The front desk is one of the most important parts of your practice. But, as the hub of contact and communication within the office, do you know your front desk’s priorities? Have you experienced that job or seen it in action—for more than just a few minutes a day—so that you can understand if you’re running your business in an optimized fashion? If the answer is ‘No,’ then you may be asking more of your front desk than they are reasonably able to handle.
"Know what your top focus is going to be. It should always be patient engagement since this will drive the most revenue into your practice."
The major issue for most practices is that they completely overwork their front desk (without realizing it) by giving them several top priorities that compete for the first spot. These priorities are:
- Patient Engagement—This should be the top priority. It’s up to you to determine how to optimize your systems so that this can remain the main focus.
- Phone and Email Management—What happens to the leads that come into your practice?
- Administration—How do you get these tasks done without compromising patient engagement?
These competing priorities have a huge financial opportunity cost for your practice. Yet, when thrown onto one or two people’s shoulders, they can quickly become overwhelming and prohibit your ability to effectively scale.
Clarify the Priorities of Your Front Desk
If you are beginning to think that you have fallen into the trap of overworking or over-demanding from your front desk, you are not alone. The good news is that the solution is easy if you do the following:
- Prioritize—Know what your top focus is going to be. It should always be patient engagement since this will drive the most revenue into your practice. Poor patient engagement, on the other hand, will lead to missed opportunities and lost money.
- Delegate—Front desk staff typically cannot handle every task they’ve been assigned while also prioritizing patient engagement. Make sure you redistribute the work—either lead management or administration—to other parts of the practice.
- Leverage Technology—There is countless technology available that can help you scale your practice while taking the workload off of your front desk staff, increasing efficiency and revenue.
With these tips, you can create a more efficient and effective practice as you continue to reach new revenue heights.
