management is truly a team effort. For more details call PGM Management Services (Pauline) at 888-507-8757, or LLM&A (Linda) at 800-922-0866.

Our 6th Annual Speaking/Consulting Network will be held May 17-19 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Las Vegas. The two day format has been extended to three full days for novice and experienced speakers and consultants. We will have 90 minute break-out sessions on various topics that are valuable to practice management consultants and speakers. Other highlights of the SCN Meeting will be ten minute showcasing of six SCN members, and a mock consultation where groups of ten people will dissect the practice problems, create a blueprint for changes and present these reviews of findings to other members in a ten minute presentation. If you wish to start or enhance your own speaking, consulting or writing business, this annual meeting is a must.

As I wrote in my last Dynamic Data, our SunFun Seminars are on hold until the first quarter of 2003. I am in the process of expanding our Two Day Dental Business Conferences into ten states by mid 2002. This along with bringing in two additional consultants last month will be a full load to concentrate on until 2003. It is my goal by 2004 to have one Certified DBC Trainer in all 50 states giving 4-6 Conferences in their state. As dentistry goes through the next difficult years and a possible recession, the work that we do to create more profitable practices through improved efficiency will be even greater in demand. After 23 years of constant travel, this “train-the-trainer” mode is exciting. There are so many talented people who can “carry the torch” for the most sought after Dental Business Conference in dentistry.

I hope each of your practices has started a Continuing Education Trip Kitty fund for the 2003. If you need a copy, please e-mail us at llmiles@ix.netcom. net.

As you go through the next few weeks, may you go in peace, prosperity and the pursuit of happiness. May you lend an ear to the suffering of each patient who wishes to share their innermost thoughts of the world happenings, and may you realize that your practice is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Therefore, don’t send but make reservations today to bring your staff to Virginia and join us on November 30th .

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.721.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates – Sept 2001

Miles & Associates Linda L Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 Phone: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892 800-922-0866 Toll-free

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For those of you who missed the newsletter in July…..

Monday, August 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter. Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 757-721-3332 757-721-2892 (Fax) 800-922-0866 Tool-free www.DentalManagementU.com

Dynamic Data, August 2001

For those of you who missed the newsletter in July, I took the month off to move into our new home and office set up. By working virtually with Lee Tarvin and Annie Seela, we can now provide the services our clients request without report- ing to a corporate office daily. In fact, we now have two hours more per day, which was once commute time, to concentrate on business.

Many of our followers have called or e-mailed requests for the upcoming SunFun Seminar schedule. We are taking the 2002 season off to plan not one, but two SunFuns for 2003. We need a year’s lead time to assure us that the details are up to everyone’s expectations. Finding the right travel agency partner, marketing partners, and just the right location is a big job. One of our trips will be a total team cruise to the Caribbean, one will be a land trip to the newest five star resort in the Bahamas for those who aren’t cruisers. More details to follow.

If you need a copy of our Continuing Education Trip Kitty Incentive Plan to see how many offices pay for these and major meeting trips per year, just e-mail or fax a request to 757-721-2892.

The first half of 2001 practice numbers have been tallied and evaluated by each dentist in our data base. How did this year measure up compared to the first half of previous years? On your profit and loss statements and chart of accounts from your accountants compare these figures with your own:

Staff Salaries (Don’t include dentists even if they are employees) 20-24%

Facility (Includes utilities except for telephone) 4-6%

Dental Supplies (Do not include repairs and large equipment 5-7%

Office Supplies 1-3%

Laboratory Costs 9-11%

Total Overhead (Excludes owner’s salary, profit sharing, and profit) 55-65%

(These figures are ideal and do not apply to all specialty practices)

One of the major questions asked by many dentists is “how do I compensate my staff monetarily to attend CE classes?” While federal and state laws prevail in these type questions, outcomes can be devastating to the practice and to the employer if these issues are not fully discussed prior to employment during the interview process. The majority of staff consider it a benefit to have continuing education offered in the workplace. Most employees do not mind investing something into their own professional growth and development (time and sometimes money). But don’t be surprised if some staff resent the idea of CE courses. If staff are required to attend mandatory lectures or conventions, they must be paid for their hours in the class plus related expenses. If staff are paid hourly, they are typically paid for hours in the class and related tuition, travel, etc. If staff are paid salary by the week, bi-weekly, bi-monthly or monthly, their salary stays the same regardless of whether they are in the work place or in the classroom. Some variations include offices that pay non production pay for staff meetings and or CE classes (half regular production time pay). For keeping the morale of the office in tact, I believe in salary versus hourly pay. This eliminates the “unionized thinking” or “you owe me” attitudes. In my last job I was salaried. My pay was exactly the same 26 times per year unless I had an increase in pay. I never made less to attend CE and I never made more. In my own company over the past two decades I have done the same with my support staff and it has served us all well. I pay them for 40 hours per week but our work hours are 36 scheduled. If we go to a major meeting or SunFun Seminar, their pay is the same regardless of the days worked that week. Many times employers step over dollars to pick up dimes by keeping such close watch on every minute worked and every penny earned by the employees. No wonder the staff have negative attitudes about CE and other interruptions of their personal time.

