DYNAMIC DATA NEWSLETTER tm Mar 2002

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.

DYNAMIC DATA, MARCH 2002

Dear Doctors and Staff,

According to the media, the economic downturn is beginning to rebound. I have seen this in the monthly monitors received thus far from client offices for the first two months of the year. Based on the busyness in airports these days, the fear of travel that once gripped the country is starting to recover in the wake of 9-11. So far this year, I have only had one missed flight due to the increased security on boarding planes. Thank goodness I was going to Chicago early and not on the last flight of the evening.

The month of February brought an array of meeting climates from St. Thomas for the 2nd District of NC, to Las Vegas for the Cosmetic Symposium to Houston for the Star of The South all in the same week. It was great seeing so many people I have not seen for years. The Nations Capital Meeting in DC was also a great homecoming of VA dentists and their staff as well as Maryland, PA, and WV.

The meeting industry has changed over the past decade as more and more dental companies and speakers get into the CE business. Years ago, larger meetings were clamoring for speakers' dates four to five years in advance, paying all their travel and making it worth their time honorarium-wise. Today, speakers are more plentiful and many of them are willing to work for travel only. Each year the major meeting offering is lower and lower, making speakers feel that they should speak for free for EXPOSURE. As one of my fellow speakers shared with me, "exposure is bad because (1) you can be arrested for it, and (2) you can die from it". I really wanted to accept the ADA's offer to be part of the New Orleans Meeting this year. Learning that I would speak three days for less than expenses made me decline their offer as I have many major meetings the past few years.

Speaking is a business just as dentistry is a business. Many people feel we speakers are sitting in the beauty salon or gym eating bonbons waiting for our next invitation. My days consist of 7 to 8 hours per day on the phone and 5-6 hours on the computer after dinner. (I travel to speak and consult to get away from the work!). While it is a true honor to give back to the profession, and I do many times per year, I know I've worked four decades to make dentistry better, and have risked re-injuring my lower discs to continue my life's work on a limited basis. Therefore, I'm insulted by the fact the major meetings offer little, if any fee. To my many hosts and meeting planners who have been fair and appreciative, I thank you on behalf of my fellow speakers. To my dedicated assistant, Lee Tarvin, who works just as tirelessly to help run my business, to my consultants who do a superb job with clients and seminars, and to my husband, Don who has been supportive through hundreds of evening calls and projects, I thank you! To those who continue to make thousands of dollars per day on the speaker's ability, I wish them luck in providing quality presentations and seeing an upswing in their meetings of the future.

Just as I don't feel dentists should be HMO dentists, I refuse to be an HMO speaker. As long as some of my colleagues continue to "give away their services", the Legends in the business will retire or work for Corporate USA (Dental Companies) that are also pulling back from the major meetings.

This major shift has taken its toll on Universities and State Meetings. It will soon be truly apparent in Regional and Major Meetings. With HMO Speakers who appear to have good topics and good marketing materials, they are invited twice. The first time they and their topics draw big crowds, the second time, they draw poorly, and the third time the meeting planners get hundreds of complaints and even folks who want their money back! Many of these HMO Speakers have actually copied the works of many of the speakers before them, not realizing that a speaker has to LIVE their material to effectively give it.

They say speaking, modeling and athletics have a 20-year span. I'm past due to retire with 23 years behind me! In 2003 I will give 30 lectures, (with over a third of them presently booked). In 2004 and 2005, I will reduce my schedule to 20 dates per year, and by 2006 I may do ten dates per year if my health remains good. I can honestly say, I enjoy the work that I do even more today than I did ten years ago. Getting to see old friends like at the Nations Capital Meeting in DC Thursday, going back to Seattle King County for the 13th time since the mid 80's, as I will do next Friday, and re-visiting my clients like the ones I will see next Tuesday in NM, makes it all worthwhile.

Following are the Q&A Series I do monthly for the Seattle King County Dental Association Newsletter. I hope these questions and answers will be helpful to you and your staff.

Question 1 Best way to deal with parents bringing siblings of patients into the practice, which is disruptive to other patients and the office staff?

Answer 1 Not only is this disruptive, but it is also dangerous to have small children running around the office grabbing things, especially in treatment rooms.

If you have an e-letter or newsletter that goes out monthly, this would be one medium for getting the word out that "you're concerned with the safety of young children who accompany their parents or siblings to the office for appointments."

You may also mention, "as a courtesy to other patients in the reception room; please bring only the child or children who have appointments.

The final solution is to turn the young child visitor into a marketing advantage. One practice in Massachusetts that practiced in a restored 100-year-old house had a playroom in his office stocked with every toy imaginable. He hired someone for 10 AM - 3 PM (the less busy hours) to baby-sit all children in the fully carpeted (even the walls) room. It became his most productive part of the day when the word got out to young mothers who enjoyed the free childcare appointments for themselves. The lady who baby-sat also answered the phones during the lunch hour. NOTE: Check your state childcare licensing law before offering this service.

Question 2 How do you deal with the new patient on the telephone when you are not a provider of their insurance company, but you still process the forms and let the patients be reimbursed?

Answer 2 In a very positive response say to these patients, "Mrs. Davis, our office sees many families on your plan but we are not considered providers. What this means is; we still file your claims as a courtesy, but our patients pay us and are reimbursed directly. The good news is; we accept Visa/MasterCard or Discover in addition to cash and checks. This means if you pay by credit card, your reimbursement check will more than likely be there before your credit card statement."

If they prod further and ask why your doctor is NOT a provider, your response can be; "Mrs. Davis, our doctor made a commitment to our patients and to his profession of dentistry years ago. He refuses to do dentistry at reduced fees. He refuses to compromise the care of patients to the degree comprised fees would eventually dictate.

Question 3 What is the best way to bond with patients to get them to be committed to their pre-appointed hygiene appointments?

Answer 3 Contrary to what a few people think, pre-appointing does not cause broken and changed hygiene appointments. There are several factors that do.

A) Patients who owe the practice a balance are most likely not to keep appointments. "Clear up your A/R problems and you also clear up broken appointments." B) The lack of positive communication chairside creates a higher degree of no-shows and broken appointments in hygiene. Make sure your hygienist and dentist both remind the patients of the importance of their next preventive care appointment. "Mrs. Jones, you're doing much better on your home care, but I'm still concerned about the pocket depth on that lower right side. This is the area we'll check first in six months". (Make sure your clinical notes state the same).

Stop using the words "check-up, cleaning and recall". They are unimportant and insignificant. Use; "preventive care, follow-up care or continuous care".

C) One of the main reasons patients fail appointments in hygiene is because they have been talked-down to by the hygienist (scolded or reprimanded) as if they were a child regarding their lack of home care efficiency.

D) Last but not least, patients learn to respect the practice time to the same degree they feel the practice respects their time. Getting the patients in and out on time, treating them with respect, kindness and quality care is key in patient retention.

Besides my 32 dates this year, I am writing my third book, which is due out, this fall. I am also planning my 2003 SunFun Cruises for the entire team and a couple's cruise of dentists and spouses, (dates and ships to be announced soon). We are making plans to do more Dental Business Conferences as the one March 22 and 23 is oversold in Virginia Beach. I hope to see each and every one of you in 2002. Continue on the upward swing for the remainder of the year. Dentistry's still the best profession to be part of in spite of the ups and downs we all experience.

Linda 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 - Mar 2002

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