January brings about the New! New year, new goals, new metrics. And that is exactly how we are starting our new year, with metrics and analysis for our clients. One of our favorite categories to track is Hygiene. And since your hygiene department contributes to the overall production of your office, it is important that you too are tracking and analyzing the correct metrics. Let us take a walk together and ensure you have the information needed to start your hygiene team off on a fresh start for 2021!
Healthy Hygiene Department
Let’s start with what contributes to a healthy hygiene department. By business standards, your total hygiene production should account for 30-35% of your overall office production. This means on a month-to-month basis we look at each hygienist as an individual, but we also look at the total production number and its relation to the total gross production for that month. It is also important to have an initial conversation with your hygiene team on how their productivity affects the rest of the office and then to also have monthly meetings to discuss their progress.
Healthy Soft Tissue Management Program
Now within the hygiene department, we also have the soft tissue management program which should attribute 25-35% of your hygiene production. We recommend you also track this on a month-to-month basis with a rolling total so you can review your year-end data quickly and easily. Many doctors and hygienists have differing views on periodontal disease, how to diagnosis it, and how to treat it properly. It is imperative the entire team is on the same page; understands the education the patients are receiving, and the verbal skills needed to ensure your patients are receiving consistent and top-level care.
Open Time
Our third factor to consider with a healthy hygiene department is open time in the schedule. Unfortunately, there is no great report to run, this one will require manual tracking. Some of our offices use a custom spreadsheet that allows them to review how many hours are available each week and how many hours they lost productivity. It may sound daunting at first, but it also serves as motivation to keep that schedule full. Remember, our teams must be equipped with great verbal skills in order to not shame the patients for canceling or better yet to get to the heart of why the patient is canceling and solve the problem.
Reactivation
Finally, let’s look at how many patients are due for hygiene and do not have an appointment. This step is key in so many success stories, it should probably be further up on the list. Reactivation gives our business team the opportunity to fill those holes in the schedule, it gives our hygienists the opportunity to be productive each hour of each day and to connect with their patients, and it gives our production a boost. And of course, last but not least, it tells our patients that we miss them, and we care enough about their overall health.
The hygiene team is such an important part of your team! They provide many keys to your success. It is imperative we lead them on the path to productivity and growth. Schedule a meeting with your hygiene team, review the importance of their productivity, set goals for 2022, and create an action plan on how to achieve those goals.
Our team at Practice Dynamics are always here to answer questions and coach you to a successful 2021!