NOTE: These employee issues must be discussed during the interview not after the hiring date. Always refer these and other related issues to your legal counsel, accountant, and employee relations consultant. If you do not have an accountant who understands the dental industry I highly recommend Rick Willeford of Atlanta who is a member of my Speaking/Consulting Network and Bent Ericksen of CA. Dentistry’s #1 Human Resource Consultant.

We had so many wonderful responses from our 8 Week Virtual Classroom for Office Administrators we are having a new class starting September 4th at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. This will be a ten week class with 2 weeks each designated for Dentists, Hygienists, Office Administrators, Dental Assistants, and Business Staff. If you would like to register your entire office to participate in this exciting new concept call 757-721-3332 or 800-922-0866 today. Only $195 per person and only two weeks commitment per person. Each member of the team will benefit greatly by this total interactive learning experience. Meet new friends and learn at the same time. All participants must be registered before August 20th to insure that they receive the proper information and have time to get their forms back to me (Linda Miles) for my review and class preparation. The format is such: 5 minutes to click on and introduce each person, a 20 minute mini seminar by LLM, 20 minutes of group interaction on that particular topic, and a 15 minute wrap up each evening.

My newest seminar, “Life Cycles Of A Successful Dental Practice” is on the drawing board and will be presented for the first time at the Michigan State Meeting and the University of Delaware in the spring. This exciting course will span the life cycles of a practice from infancy to the go-go years, and on to the golden age . Regardless of what stage of practice a dentist and team may currently be experiencing, this course offers insight and growth strategies for all. See my complete itinerary on our web-site at DentalManagementU.com.

Our Consultants are busy this summer with many new clients and doing follow up visits to existing clients. Many clients say the follow up day is more beneficial than the original consultation because it is a chance to celebrate the past successes and to chart a course for the next twelve months. If you have new staff, have added another dentist, or are just in a rut and don’t look forward to each day, call us today. 800-922-0866. Burn-out is a major problem in today’s busy practice. Make sure your work environment is positive which filters to your personal lives as well. Many people ask if I am personally consulting new clients. When I had back surgery three years ago I was advised that sitting for long stretches of time is not a good idea. I still do one day focused in-office seminars when my schedule allows. I accept 30 Association Sponsored Seminars each year. The majority of the new consulting is done by Anne Knouse (FL), Vickie Turner (TX), and Denise Holick (NJ). Char Sweeney (MI) is part of our team of speakers along with the three consultants. I was very proud of all these co-workers when we presented our TTC (Total Team Concept) program for the Holiday Dental Conference last December and the Hinman Dental Meeting in Atlanta in March 01. If you need a speaker for your next conference, please call 800-922-0866 or see our list of LLM&A speakers or the Speakers Bureau of the LLM Speaking/Consulting Network on our web-site (DentalManagementU.com)

Have a great summer and I will hopefully see each of you soon.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.721.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates – Aug 2001

Miles & Associates Linda L Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 Phone: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892 800-922-0866 Toll-free

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One of my highlights of May was sharing the platform with General Norman Schwarzkopf at the Discus Dental Meeting in Las Vegas

Wednesday, June 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

SCN 2001

The first four days of June found our team in Hilton Head, SC for our 5th Annual Speaking/Consulting Network. This is the Network I founded in 1997 to assist independent speakers and consultants in their journey of starting or enhancing their own speaking and consulting businesses. This has grown to numbers we had not dreamed of! It has truly become a network of friends helping friends in our quest to make dentistry and other related businesses better. Our 6th Annual Meeting is slated for mid-May 2002 in Las Vegas. Watch Dynamic Data for further details.

DISCUS DENTAL

One of my highlights of May was sharing the platform with General Norman Schwarzkopf at the Discus Dental Meeting in Las Vegas. For those of you in our reading audience who have not attended a Discus Dental Meeting, you are in for a treat, as it is a first class meeting all the way! Dr. Bill Dorfman’s group spares no expense in making attendees feel as if they are the most important people on earth.

General Schwarzkopf’s keynote on leadership was very profound. He is a master of presentation with solid information, humor and respect for our country rolled into one!

A few of his thoughts include:

  • “Leadership is to empower people to willingly do something they would not ordinarily do.”
  • “Ethics, morale, character and confidence are the key traits of a true leader.”
  • “Leaders live in a glass house. You don’t have to be loved, just respected.”
  • “Delegate your authority. You can’t delegate your responsibility.”
  • “A leader is not a true leader until they are willing to admit they have a problem in their organization.”
  • “Standards = letting people know what you expect of them.”
  • “Set high standards to get people to perform at higher levels.”
  • “Success is contagious. Failure is infectious/optional.”
  • Rule 13, “When placed in command, take charge!!”
  • Rule 14, “Do what’s right!!”

