THE YEAR OF CHECKLISTS: STREAMLINING YOUR PROCESSES IN 2023

After a fun, busy, and eventful holiday season, the new year has arrived, and we are ready to take on a new beginning and a fresh slate. I hope each of you enjoyed your time off of work (or school) and have embraced the holiday season with family, friends, and loved ones. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

With a new year upon us, it’s certainly time to evaluate your aspirations, both personally and for your practice. What can you resolve to do better in 2023 to improve yourself and your dental practice so you can, in turn, benefit your patients? While goals certainly are great, they can tend to take some time to fulfill, and often, there may be a few obstacles and detours along the way. Did you know that Jan. 17 is known as Quitters Day because it’s said that most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by then?

So, instead of setting lofty goals, how about improving your systems by incorporating a few checklists into your practice? In the  September 2022 edition of Pediatric Dentistry Today, the story of the first aviation checklist, created by Boeing, was discussed, proving just how effective checklists are in increasing communication, detecting potential problems before they occur, and enhancing safety and efficiency. Today, checklists have taken the airline industry by storm, and every airline completes one preflight.

You use checklists every time you have an OR, Surgicenter or IV anesthesia case. It starts the minute the patient is brought in, through the time-out review, completion of the case and discharge criteria. Checklists ensure procedures are followed with patient safety in the forefront.

Just as checklists streamlined the airline industry and made processes and procedures easier and more efficient which increased safety for passengers and crew members, checklists can have the same beneficial effects on your practice and increase your efficiency, productivity, and profitability. If every position in your office has a checklist that outlines what each is responsible for on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis, I promise that everything will run much more smoothly.

We have developed all the CHECKLISTS you need! Here are some that we offer:
1. Staff positions: Beginning of day, Daily duties, End of day
Office manager
Front desk
Financial coordinator
Scheduling coordinator
Dental assistant
Dental hygienist

2. Office cleaning: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annual
3. Equipment maintenance: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annual

Get your FREE copy of the PDTA Office Cleaning Checklist –  HERE

Get your FREE copy of the PDTA Equipment Maintenance Checklist  –  HERE

For our PDTA members, you will find some checklists you can use in your practice in the Members Area of our website, under the Member Resources section. Whether you need a checklist for a new hire, a team member coming from another practice, record-keeping, or for cleaning and administrative tasks around the office, we have you covered!

Frequently, we get so bogged down in the office, and without a set checklist in place, it’s tough to delegate those smaller tasks that are so easy to overlook. These are the tasks that are small, but without them, it’d be tough to keep the practice running smoothly. Thus, implementing checklists in 2023 can help take a lot of stress off the doctor and ensure that everything is completed as directed.

Make 2023 the year you systematize your office — use this fresh start to enhance and streamline your office’s processes!

What checklists are you interested in implementing?

P.S. Dr. Haugseth discusses these checklists and gives a tip to help with Emergency office Visits.

Watch the video HERE