A patient-centred care approach is the driving factor behind successful dental practices. In its most basic form, according to the Canadian Dental Association, exemplary patient care consists of listening, understanding, and responding to your patients’ needs. But to meet the needs of your valued patients, your office must continuously strive to be efficient –– and an efficient practice consists of proper systems in place that will positively impact day-to-day operations.
No matter the industry, every growing business regularly seeks methods in which to increase efficiency effectively. As the rate of implant interest and cases increases, there are multiple factors to consider to ensure that you are meeting patient expectations while maintaining your operating costs.Â
As your implant practice grows, operating expenses will continue to climb. Have you considered more cost-effective strategies to purchase implants or how your practice can better manage implant product inventory?Â
Below are just some of the factors that can contribute to increased operating costs:
- A need for a higher volume of implant inventory
- Increased time-consuming tasks for staff to manage implant inventory
- Investing in equipment and advanced software
To effectively manage these expenses, it’s essential to establish an implant system flow for your practice to meet the needs of your valued patients, and to eliminate the risk of monetary loss. Below are a few software-based solutions that can help your practice ensure its efficiencies as it grows:
A need for a higher volume of implant inventory
Implant inventory management software can help practices order mindfully, as finding the right balance between overstocking and understocking implant supplies can be challenging. Understandably, practices want to ensure that necessary inventory supplies are on-hand to accommodate the rise of dental implant treatments, but overstocking can be risky due to expiration dates. Implementing an implant management system can track the number of implants placed broken down by case, brand, and treatment date and provide customized alerts on implants inching closer to their expiration date.Â
Increased time-consuming tasks for staff to manage implant inventory
Manually managing inventory is a full-time job on top of a full-time job. By utilizing the tools of an implant management system, team members can easily monitor stock levels, view the complete order history, price paid, total spend broken down by category, and view usage patterns that can detect negative trends and growth patterns. For example, a dedicated implant coordinator, or team member, can quickly scan supply boxes with a mobile bar-code scanner to easily add, remove, or locate implant-related products.
Investing in equipment and advanced softwareÂ
User-friendly and straightforward software solutions can cost-effectively manage your inventory as it grows and keep your bottom line in check when it comes to future buying decisions. Implementing an implant inventory management system offers the opportunity for more efficient protocols for ordering and tracking implant-related supplies and provides practical solutions that will keep the budget of your practice in mind.