We can all learn from these messages. One of the greatest challenges dentists face is not wanting to take charge, confront, and move forward. As many consultants complain, “The office administrator can only do so much to fix the interoffice turmoil, the doctors must assume a leadership role within their own practices”.

THE MOVE

As we go to press, we ask you to change our office mailing address and telephone number for our faxes. The toll free number (800.922.0866) will remain the same after the corporate office move. Our new address is:

Linda L Miles & Associates PO Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 P: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892

For those of you who do not know, we are moving our corporate office into a virtual office by the end of June. After almost 20 years of going to an office (when I am not traveling), our new home will be the site of LLM&A’s corporate office. My staff and I will work from our homes. We will have a smaller shipping and handling station in Virginia Beach for our videos and books. We are very excited about this transition and the next two decades will be even better than the past two. Our consultants are busier than ever, my schedule is full for the remainder of this year with 2002-2004 filling up monthly. Our corporate phones will be answered with voice mail when we are on another line or out of the office.

Many people have heard that I am retiring. I doubt that I will ever really “retire”. I am simply restructuring my business and my life.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Many of you are familiar with our newest method of learning – Virtual Classrooms. We are in the planning stages of beginning our second and third Virtual Classrooms this fall. Our initial VC was for Practice Administrators, and it was an enormous success!! With some help from our beta site members, we have expanded our VCs to total team classrooms. This means your entire practice can be involved on this unique learning experience. Email our office for further information. lindamiles@cox.net

NEW PROJECTS

As always, we are involved in many new projects. I am on the advisory board of several major meetings, working on an Australian division with Kathy Metaxas (a consultant from Perth), as well as revising all my material, and in the meantime, learning all I can about the changes going on in dentistry. It is actually the best time of our careers.

Here is wishing you and yours a fun and safe summer. I will be busy all summer settling into a new home, new office, working on projects. The afternoons will find me playing with my two granddaughters, Taylor (10) and Jordan (7).

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.21.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates – June 2001

Miles & Associates Linda L Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 Phone: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892 800-922-0866 Toll-free lindamiles@cox.net www.DentalManagementU.com

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Dear Doctors and Staff,

Sunday, May 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Dear Doctors and Staff,

As I review client monitors for the first four months of 2001 and compare them with the same months of 2000, I see tremendous increases from last year. If you have not had this 10-30% increase in your gross and net, make a list of the reasons by doing your own comparative study.

Some of the reasons for non-growth may include, but not be limited to:

Staff turnover- While this in an inevitable event for most practices, it is very costly. It is estimated that the loss of a key member means a loss of one year of that person’s salary in down time, systems changes, and training time.

Dropping Insurance plans that do not meet your standard of care nor fee schedule. While this is an initial and temporary set-back, we have found that most practices work fewer days and produce more at the end of the year than those who continue to write off thousands per month. Dropping plans in a very systematic manner is of utmost importance. Making sure the practice health can support these decisions is a must.

Broken and changed appointments. If this is an ever growing problem in the practice it will certainly diminish the production. The number one cause of broken appointments is lack of communication from team to the patient about the importance of the next visit. The second biggest reason for broken and failed appointments is that patients learn to respect time to the exact degree that the office respects their time. If time management is a huge problem, I can easily estimate that this is the main reason for the patients wasting the practice’s time. It is also a known fact that when a practice clears up the broken appointments they automatically clear up their accounts receivable problems. These two problems co-exist!

Many dentists look for excuses for the practice numbers to fluctuate. The economy is a major issue. Some dentists say, “my patients are afraid to make major dental decisions because their jobs are not secure”. In the same town, the progressive dentists are saying, “interest rates have never been better. Patients are taking out home equity loans to fix the house and have quality dentistry done that they put off for years”. Or they are saying, “my patients are afraid of losing their benefits so they are maximizing their dental care plans this year not knowing what the future holds”. We all know that success and failure starts with thinking and doing things differently. Winners look for ways to succeed. Losers look for excuses to fail. Interestingly, the mind set of the leader in the practice flows to the thinking of staff and patients.

I hope 2001 is off to a dramatic year of total patient care, happy days in the office, enthusiastic staff, and greater net profits. Dentistry really can be fun, exciting and rewarding for patients, dentists and staff.

SUNFUN 2001

For those of you who sailed away with us on our April 26-30 2001 SunFun Cruise, we thank you for being with us. It was a fun-filled trip with ports of call in Key West and Cozumel. Carnival Cruise Lines went out of their way to make the trip enjoyable. Executive Travel arranged one of the best Beach Parties in all our days of sailing. For those adventurous sailors who went snorkeling and to swim with the dolphins, congratulations! Our 504 total numbers were phenomenal. Thanks to the dentists who brought their entire teams (some over 30 people!). Thanks also to the frequent SunFun offices that go with us everywhere no matter the itinerary. Many people ask where we are going in 2002 and 2003. The plans are in the works for and another cruise in 2003. We are currently looking for corporate sponsorship and will have more information as the year unfolds. My thanks to Anne Knouse and Vicki Turner, two of our Senior Consultants who assisted with mini-consults on board. If you would like to have a one hour PAC (Practice Analysis Consultation) with one of our consultants, the format is: An overview of your practice statistics and a one-hour telephone consultation with a consultant to assess your three major weaknesses. The hour will contain very valuable information on how to mend the systems or practice obstacles, not just identify them. The fee is $595 for PAC. You may fax or call with your request to become a PAC client. 800-922-0866 or fax your credit card number with PAC and your forms will be faxed back to you. 757-498-0290 (fax).

