Managing your clinic’s holiday schedule

santa's dentist appointment

Are you ready for your busiest time of year yet? The holidays are just around the corner, and it’s time to take a look at how this year will be different than last. Don’t wait until December 25th to realize that you need more staff or don’t have enough services available on Christmas Day.

With V10 now available, Paradigm Clinical can help you run a smooth, stress-free practice during the holidays. Here are some tips for getting organized and staying on top of patient flow this season.

Sync and streamline upcoming appointments

You can use Paradigm Clinical to keep track of your upcoming dental appointments. Encode each one in your dental management system, and it will automatically send your patients reminders that you can set as early as three days before or on the day of their appointments. And using your 2-way SMS module, your patients can instantly send their responses, which will reflect in your system in real-time. With this, you can already take out the ‘follow-up patients’ off your staff’s task list so they can focus on patient care instead.

Be prepared for a sudden surge of appointments

Due to the ‘use it or lose it’ mindset, some patients only realize that they need to utilize their insurance coverage before the year ends. You can then expect a spike in your appointments, especially during the week before Christmas, so it is good to be prepared with additional staffing and stacked up clinic supplies in preparation for this surge.

Plan your dentists’ schedule ahead

Your dentists may have personal plans for the holidays, so it is essential to discuss your clinic’s schedule with them. In this discussion, you have to make sure and agree on a viable schedule for each so that there are no vacation overlaps among your dentists. And if you think that you’ll still be understaffed, you can also consider hiring temporary staffing to fill in and assist during peak days.

When your dentists’ holiday schedules are already plotted, you can then easily monitor and make adjustments through Paradigm Clinical’s IntelliDoctor feature. Available in the latest V10 update, IntelliDoctor lets your staff plot your dentists’ schedules in the system, and your dentists can conveniently access these through their mobile phones, wherever, whenever.

Make sure all of your equipment is in working order

The holiday season is a time of the year when your dentists are busier than usual. Therefore, you need to make sure all of their dental equipment is in working order, especially any new equipment you purchased this year. You must also check the most frequently used ones, such as X-rays and drills, and if you’ve noticed any problems with your equipment, make sure to get them fixed as soon as possible to avoid any service delays and interruptions during this busy season.

The holiday season can be a busy time for your clinic, and it can feel like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. Fortunately, Paradigm Clinical can fully support your clinic’s operations, especially during the busy holiday season. Contact us today if you would like to learn more about the Paradigm Clinical or the V10 update!