Manage What You Measure – 3 KPI’s You Must Track
Have you heard of the old saying, “Measure twice cut once?” It means taking the extra time to measure again to make sure your cut is 100% accurate, also goes for dental practice managers when we are tracking our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We must have a way to measure what we are building. When we manage what we measure, we can pinpoint areas of potential growth or areas that need improvement. Understanding the following KPIs is crucial for a thriving practice.
KPI #1 – Measure Active Patients, New Patients & Attrition
Let us start with active patients, new patients, and attrition. Many practices will look at their new patient count for the month or year. Tracking this shows you how the practice is doing with attracting new clientele. What many practices don’t do is look at active patients month to month, year over, and attrition for the same. When you track all three it tells a story of how the practice is growing or if it is not. What does this mean? Active patients are any patients who have been seen in the office in the last 18 months. Attrition is going to be any patients who have left the practice or are no longer active because they have not been in for an appointment for 18 months or more. So, to look at true new patient growth you take your new patient count and subtract any that left the practice or are no longer active. That will be your true growth for the month and year. Using this method will allow you to track office growth and encourage new opportunities to manage that growth.
KPI #2 – Measure Hygiene Reappointment Percentage
Next is your hygiene reappointment percentage. This KPI is the heartbeat of the practice. Typically, you want 90% or greater of your hygiene patients to have their next recall on the books before they leave that day. The best way to achieve this metric is to have your hygienist address the patient while they are in the chair “Let’s set up your next appointment now!” Even if they are not sure that date will work six months out, at least they have an appointment on the books that they may later reschedule. It is an easy tool to get your hygiene patients to not leave without a recall appointment. Let’s face it, no one goes home and thinks, “I need to call my dentist to schedule my next cleaning.” Too often patients forget and before they know it, they are way past due for their hygiene recall.
KPI #3 – Meaure Unscheduled Patients
One last KPI you should always be tracking is your unscheduled active and inactive patients. This is a wonderful way to reactivate inactive patients which results in growth for the office. When you have your morning huddle, this is a GREAT topic to go over every single day, since any opening you have these patients can fill, and that will result in a full schedule which we all know doctors love! Going over this in your huddle will help your team align and work together to keep the schedule full.
We all wear many hats dental office managers and practice administrators. Managing what you measure will allow you to have a system in place to track KPIs. Which in turn will help you be more effective and efficient in the practice. You can use these KPIs for your team, to help you in meeting your goals, and your doctors’ expectations of practice growth. We cannot do it alone but having a great team and metrics to tell the story, we can accomplish many great things.
About the Author
Zachary Shelley, EFDA FAADOM
Zachary Shelley has been in the dental field since 2009. Starting his career as a Dental Technician doing fixed and removable. He transitioned to the clinical side in 2020 as the office manager for Satellite Family Dentistry and Beachside Smiles Pediatric Dentistry. He Attended the University of Florida for his Expanded Functions in dental assisting and achieved his FAADOM in 2022. Zachary is on track to receive his MAADOM in 2024. On his time off Zachary enjoys spending time with his three boys and his wife Brittany.