SCN 2001

As we go to press, we are astounded by the surge of registrants this past month for our 2001 Speaking and Consulting Network to be held early June in Hilton Head Island, SC. This is our annual mentoring program for those who wish to start or enhance their own speaking and consulting businesses. Our 5th Annual SCN goal was to have 30 people in Level I and another 30 in Level II for a total of 60. (The 4th Annual SCN had 46). Numbers are well over 90 people this year with a cut- off date this week. My thanks to my fantastic staff for all the behind the scenes work involved in getting the menus, workbooks, socials and nametags ready in the midst of moving our office at the end of June.

We will be announcing our new address in our next month’s newsletter. It is an exciting time at LLM&A. I will be curtailing all travel for the months of mid June to mid August to move into our new house and relocate the office at the same time. With the pre-planning of my staff, we don’t expect more than a day of interruption with phones and the computers.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS

For those who participated in the Office Administrators Virtual Classrooms every other Monday night for 16 weeks, I send my thanks. It was truly one of the best new programs I’ve started in 22 years of doing business. The 15 OA’s became more than network pals over the course of the program. Everyone said it was the best 8 hours of CE they had participated in. Our thanks to Vicki Anderson of WA, Editor of Insurance Solutions Newsletter, for being our guest speaker for the Insurance classroom. By popular request, we are starting a 10 Week Team Virtual Classroom in September every Monday evening for 10 weeks. Two weeks will have the dentists on line, two for OA’s, two for the Assistants in the same practice, two for the front desk Business Staff, and the other two weeks for Hygienists. The schedule and topics will be announced later this summer. To enroll, please call my office (800-922-0866) or fax the request for more information to 757-498-0290. The classroom format is a tele-bridge call with follow up by e-mail or faxed information. The tuition is $195 per staff member or doctor for their two weeks on-line. The first five minutes of the hour is clicking on and hellos. The seminar on a particular topic of interest is 20 minutes, 20 minutes of group interaction, and a 15 minute wrap-up of how the information will be used in each practice. Registration is limited and on a first call, first serve basis. Until next month, Happy Spring!!

Linda

Please keep in mind that this newsletter is being offered FREE in response to your request for information. If you would like to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an email to lindamiles@cox.net with your email address to let us know.

Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Road Suite 2-103 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452

757-498-0014 757-498-0290 FAX 800-922-0866 Toll-free www.DentalManagementU.com

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Spring is in the air which signifies a fresh new beginning to many projects.

Friday, April 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com.

Spring is in the air which signifies a fresh new beginning to many projects. Summer vacations lie ahead, and the beginning of the second quarter of 2001. Compared to the first quarter of 2000, how does your practice measure up? Typical of the first two years of a new decade, the economy has been weak, lay-offs are occurring left and right (which can impact even the strongest practice), and you stopped looking at your investment portfolio months ago. For the younger dentists and teams in their 30’s and 40’s, this is just a slight wrinkle in the economy and we all know it will be back up soon. For those dentists who are near retirement age, the thought of working a few more years until the market recovers, is more than a mere thought. When the economy slumps, the demand for our services doubles. Many dentists wish to rethink their exit strategy. Younger dentists and those in the “go-go” stage of phenomenal growth use this relaxed window of time to get their systems in place, their teams well-trained and their goals well-defined.

In the early 80’s my business rose to the top of the charts when many start-ups failed. By the early 90’s when things were a little slow in the country, we had our peak years. The early 00’s find our consultants very much in demand because the practicality of our systems help clients and their staffs rebound quickly and without the huge investment some management companies charge.

In a recap of our clients of the past five years, 69.5% had doubled their practices in 12 to 24 months. Many had the same or 80% of their well-trained loyal team members who are on fire for the practice and their profession. Most of our clients work – to one day less per week, take more major meeting CE, and are rescheduled for a day of fine-tuning this year with their LLM&A consultant. We do not believe in holding the trump card in consulting. It is our goal to teach the dentists and their teams to become consultants to their own business. We do not return to client offices monthly, which can cause co-dependency and non-creative problem-solving by teams. We are available to our clients through conference calls, monthly monitoring, and annual follow-up. Our fees are very reasonable for the return of investment which should be 8 – 10 times what clients spend annually.

HYGIENE PROGRAM

Monday, our Virtual Classroom with Office Administrators was wonderful! Our topic was Hygiene Department Efficiencies, and it was one of our strongest classrooms yet.

