Every golfer knows that golf is really a game that you play against yourself. You may play with other golfers on any given day, but ultimately you are always measuring your own performance against your previous results.

It's the same in a dental practice. Technically, the other dentists in your area are competitors, but because you work in relative isolation the only reliable way to measure your success is by tracking your growth year to year. And I'm not talking about just the incremental increases in revenue that keep pace with the increases in expenses – that's not moving forward, that's standing still.

When growth occurs in the dental practice, good things happen – things like better practice economics, which lead to better choices inside and out of the practice.

Most importantly, when you have a good context for growth, you understand that it needs to be built into your game every day. It's a framework that gives purpose to your daily actions. After all, it's one thing to know that you are continually improving the quality of care you are providing for your patients. The ultimate satisfaction comes from knowing that you are also continually improving the quality of return you are providing to your team, your family, and yourself in the process. And to do that, you have to keep score.

Growth in the practice is ultimately a result of growth in case acceptance. Let's measure and compare. What is your case acceptance rate?


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Comments

Commenter's Profile Image Renee Marks
March 1st, 2012
If the voters are not truly "keeping score", most responses are a knee jerk reaction to how the day or week seems to be going. Most will be surprised at the needed care that is walking out the door. Not to mention, the diagnosis missed in the two minute "hygiene check."