Dental Reception and Supervisory Management

Glenys Bridges

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781119513025
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Dentistry

Dental Reception and Practice Management 2 nd Edition is the dental office administrator's essential companion to all aspects of reception work and supervisory practice management duties. The book covers vital interpersonal skills and the important aspects of business management and marketing relevant to dentistry. In addition, it explains the development of dental care, enhancing the reader's understanding and awareness of the necessary clinical aspects of dentistry. It also addresses the General Dental Council's Standards for the Dental Team, which details the nine principals for observing patient rights, and looks at new regulations introduced by the Health and Social Care Act.

• Provides practical advice for dental receptionists wishing to upgrade their skills
• Covers all aspects of the receptionist role, from administration and marketing to quality management and patient experience
• Looks at new standards and regulations put into effect
• Offers concrete suggestions to improve dental practices and further patient health
• Includes access to a companion website with case studies and links to useful websites

Dental Reception and Practice Management 2 nd Edition is designed for use by dental receptionists in practice and for use in dental reception courses. It will also greatly benefit dental nurses, dental hygienists, and dentists.

1
The Developing World of Dental Care Services

History of the Nonclinical Dental Team

Teamwork is an essential part of modern dentistry and is critical to the provision of high‐quality, patient‐focused dental care. It is no longer an option for dental practitioners to manage the clinical and regulatory issues of their business without the support of a team. This has led to the introduction of more defined leadership and management roles and the need for a whole‐team approach to develop and maintain dental services that are compliant with legal and ethical requirements. It has also led to legislation and regulations to govern the care and business aspects of dentistry.

Modern dental care has evolved from innovations and regulations that have their roots in the Medical Act of 1858. Before gaining recognition as a profession, dentistry was a branch of the medical profession, but under the terms of the Medical Act, Queen Victoria granted a charter to the Royal College of Surgeons to award licences in dentistry. Two years later, 43 candidates passed the first examination to receive the Licentiate of Dental Surgery.

In 1878, the first Dentists Act required a register of dentists to be kept by the General Medical Council. Previously, there had been no requirement for those carrying out acts of dentistry to hold recognized qualifications. Despite the Dentist Act, barber‐surgeons and blacksmiths continued to extract teeth in public places with little regard for hygiene or patient care. This changed with the enactment of the Dentist Act 1921. To protect the public, the Act defined ‘acts of dentistry’ and limited acts of dentistry to individuals with a recognised qualification and who are registered with the government‐appointed professional lead body.

The next significant milestone for the dental profession was the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. Most dentists worked alone, often from part of their own home converted into a dental surgery. The range of treatments delivered by general dental practitioners (GDPs) was limited, with complex procedures being referred to a dental hospital. At this time, most dentists preferred to mix their materials. Since air turbines were yet to be invented, a simple saliva ejector was sufficient to keep the treatment area dry. The only assistance dentists required was in the form of someone to answer the doorbell, book appointments with patients (very few people had a telephone, so the phone was not a consideration), and complete the National Health Service (NHS) paperwork. In many cases, the dentist's wife or the daughter of a well‐off family (who were hoping that their daughter would find a professional husband through her work) fulfilled these duties. In this way, the earliest receptionist role was created.

In the 1950s, a new generation of dental equipment was being developed, such as the high‐speed drills that became standard equipment by the 1960s. Belt‐driven drills were replaced by air‐driven, water‐cooled, high‐speed drills. Because of the water coolants that accompanied this equipment, it was necessary for someone to work alongside the dentist to remove excess water for the patient's comfort and to keep the operating area dry. By the late 1950s, in some avant‐garde, high‐tech practices, the four‐handed style of dentistry was growing in popularity.

By the late 1960s, dentistry was experiencing a period of rapid change. As a result, the role of support staff began to change. A new trend emerged for dentists to work in multi‐practitioner practices. At the same time, more and more patients were contacting dental practices by telephone. This meant that one‐person assisting was no longer adequate. There was a need for someone to work chairside while someone else answered the phone, managed the appointment book, and collected patients' payments. Under these conditions, the multiskilled nurse‐receptionist role came into its own in the delivery of patient care.

Another wave of change began in the early 1990s, leading to the development of nonclinical skills. This was driven primarily by two factors: computerisation and patient demands. Computer skills were needed to enable dental businesses to achieve the best value from their considerable investment in equipment, and meanwhile, nonclinical client care skills were essential as the service aspect of the National Health Service came to the fore. The surgery role also became more involved, with an increased range of skills, knowledge, and qualifications being required to provide higher‐quality dental care.

A further impact of the changes of the 1990s was the development of another team role: the practice manager. The number of practice managers in the post has grown rapidly since 1992 and continues to grow. The impetus for this is the massive and far‐reaching changes in the delivery of primary dental care services, including initiatives such as clinical governance and continuous changes in general and employment law. Today, management decisions previously taken by governing authorities on as fee scales and the availability of services are managed in‐house, sometimes with little or no guidance. This creates a substantial amount of extra work. Clinically trained practitioners find that running a small business places enormous demands on their time and resources. As management tasks are not revenue generating, they represent a drain on practice resources. Therefore, a manager is essential for overseeing the tactical management of the practice. To fulfil this role, practice managers need a good knowledge of how the practice works as well as the needs of both the team and patients.

The new millennium has seen a significant increase in legislation and regulation for dental teams. In 2013 the General Dental Council revised the Standards for the Dental Team.¹ This includes the following nine principles, along with guidance for their implementation:

1. Put patients' interests first.
2. Communicate effectively with patients.
3. Obtain valid consent.
4. Maintain and protect patients' information.
5. Have a clear and effective complaints procedure.
6. Work with colleagues in a way that is in patients' best interests.
7. Maintain, develop, and work with your professional knowledge and skills.
8. Raise concerns if patients are at risk.
9. Make sure your behaviour maintains patients' confidence in you and the dental profession.

These standards set out ethical requirements. Many of these requirements impact the standards of the work of nonclinical aspects of patients care, so the practice must develop roles and procedures based on the standards to ensure that those who are not General Dental Council (GDC) registrants are also obliged to meet statutory, regulatory requirements.

In 2008, the Health and Social Care Act introduced far‐reaching legislation aimed at setting fundamental standards for the delivery of health care that is:

• Safe
• Effective
• Caring
• Responsive
• Well led

This legislation applies to all providers of health and social care. Providers are required to register with the authoritative body with jurisdiction in their region, and to name a registered provider and a registered manager who will be responsible for maintaining the required care standards. Inspectors with the power to act to protect patients' interests will visit providers' premises to ensure that the required standards are consistently being met by each member of the team.

Since the millennium, the practice manager role has developed considerably,...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• About the Companion Website
• 1 The Developing World of Dental Care Services
• 2 Administration
• 3 Marketing
• 4 Financial Administration
• 5 Staff Selection
• 6 Quality Management
• 7 Working as a Team
• 8 Team Meetings
• 9 Safety and Well Being
• 10 Customer Care
• 11 Treatment Coordination
• 12 Computers in Dentistry
• Index
• End User License Agreement