Does your Hygiene Department measure up? Following is a review of our hygiene discussion from the classroom.

Sit down with the entire team in your practices and outline the perio protocol. There are many good programs available today. Also, the local periodontist each practice refers to will gladly assist any general practice in setting up this program of when to refer, how to refer, and how to have the early diagnosis implemented immediately in each practice they serve. The hygiene department efficiencies are one of the main reasons for these dramatic increases. On occasion, we have also referred to some hygiene consultants when there are distinct weaknesses they can assist with for the results we need to achieve.

THOMAS P. HINMAN MEETING

The Hinman Meeting in Atlanta was a BIG HOME RUN for our firm. Nine consultants and friends of LLM&A were on the program this year. Six of us were part of our new TTC (Total Team Concept) Program. I spoke for three hours two mornings on “The Four Cornerstones of A Successful Practice” and “The Philosophy Of Excellence”. My five consultants did three hour break-out sessions twice on the various systems of Practice Management. Anne Knouse spoke on Scheduling, Cindy Ishimoto spoke on team building, Vicki Turner presented the Hygiene Department Efficiencies, Denise Holick spoke on Marketing, and one of my Speaking Consulting Network members, Lois Banta spoke on Insurance and AR Management. Char Sweeney who has been part of LLM&A since the early 90’s was also a Featured Clinician at Hinman. Denise Hecht and Mark Hyman, members of the SCN were also there as clinicians. All in all, a very wonderful meeting.

SUNFUN 2001

We are gearing up for our SunFun Four Day Western Caribbean Cruise the end of April. We have over 500 people registered. If you are tired of the cold weather, call our office today and get the remaining cabins for you and your team. See our web-site www.dentalmanagementu.com, or call toll-free 800.922.0866 for complete details.

SPEAKING CONSULTING NETWORK

In early June, we are anticipating the largest group ever for our Speaking Consulting Network at Hilton Head, SC. This is our fifth annual meeting of how to start or enhance one’s own speaking consulting business. This gives each member the tools to market and manage their own independent business while forming a network of speakers and consultants who share ideas and tips in a close-knit forum. Due to the progressive growth, this may be the last year we invite new members in order to keep the program manageable. If you have considered speaking or consulting seriously, call Annie Seela, Director of SCN at our Corporate office today 800.922.0866. Many members have reported that this Network has been the single best professional investment they have ever made. It has helped them by-pass the first five difficult years of starting their business without support from SCN.

Happy Spring to all,

Linda

If you are not a client, and would like to become one of Miles’ & Associates’ superior practices, please call 800.922.0866, email us at LLMiles@ix.netcom.com or visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com.

Please keep in mind that this newsletter is being offered FREE in response to your request for information. If you would like to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an email to LLMiles@ix.netcom.com to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866 or 757.498.0014, on the web at www.DentalManagementU.com or via email at LLMiles@ix.netcom.com.

Miles & Associates – April 2001 Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Road Suite 2-103 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452 757-498-0014 757-498-0290 FAX 800-922-0866 Toll-free www.DentalManagementU.com

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Hopefully in your part of the country it is getting warmer.

Tuesday, March 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

AADPA ANNUAL MEETING

Hopefully in your part of the country it is getting warmer. In Virginia Beach we have had a long cold, windy and wet winter. I spoke in Boise, Idaho in February and it was actually as cold in Virginia as it was that week in Boise. Following Boise, Don and I went to the AADPA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas two days early to have a little sunshine. Guess what? It was cloudy, cold, and wet there too!

The AADPA meeting was truly the best AADPA meeting in the past ten years. With over 650 in attendance, each session was standing room only. Program Chairman, Dr. Don Gary of TN, truly outdid himself in the planning along with Kathy Uebel, Executive Director.

Speakers for this meeting had many powerful messages to share. From the Opening Session with Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral, to Nido Qubein, the country’s foremost successful immigrant who built empire businesses with Fortune 500 companies. Roger Crawford, the author of many books and tapes on overcoming diversity and positive thinking, was also a headline speaker. Roger was born with no hands and one foot. His tapes reveal how he went on to become a champion tennis player and carried the Olympic Torch, all because he refused to believe he was handicapped. Mark Victor Hanson, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series talked about “The Magic of Imagination”. The line-up of speakers included many dental speakers such as my friend, Joy Millis, Larry Rosenthal, and many others. I was delighted to invite two new client offices this year. Enjoying the meeting with us were Drs. Arthur and Barrick of Lynchburg, VA, and Dr. Lisa Samaha from Newport News, VA. It was great seeing so many of my past clients there as well. To order the entire tape series of the AADPA Sessions, please call Infomedix at 800.367.9286. These sessions will change your life by reshaping your thinking!

