Serving as an office administrator for any small business brings its fair share of challenges. You have to wear multiple hats on a daily basis and handle everything from scheduling patients and staff, to ensuring that the office is stocked with the right amount of equipment and supplies at all times.
If the thought of handling everything that an administrator at a dental practice must take care of is intimidating to you, you are surely not alone. The good news is that there are a number of things that you can do to stay on top of all your responsibilities and become the best dental practice administrator.
1. Stay On Top of Supply Management
Dental offices go through a large amount of supplies on a daily basis. One of your jobs will most likely be maintaining the supply of these items. There are certain disposable items that are used to protect dentists and hygienists, as well as their patients, from the risk of passing infection. This list includes items like disposable gloves and masks. If your office runs out of such protective gear, then all operations must cease until more can be acquired.
Unfortunately, the costs of keeping up the right amount of supply of these items can be pretty high. While you don’t want to run out of these necessary things, you also don’t want to be responsible for blowing the practice’s budget. Finding specialist suppliers for your needs should be a priority – companies like unigloves are highly recommended.
For this reason, you should shop around and compare different Dental Equipment Companies so that you can make sure that you are getting the best deal for your office.
2. Master Customer Relations
As the office administrator at a dental practice, you will need to have the ability to communicate with patients effectively both on the phone and in person. Unfortunately, not many people actually enjoy going to the dentist, so you need to be able to accomplish this while maintaining a fair amount of patience and understanding.
Furthermore, on those occasions where things fall behind schedule, which isn’t uncommon for a medical practice, you need to have the ability to remain calm as patients waiting to be seen become uneasy or agitated. Ultimately you need to bear in mind that you are hoping to develop a positive relationship between patients and the dental practice. Administrators who can accomplish this become invaluable members of the dental team.
3. Understand the Tech
In the modern era, all types of small business are benefiting from the use of various technologies. Whether your responsibilities will include managing the practice’s website and social media pages or if you will need to familiarise yourself with scheduling and billing software, don’t shy away from taking the time to understand and use these types of technology.
Not only will this increase the efficiency of the practice as a whole, but it will also free up your own time so that you can focus on other ways of making your dental practice the best it can be.
