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Professional News Articles : : ON PRACTICE MANAGEMENT by Janyce Hamilton : Patients want to be comforted and cared for by staff

Patients want to be comforted and cared for by staff

December 06, 2005

In 1995 at 28 years old, Walter Kostrzewski, DMD, opened a scratch-start practice in a blue collar town of 45,000 people. He gained 80 new patients per month on average in his first six years. Within 18 months, the practice was producing over $1 million per year and collecting 93%.

Since then, Dr. Kostrzewski has added FACE and FIADFE to his degrees--Fellow of the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (and currently on its Board of Directors) and Fellow of the International Academy of Dental-Facial Esthetics, respectively.

This year he celebrates his first decade in business. Not even 40 years old and he is producing and collecting $1.5 million per year with one doctor, two hygienists, three chairside assistants and three administrative team members.

How does he do it?

To get to the bottom of this success story, I talked with him. Following is our candid conversation.

The Interview

Janyce Hamilton (JH): You have the credentials: Sustaining member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Clinical instructor at the Hornbrook Group (www.hornbrookgroup.com) and membership on the Board of Advisors of Generation Next (www.generationnext.com). You run a comprehensive esthetics and sedation dentistry practice, Comfortable Care Dentistry, in Milford, CT, (www.comfortablecaredentistry.com). What other experience enhanced your team's bonding and performance improvement?

Dr. Kostrzewski (WK): I have been stressing the importance of team building since the early 1990s. I coach youth hockey and use the same team-building principles of relationships to get groups of people to function at a high level as a team.

I was accepted out of high school in 1985 at 17 years old to Villanova University/Georgetown Dental School 7-year program. I graduated from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1992.

I also attended Stony Brook University Hospital for my General Practice Residency.

JH: Why is it you are known for stating the dental team is the best marketing resource?

WK: Every day your patients interact with your employees. Patients want to see people they know. They want to see SMILING happy faces. They want to see and feel happiness in the work environment.

Think about your last trip to the family physician. Was anybody working there happy?

Recall your last trip to the spa to get your hair or nails done; was the receptionist smiling or handing you a clip board and saying sign here and have a seat?

Going to the dentist is stressful and SCARY enough for most people.

They should be greeted by people who want to be there. People who are offering them coffee or a beverage. People who are chit chatting with them.

And for those people who are not afraid, they are judging the dentist by whether or not the employees like being there or not. That is a huge factor in treatment acceptance. Patients will judge a dentist's ability to treat them by the competence and happiness of the team.

If the doctor has a happy team who loves their job, who loves their work environment, who are proud of the doc's work, the patients will want to have their dentistry done at this office.

If the team is not happy and not loving their job, patients will sense that and think the doctor is not qualified or that he is not a nice person.

JH: Was there a time when you thought the best and only marketing resource was advertising?

WK: External marketing is the “hook.” Internally what's going on is the “GLUE.”

You still need to get your name out there. But my point is if you cannot deliver, you're done. Your team is your best marketing asset because if you want to max your abilities, you need a team around you to sell you, to deliver awesome customer service.

My team compares themselves to JetBlue Airways, to Nordstroms and Starbucks. Why do people shop here or use these services? For known great experiences. Does Starbucks have the best cup of coffee? Does JetBlue have better planes that run more on time? Does Nordstroms have better clothes? Plenty of their competitors would dispute these statements. But what they can not dispute is that Starbucks provides a better environment than Dunkin Donuts, Nordstroms delivers a higher standard of care and environment, and JetBlue delivers with lots of smiling faces—no waiting lines and a TV for every leather coach seat.

What wins patients over is a comfortable atmosphere. An office reception that represents a spa-look, not a sterile medical office. This means there is a team of caring individuals who welcomes them into a fun, comforting and caring environment.

JH: What is the typical experience of a new patient to your practice? How does the staff interact like a chain during an appointment?

WK: When a new patient arrives in the office, our team member greets them face-to-face out in the reception area, not from behind the counter with a clipboard of paper for them to fill out. The new patient is offered coffee or a beverage to make them feel at home. A new patient coordinator will sit with them to help them fill out necessary forms. But most importantly they will ask “What is the most important thing we can do for you today!”

Once in the exam room, the treatment coordinator (TC) will further interview the patient to discover what they expect of our practice. The TC will than screen the patient and take the necessary radiographs.

The patient is than asked how much info they would like to know about their diagnosis and given the opportunity to watch informative videos on their diagnosis and treatment options.

The doctor is informed of the patient's condition and expectations and then introduced to the patient.

The doctor will discuss with the patient after thorough examination and diagnosis what options the patient has for treatment and ask the patient how they would like to proceed.

After a treatment plan is decided upon by the patient, they are introduced to a financial and insurance coordinator whose primary functions is to help the patient find an affordable way to make what they want fit their budget.

JH: What is the biggest thing (or things) dentists don't get when trying to run a successful practice?

WK: How important your supporting cast is!

Doctor are so wound up in their profession and what they can do for people that they forget they most important thing is what patients want.

People buy Starbucks because of the environment not because it is the best cup of coffee in town (and I am a huge Starbucks fan).

Nordstrom's is more expensive than Filene's basement, but a totally different experience!

I am a big fan of companies that rock. Companies that make people happy are my competition--not other dental offices. And, if you want to see how to do it totally wrong, visit your family physician today. Waiting unknowingly forever for your scheduled appointment in a sterile and unfriendly atmosphere is not the way to win friends and influence people.

JH: What is the one thing you want dentists to try to remember every day when they are walking around their practice and interacting with patients?

WK: Patients are AFRAID OF THE DENTIST!!!

Accept that FACT and find a way to change your patients' perception of going to the dentist, one patient at a time.

It is not going to change EVER. So deal with it and understand you need an awesome team to make your patients feel at ease.

Conclusion

Dr. Kostrzewski sounds like he knows what he is talking about. Who could disagree with his contention that nonsmiling staff members nonverbally communicate a negative message about their employer—the dentist?

To reach Dr. Kostrzewski, visit www.comfortablecaredentistry.com; to learn how to implement successful concepts into your practice, he suggests that you visit www.generationnext.com.

Janyce Hamilton is a Chicagoland freelance dental writer and editor. If you have a suggestion for topics to be covered, or any comments on this column, drop us a line, review@cds.org.

Copyright 2005, Chicago Dental Society