How Henry Schein One’s practice management software transformed the practice culture at Brisbane Dental
For Brisbane Dental’s Practice Manager, Bruce Franke, upgrading to EXACT in 2018 led to significant improvements for the practice – both for business performance and for dedicated patient care.
For over 30 years, Brisbane Dental has proudly cared for patient’s families spanning across three generations. Aligning with this family-oriented patient experience, the practice is led by Principal Dentist, Dr Firozah Shariarti and husband, Bruce Franke.
By migrating to EXACT dental software, embracing automation, and following best practice procedures, Brisbane Dental was able to:
- Improve practice workflow
- Drive patient engagement
- Transform practice culture
- Communicate responsively and effectively during the recent COVID-19 pandemic
Speaking the same language
Bruce and the team at Brisbane Dental were introduced to the Henry Schein One team when the developer of their original practice management software planned to retire.
With a background in IT and a passion for business management and analytics, Bruce saw the potential for EXACT to have a significant impact on Brisbane Dental’s practice management procedures and quality of care. Bruce enjoyed working directly with Henry Schein One’s technical support and onboarding team to coordinate a data cleanse before seamlessly migrating Brisbane Dental’s practice data to EXACT.
“With previous experience in IT as a business analyst, having access to somebody who I could talk to about data migration made a big difference.”
Bruce Franke, Practice Manager
Automation: a game changer for dental software
Brisbane Dental embraced the automation capability of EXACT to significantly improve patient engagement, and took advantage of the free time this gave to administration staff. For Bruce and his team, the automation and functionality of EXACT provided a useful framework for receptionists and dentists to follow, which led to significant improvements within the practice.
Optimising patient recalls and reminders helps reduce lapsed patients and FTAs
By implementing a best practice 3×3 communication methodology through EXACT, Brisbane Dental optimised patient recalls and reminders, which in turn reduced lapsed patients, FTA’s and cancellations while reducing white space in the appointment book.
Backed by the latest research into the world’s top performing dental practices, using the 3×3 method helps ensure patients receive the dental care they need whilst helping dental practices to drive revenue.
“At first we thought the patients wouldn’t like the 3×3 method, and think it was spam. But patients have said they like the reminders. We now have a fully automated reminder system, which has led to far fewer non-attends. With the free time EXACT has given my receptionist, she can follow-up on incomplete treatment plans, chase outstanding debts, and prioritise higher value treatments.”
Brisbane Dental’s administration team were able to strategically use their time to chase incomplete treatment plans. This effectively improves oral health outcomes for patients needing further treatment, and drives practice revenue as higher value treatments can be prioritised.
Transforming the practice culture with best practice methods
EXACT provided Brisbane Dental with an effective framework to adapt and innovate their procedures. As EXACT demonstrated the value of appointment reminders and patient recalls, dentists in the team began to prompt patients to book their 6-month check-up as part of their chairside care.
Although Bruce was initially skeptical about the increased patient communication that EXACT provided, patients were encouraged by the increased communication. Brisbane Dental witnessed a shift in practice culture as patients began to book their 6-month check-up without being prompted.
“We’ve seen a huge cultural shift within our staff through getting EXACT, and this has extended to the patients. 3 years ago, almost no patient would have walked up to the desk and preemptively asked to book in their 6-month check-up, but now it’s a regular occurrence!”
Improving practice workflow with a strategic checkout procedure
For Bruce and the team, a winning feature of EXACT was the automated patient checkout procedure. When a patient leaves their appointment, practices are prompted to take advantage of this opportunity to check contact details and book the next appointment before taking a payment.
By prompting staff members to follow the correct checkout procedure for every patient, business owners can have confidence that best practice processes for maximising chair-time utilisation are being adhered to.
“The beauty of this system is that it leads you through the most efficient and effective way to check out a patient.”
EXACT allowed Brisbane Dental to effectively engage with and support patients during the COVID-19 lockdown
Brisbane Dental has used EXACT for over two years, but the benefits of this practice management software were highlighted during COVID-19.
With an average of 50 appointments booked for each week, hundreds of patients would need to be informed of when they could reschedule their appointment. With EXACT, the Brisbane Dental team could cancel all appointments and send new proposed appointment dates to all patients who were affected during the lockdown.
“During this time, it has really helped us that we moved to this model of booking and communicating with patients through EXACT. Being able to create custom call lists through EXACT and export these to Excel also meant we could work effectively from home and get in touch with patients during lockdown.”
When asked if he would recommend EXACT and Henry Schein One to other dentists, Bruce’s response was simple
“Henry Schein One have identified the most effective ways to communicate with patients and dental practices would be unwise not to take advantage of this expertise!”
Positioned on the pulse of industry research and innovation, Henry Schein One offers practice management software and business success strategies to empower dentists and dental practices – leading to improved oral health outcomes and increased practice revenue.