One of the highlights of the AADPA meeting was the informal confab with nine other consultants who were there this year. Friday afternoon in the main lobby while the members played golf, we had a great impromptu Consultants Focus Group to discuss the joys and frustrations of consulting and speaking. My thanks to Annette Linder, Joy Millis, Lynn Garber, Linda Lakin, Steve Gutter, Marsha Freeman, Vicki Turner, Lois Banta, and Mary Osborne for their input. We all agreed that we have the most exciting careers in dentistry, and are privileged to be members and prospective members of AADPA, the premiere meeting for Practice Administration issues.

HINMAN DENTAL MEETING 2001

As we go to press, my consultants and I are off to the Hinman Meeting in Atlanta. I speak on Thursday, Friday and Sunday mornings. The consultants’ five break-out sessions are Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Char Sweeney, who has been with LLM&A since 1990, is also a featured clinician at the Hinman this year. Char “temporarily retired” last year to concentrate on raising her two young daughters and helping her periodontist husband Dale with his very busy practice in Port Huron, MI. It will be great working with these six fine professionals next week. I am happy to report that Lee Tarvin from Corporate, will be joining us for this wonderful meeting, along with our friend, Linda Buschmann from Atlanta, GA

INSURANCE AND COLLECTIONS PROGRAM

This past week I had the pleasure of sitting in on one of my Speaking Consulting Network member’s seminar on collections and insurance management held in Norfolk, VA. Lois Banta of Banta Consulting, MO, did a fantastic job of bringing all of us up to date with new insurance codes, techniques, and most of all to remind her audience that collecting money in dentistry is actually fun!! If your office suffers from a back-log of mis- managed funds, you may reach Lois by calling her at 816.373.0515. Her friends in the Network call her “Dentistry’s Insurance Detective”.

CONSULTING

My Senior Consultants and I have had an exciting meeting which revealed that 69.7% of our in-office consulting assignments in the past five years had doubled their practices in 12-24 months. The interesting part of our survey is that they were already good practices when we met them and began our work together. (We know that good practices seek consulting because it is a known fact, the best want to be better.) If you are a client of LLM&A, and haven’t scheduled your 2001 Follow-Up date, please do so, as our consultants are getting busier each quarter. If you have thought about becoming an active client of LLM&A, call today 800.922.0866, and one of our Senior Consultants will be happy to reserve time on their schedules for your practice. We focus on communication, organization, motivation and appreciation of patients, doctors and staff. The first letter of those four items spell COMA, (what practices are in if they are not reaching their full potential.)

ALL ABOARD!

Our cruise is filling all the reserved cabins with only four to offer in our block. If you and your staff wish to celebrate a great year of 2000, call Executive Travel Services at 877.524.8466, and speak with Ginger. As our repeat cruisers can tell you, when the entire team is geared toward higher goals, new communication skills, and a more positive mind-set, the investment is more than recouped within the first month back to the office. It is also true that “practices that learn together, stay together”. Annie Seela and Christy Garrison from Corporate will be joining Executive Travel’s team to coordinate our cruise April 26-30, 2001.

THANK YOU

Thanks go to Greg and Lenora of Seattle King County Dental Society for their 12th invitation to address their Society in 15 years. It was well worth the day over and Red Eye Flight home Friday night to see all my Seattle friends again. President, Dr. Sue Hollinsworth introduced me and Dr. Ace Goerig and Dr. Paul DiDonato were charming hosts for dinner. My thanks to Lynne Nelson, one of my Speaking Consulting Network Members for her assistance during the seminar.

SPEAKING CONSULTING NETWORK 2001

Speaking of SCN, if anyone in the reading audience wishes to start or enhance their own speaking or consulting business, they should definitely join us for the 5th Annual SCN workshop in Hilton Head, SC. This year’s meeting for 1st and 2nd year attendees is being held June 1 & 2, 2001. The wealth of information, networking, and sharing is parallel to no other meeting you will ever attend! All of our members wished they could stay for an additional two days of learning and discussion. If you are interested in joining us this year, call the Crowne Plaza Resort at 800.334.1881 while there is still room available.

I am truly excited to have various sponsors that will be displaying their goods and services, as well as attending the meeting to share their knowledge and skills with all who attend. They are quite anxious to meet the rising stars in dentistry.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

Our bi-weekly Office Administrator eight-session Virtual Classrooms are causing quite a stir in the dental community. Mr. Bob Kehoe of Dental Practice Report, will publish a joint article for the VC group this fall on interviewing and evaluating all members of the team. We took a poll and found the average number of years in dentistry for this group is 21 years, so a lot of experience and knowledge is being shared. If you wish to apply for upcoming Virtual Classrooms, please email or call to get on the lists of classes that begin this fall. Hourly tele-bridge calls include 5 minutes of introductions, 20 minutes of class on a particular subject, 20 minutes of group interaction on that topic, and a 15 minute wrap-up. Continuous networking takes place via email and faxes, and can dramatically improve every practice that participates.

