Dental Office Business: On Form of Policy

Dental Office Administrators are usually very busy people. There are a number of different types of things to take care of while running all of the functions in the office, but if time is not taken out to handle policy for the group the coordination of activities can become quite confusing.

Also it is important to know that regarding the administrative or organization of this type of a practice, sometimes policy can become outmoded and so even when policy is followed confusion can be the result due to inappropriate actions being taken.

Here are five general "rules of thumb" regarding policy in any Health Care practice:

1. Any policy is better than no policy. A dental care practice without definite policy is sort of like a ship with no Captain! This is the foremost rule of any organization, because without having policy, there is no common agreement between the administration and staff and the result is like watching people caroming into walls and each other - with very little actual production taking place.

2. Policy should occasionally be reviewed for current applicability and modified if and as needed. It's sort of a fact of life that things change - often this causes older rules and regulations to be a "yesterday" proposition and this can result in some protest from the staff when the policy is enforced. It may seem silly to some to apply policy that doesn't apply to a current scene, which can result in a lack of respect of the general staff for the administration. This can be the beginning of a downfall for a strong working team. Whoever the administrator is for a Dental Practice - be it the dentist or a manager - it should actually be put into a schedule to review policy for accuracy every few months and make modifications to it when needed.

A need for change in policy can also come about with the expansion of a practice. Many times along with the growth of a practice, the needs for policy can likewise change. In this case all of the policies of the group should be reviewed thoroughly and additions or changes to it made if appropriate.

3. Policy should always be in writing. Trying to work off "he said, she said" can bring about virtual disaster and leaves the door open for twisted interpretation of what the policy is actually intending. Whenever a circumstance comes about where a new policy is in order, take the time to sit down and write out a new policy for the situation. This should be done no matter how busy things are in the office. A notebook or set of notebooks should be kept with all of the written policies for the practice so that they are readily available for people to read and use.

4. Policy should align with the goals for a practice. This goes hand-in-hand with # 2 above. Take a look at policies for the practice and see if they would actually prevent growth of the practice and if so, work out how they could be modified so that they actually forward the goals and purposes of the practice. This should also be done every few months to maintain accuracy.

5. Policy should be enforced. This may seem a bit harsh, but if policy is written but not kept in place in terms of actions within the group there will actually be a lowered morale that takes place for the group as a whole. No one will know exactly what to expect - when "such-and-such" is okay, and when it's not. Who enforces the rules, who doesn't? As a result the actions of the team members are not aligned due to the inconsistency of expectations. If there are exceptions made to rules or policy, it should be stated outright that it is an exception and that the policy needs to be followed subsequently.

These guidelines regarding policy in a dental practice can go a long way to helping align the intentions and actions of the team as a whole, and can greatly contribute to the success of the practice in general.