Profit can be an unpopular word in medical circles. Turning a profit while you’re trying to care for patients sounds like an oxymoron – even amoral.
Actually, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Without profits, you cannot survive, let alone provide a high-quality dental service. In fact, healthy profits should be something you, your staff, and your patients should be rooting for because it is in everybody’s interests.
Here’s why making your dentist practice more profitable actually benefits your patients:
It forces you to be more efficient with time and staff
Without boundaries, you cannot grow.
If you’ve ever dabbled in the creative arts, you’ll know that your job is made infinitely harder when you’re given free rein and no restraints.
The same is true in dentistry.
When you have a clear black-and-white profit target at the forefront of everything you do, you quickly learn to assess how efficiently you’re completing a task.
For instance, if you are taking too long to complete paperwork and don’t have enough time to process patients – this will result in fewer patients being seen and therefore lower profits – you will quickly change the way you manage paperwork and increase your efficiency.
If each member of your staff is using this mindset, there will likely be rapid improvements in your overall efficiency, customer service, and, yes, profit margin.
You are always fully stocked with medical supplies
Another way profit chasing can actually benefit your patients is when it comes to purchasing dental supplies.
By seeking the most cost-effective, high-quality products and establishing an efficient supply chain, you improve your overall amount of stock at any one time, meaning patients are always well-catered for, and your dentist always has the right equipment. This can be established by using a dentist wholesaler like Kent Express – kentexpress.co.uk -, which specialises in stocking a range of dental equipment and supplies.
Again, it is this focusing of the mind that is so powerful.
You can provide the best professionals available
The more money your practice earns, the more you can afford to pay your staff, and the more attractive your business becomes to high-quality dentists.
Much like a sports team that has just won a championship, when your dental practice is prosperous, you naturally attract the most able – and expensive – experts in your field. This can only be good news for your patients.
Patients can learn to trust your practice
Another massive boost healthy profit gives your practice is a higher level of trust from your patients. This is because the more successful your business becomes – attracting the benefits listed above – your patients will feel better cared for and perceive your practice to be organised and trustworthy. After all, there’s nothing worse or more worrying than an under-stocked and staffed medical practice.
You will have more availability to reach more patients
With success comes growth, and with growth comes expansion. This means you will be able to reach a far greater quantity of patients. These are people who are walking around with a dental problem that your high-quality, efficient service can fix. They need your help, so increasing your profits enough to reach them isn’t just a nice-to-have; it is arguably your responsibility as a medical professional.