Until next month,

Linda

Please keep in mind that this newsletter is being offered FREE in response to your request for information. If you would like to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data, please send an email to LLMiles@ix.netcom.com to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at:

www.DentalManagementU.com LLMiles@ix.netcom.com Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Rd, Ste 2-103 Virginia Beach, VA 23452 800.922.0866 757.498.0014 757.498.0290 FAX

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Having brochures in the office to give every family who has teenagers is a good start in the recruitment effort

Tuesday, February 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Visit us @ www.DentalManagementU.com

In reviewing my client records for a comparison of their 2000 figures compared to their 1999 numbers, it has been a banner year of growth for most practices we are privileged to consult.

The problems that persist in most offices seem to be universal with a shortage of good chairside assistants and dental business staff. The hygiene shortage experienced for years is not as big of a problem as it has been in the past. With the labor shortage problems, dentists must make a concerted effort within their dental societies to recruit and retain good staff. One of the best ideas is to market the profession of dentistry to all high school students who may not have decided upon a career path.

Having brochures in the office to give every family who has teenagers is a good start in the recruitment effort. Holding career days in malls and schools is another way to attract quality staffers. Institute a comprehensive on the job training program which promotes work release programs with high school students. Ask counselors in local schools to assist the dental society in it s effort to recruit quality people.

Why are the established staff members leaving dentistry? For greener pastures and a better work environment. If an employee is not challenged, trusted, or praised, they will seek fulfillment elsewhere. Companies that offer good benefits such as hospitalization, medical insurance and retirement plans will continue to erode the employment pool in the dental profession. Benefits for career minded people cost a small fraction of the cost of weak employees and constant staff turn-over.

What are some of the other concerns of dentists in today s practices besides staff shortages? One of the concerns is the overall economy. Patients are not as willing to part with their hard-earned money when the economy takes a nose-dive. It is time for the hem-lines of skirts to rise. Have you noticed how many women wear below the knee and ankle length skirts and dresses these days? As un-fond of the mini skirt as most women are, it would be welcome on the fashion scene as when skirt lengths rise, so does the economy.

TECHNOLOGY

Technology is a mixed blessing in most practices. We certainly would not want to return to the antiquated ways of running the practice BC (before computers), but many practices have had computer nightmares this past year. With all the merging of computer companies, the complaints from one system to another often fall on deaf and dumb ears. One practitioner with whom I correspond, lost her entire hard drive back-up for the past three years. It was backed up daily, but not being saved! Another dentist has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue trying to get someone to admit wrong-doing with their computer. The hardware people blame software, and vice versa. Meanwhile the computer company has been sold leaving hundreds of very unhappy users. The new company pleads not guilty by default.

SUNFUN 2001

Cancun was a real winner for Linda Miles & Associates’ SunFun Seminars. Over 200 people met on the beautiful white sands and pool area of the Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Hotel, one of the finest in Cancun. The special seminar material which can only be heard in 2001 at our SunFun courses, was a home run for both repeat attendees and those who experienced for the first time.

We have over 500 people registered for the 4 Day W. Caribbean Cruise April 26-30. Don’t miss the boat!! Cabins are going fast, with only 33 left as of Friday. Call Executive Travel in Norfolk, VA, at 888.524.8466 today to make plans to join us on The Imagination, by Carnival. (A four day cruise for the price of a three day). Ports of call include Miami, Key West, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM

For those Office Administrators who failed to register for our Virtual Classrooms, you have missed a wonderful networking experience. Our third class was February 5th, with our subject matter, How to reduce broken and changed appointments . We are in the process of creating a joint article on interviewing and evaluation questions for each position in the practice.

To sum up the Virtual Experience, I said, it s like a professional slumber party from 9- 10 PM every other Monday night with some very bright OA s. I’ve met these ladies in various practices over the years and couldn’t wait for them to know each other. My thanks to 13 dentists who sponsored these women. I know that the doctors are enjoying the classrooms by proxy every other Tuesday after our Monday night classes.

A couple of the VC members have made arrangements to visit each others offices, most have become email pen pals, and now we are co-authoring an article!! I never knew how much fun these classes would be.

HOLIDAY

Valentine s Day is just around the corner. Don t forget to express your appreciation to those at home and work. At home, make heart shaped cookies, frost your pink bagels with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. Forget about dieting for just a day, and have fun. If you are a specialist and wish to give gifts to your referring doctors offices, remember that Valentine s Day and Halloween are two holidays the staff enjoy most with remembrances.

AADPA

On a personal note, Don and I are getting ready to go to the AADPA Annual Meeting in San Antonio. It will be an exciting line-up of speakers such as Robert Schuller, Nido Qubein, and Mark Victor Hanson to name a few. Dr. Don Gary of TN has done a superb job as the Meeting Planner along with Kathy Uebel, the Executive Director. If you haven t registered for the meeting and wish to join us February 28- March 6, call Kathy today at 847.934.4404. The Westin Cantera Resort is a five star studded experience.

