Efficient management, during the Coronavirus, crisis in the dental clinic

The crisis is not the time to stop its management. Understand that attention on management activities, on this occasion, must be doubled.

We can already see that in the midst of this Covid-19 crisis, many dental clinics will not survive due to the simple fact of the lack of basic administrative control that any company needs, especially during troubled times. No financial reports; without metrics and especially without direct contact with your patients it is impossible to return to active duty when the crisis passes. Much more than that, controlling this information is essential to anticipate when your office will no longer have the resources to support itself and to draw up a plan so that this does not happen.

And why did those who lacked efficient management still remain in the dental market?

One of the fastest growing markets before the new Coronavirus crisis in Brazil was the dental market. The CFO announced in January 2019 that the dentistry segment was one of those that stood out positively in recent years, with a turnover of more than R $ 38 billion.

In addition, it was 10 consecutive years, being the only market with a surplus in the trade balance. This scenario was favorable for everyone: small, medium and large clinics and dentistry offices. Even for businesses that did not have a balanced management, they were still able to profit from a good patient base, even if they did not take advantage of all the market opportunities. So, it was common to see dental clinics in the middle of 2019 with management completely in the manual - only on paper - unaware of essential administrative information for the health of any company.

What is needed to keep my dental office or clinic active during the crisis?

As you may already know, the CFO issued a recommendation that dental clinics only handle emergency cases. This is not the time to make a profit, but to keep your patient base engaged with the importance of your oral health, so the factor that is fundamental to work at this moment is the relationship between patient and office.

If you have modern management software, you probably have the possibility of communicating via email, sms or WhatsApp with your patients. In these channels and on social networks you can work with content that establishes this relationship. Another factor, essential to stay active is to know all the financial information about your clinic or office.

This information will help you find what your clinic has to pay, variable and fixed expenses, accounts receivable, etc. To do so, predict whether your clinic or office has the possibility to remain in operation for the next few months.

Finally, we still do not know how long the Coronavirus crisis will last, but it is important to take steps to mitigate the impact of this. It is also essential that your clinic follows the recommendations of the authorities. If possible, stay at home.

Source: Dental Office. Available at: https://www.dentaloffice.com.br/gestao-e-crise-na-clinica-odontologica/. Access on: 05/06/2020.