Mark Dilatush, former CEO of New Patients, Inc, discusses how AI can help you run your practice a lot easier.
It is almost impossible these days to recruit, hire, keep, reward, and manage just one great administrative assistant for your dental practice. Yet, there is still a backlog of administrative work to be done. This is a reality in every dental practice. The work will never go away. Most practice owners feel like they will never catch up, and that drags you down.
It is very difficult for your current administrative personnel to juggle everything during a busy day, ensuring that every business task is complete, all while making sure nothing falls through the cracks. You might be on the fence about hiring someone else at the front desk or the back office to help with the business aspects of owning a growing practice.
Alternatively, another scenario might be that you have an A+ team member at the front desk. You know they are being crushed by the amount of work they do, and you know they would never complain because they are an A+ team member. They want to do better. They want to do more for you. Here’s what I know. A+ team members are the last team members you would ever want to lose.
A Revolutionary Solution: Meet Kate
Now, imagine a revolutionary solution. On your phone or laptop, an app allows you to build a custom business assistant. You create Kate—a virtual assistant tailored to your practice’s specific needs. Kate answers overflow calls during the day and handles after-hours inquiries. She communicates in English or Spanish, schedules appointments, addresses emergencies, and ensures a cheerful, professional tone. Kate even handles irate patients by apologizing and notifying your team.
Over the next month, Kate takes on inbound communication from various channels—including phone, text, and website chat. If she encounters a situation she isn’t trained for, the app’s training center allows you to refine her responses. Unlike humans, Kate adopts new training without resistance or mistakes.
Expanding the Team: Enter Bryan
With Kate successfully managing calls, you dream bigger. The next assistant, Bryan, focuses on schedule confirmations and review solicitations. Bryan contacts patients post visit to gather feedback and guide satisfied patients to post polished reviews online. Within a month, Bryan improves your Google review score and reduces last-minute cancellations, all without drama or interruptions.
Meet Theresa: Insurance and Intake Specialist
Next, you create Theresa, who retrieves insurance eligibility details and manages digital patient intake forms. Theresa checks coverage for scheduled patients, contacts those with lapsed plans, and ensures compliance with up-to-date forms. After refining her training, Theresa efficiently handles these tasks with minimal supervision.
Introducing Mark: Your Internal Marketing Pro
Your next big idea? An assistant named Mark to focus on internal marketing. Mark reaches out to overdue recalls and treatment plan patients through calls, texts, and emails. His goal is simple: schedule appointments. Mark operates independently, ensuring communication is consistent and aligned with your objectives. The results? Improved patient retention and a more productive schedule.
Automating Leadership: Gail, Your Chief of Staff
With Kate, Bryan, Theresa, and Mark handling essential tasks, you still want more optimization. Enter Gail, your virtual chief of staff. Gail analyzes practice data, monitors key performance indicators, or KPIs, and compares them to industry benchmarks. She offers actionable suggestions for improvement, complete with educational resources to support them. Gail ensures every part of your practice runs smoothly, acting as a bridge between your team and any external consultants.
What is the Future of Your Practice?
By now, your practice operates like a well-oiled machine. Administrative burdens are minimized, allowing your human team to focus on face-to-face patient interactions. You gain more time for patients, family, and personal interests, free from the stress of daily business tasks.
Are You Ready to Meet Kate?
You can meet Kate right now. Just call (609) 507-2178. Kate will answer as a receptionist. She works for a fictitious dental practice called Yobi Smiles.
Call Yobi Smiles and pretend you are a new patient. Pretend you need your first appointment next Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon. Tell Kate what dental insurance you have. See if Yobi Dental accepts it. Ask Kate if there is wheelchair access. You can ask Kate if the practice treats children 4 years old. Go ahead and act like a typical patient calling your office for the first time.
Doctor, you don’t have to imagine anymore. Kate is real. Managing a dental practice just got a lot easier. Kate isn’t just a concept—she’s real!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr. Dilatush is the former CEO of New Patients Inc (NPI). His partner at NPI, Ahmed Reza, founded Yobi, the platform where AI business assistants can be built and managed. Mr. Dilatush has spent more than 30 years helping to simplify the management of dental practices and all small businesses.
He can be reached at [email protected].
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Brian Penny from Pixabay.