HINMAN 2001

The Hinman is also just around the corner in mid-March in Atlanta. I am so proud of seven of my consultants and friends who are also on the Hinman this year including Char Sweeney, MI; Denise Hecht , NY; Denise Holick , NJ; Anne Knouse , FL; Vicki Turner, TX, Cindy Ishimoto, HI; and Lois Banta , MO. We hope all of you plan to be at the Hinman. It is ’second to none’ to every dental meeting in North America. I will be speaking Thursday, Friday and Sunday mornings. Hope to see you in our audiences.

Please keep in mind that this newsletter is being offered FREE in response to your request for information. If you would like to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send and email to LLMiles@ix.netcom.com to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at:

Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Road Suite 2-103 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452

757-498-0014 757-498-0290 FAX 800-922-0866 Toll-free www.DentalManagementU.com

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I hope this is the year your practice invests the time, money, and energy into staff and practice development

Saturday, January 6th, 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Happy New Year One and All. I hope the year 2000 was prosperous, exciting, and fun. Let s face it, unless you are having professional fun, the joy of going to the office each day is greatly diminished. In talking with hundreds of dentists in 2000, the challenges were about the same as the previous two years. At the top of the list were staff shortages and unrest among the team. Second was the time it takes to stay current in clinical and business skills. Last, but not least, was the monumental task of continuous staff training. As my friend from NSA, Dr. Alan Zimmerman, says training one s employees and having them leave is not nearly as bad as NOT training them and have them stay!

I hope this is the year your practice invests the time, money, and energy into staff and practice development. You will re-coup the entire investment within hours, and have renewed confidence among the staff, better customer service, which is very noticeable to the patients, and an improved bottom line. If you need communication phrases for improved patient management, systems efficiency, and total team commitment, I highly recommend ordering my latest nine video series for Lunch and Learn sessions. I suggest watching them for one hour before lunch once per week for nine weeks, or every other week for 18 weeks. We receive positive feedback weekly from practices that use the new series for on-going training. We get rave reviews from staff members who are hungry for the right phrases to handle various situations that occur daily. Christy or Annie will be glad to take your order by calling 800.922.0866.

ATTENTION BUSINESS STAFF/OFFICE COORDINATORS

Don’t miss our Virtual Classrooms every other Monday, night 9-10 PM ET. This networking with other business staff will take place every OTHER Monday evening for 8 sessions from the comfort of your home via telephone. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to network with others who do your job all day every day. The first session will be a get-acquainted opening with each person telling their first name, city and state, and one concern that they personally have in this position. I will format the schedule for the next 7 sessions, each one hour in length. Each session will have a 20 minute lecture, group interaction, suggestions, and a wrap-up. It s easy to register. Call 800- 922-0866 today. The secret number will be e-mailed or faxed your way for the first session on the 8th.

DON T MISS THE BOAT

It isn t too late to register for our 10th and last SunFun Seminar Cruise, April 26th through the 30th. Call today while airfare is still available at our reduced rates. We currently have over 400 people in our group and expect a sell-out, so call our Corporate Office today 800.922.0866. I have had fun working on the 2001 SunFun Course booklets. By popular request the topics include The Dynamics of Communication, The Systems of Management, Office Compensation, and Customer Service/Patient Pleasers. Our ports include, Miami, Key West, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel. Many dentists are celebrating a great year of 2000. Some are going on the cruise as a direct referral from someone who has sailed with us in the past, and many are repeat attendees who just love the SunFuns.

POSITIVE CHANGES AT LLM&A

Since my successful lower disc surgery in late 1997, I have slowed my schedule to a 30% decrease in travel each year. 2001 will be the year I can finally say the plan has worked! After traveling 200 days per year for 12 years at the busiest period in 22 years, I can now spend more time in creating material and enjoy my life. With 30 association-sponsored lectures and the referral of all consulting to my associates, I plan to move the corporate office into my new home the end of June 2001. With these changes, I will give up the planning of SunFun Seminars, my consulting division, and marketing to any degree. My clients have and always will be a source of inspiration and deep friendship. They will reschedule their follow up visits with three of the best in the business: Anne Knouse, Vicki Turner, and Denise Holick. Our corporate telephones will be answered on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I will continue to write articles, Dynamic Data monthly, and work with the Speaking/Consulting Network. The nicest part of this transition in my life is that many of my first clients are in their late 50’s and are transitioning their practices also. We are very pleased to recommend The Snyder Group for Practice Transitions out of Marlton, NJ. They can be reached at 800.988.5674. Tom Snyder and his associates keep us informed regularly about our referrals, they follow up, and they get tremendous results for our clients. Send us your questions or concerns. They will be answered promptly in future issues of Dynamic Data. See our website for my complete 2001 itinerary. The very best to you and yours in 2001.

Linda Miles, CEO

Please keep in mind that this newsletter is being offered FREE in response to your request for information. If you would like to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an email to LLMiles@ix.netcom.com to let us know.

Miles & Associates’ corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866 or 757.498.0014, on the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at LLM@ix.netcom.com

Miles & Associates 4356 Bonney Road Suite 2-103 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452

757-498-0014 757-498-0290 FAX 800-922-0866 Toll-free www.DentalManagementU.com

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