As the owner of your own dental practice, you know that you are essentially running a small business. This small business is geared towards improving the quality of dental health in your patients and providing them with the best services possible. That being said, every industry faces its own set of ethical dilemmas, and the world of dentistry is not immune to this.
It is easy enough to set out with the intention of keeping every aspect of your dental practice operating at the highest ethical standards. However, as life continues on, it is easy to let the little things slide.
Here are a few ways to keep this from happening so that even when it comes to the lighter issues, you can keep your dental practice going while maintaining the highest ethical standards.
Set Realistic Standards For Hygienists
Every business is out to make a profit. After all, if your practice isn’t profitable then you won’t be able to continue serving your patients. There is nothing unethical about making profit a priority for your dental practice. The problem arises when you encourage a culture at your practice of placing profit above patient care.
Your hygienists will only be able to see and service a certain amount of patients each week. When you put too much pressure on them to see as many patients as possible, you risk making them feel like they have to compromise on cleaning and other procedures in order to meet a certain quota.
There is nothing wrong with setting a production goal for the hygienists at your office. You might consider utilising certain scheduling practices, though, in order to make these goals more achievable. Doing so will make reaching your production goals about more than just rushing through cleanings. Take the pressure off your hygienists so that they can see more patients without compromising the services they provide.
Cut Back On Financial Waste
One of the motivations behind allowing ethics to fall down a few spots on your priority list might be your desire to save money and decrease your practice’s overhead. While finances are always going to be on the mind of every business owner, as a medical professional, you know that you need to hold yourself and your business to a higher standard.
Taking steps to decrease the pressure on your finances can go a long way to making it easier and more practical for you to focus on the ethical standards at your office. Take a look at how much you are paying your Dental Distribution Companies for supplies and instruments. Are you paying more than you need to, and effectively wasting money?
When was the last time you looked at the contracts that you have in place with various utility companies? Contracts with waste disposal companies, for example, are going to be expensive regardless, but you can always shop around to make sure that you aren’t paying more than you should.