Kiera joins Dr. Paul Etchison on the Dental Practice Heroes podcast to talk about the infamous front desk and how to finally figure out what levers should be pulled and which should be pushed to get the department in ship-shape. The best part about this episode is that Kiera and Dr. Etchison make the steps to success easy to understand and implement.

Episode resources:

Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:00)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today we are sharing a guest interview I did on another podcast. And it was too valuable not to bring you guys here.

this episode, you're gonna hear this host lead the conversation and then I'll wrap us up at the end. I cannot wait. It was truly one of my most incredible episodes and I truly hope you enjoy.

speaker-0 (00:19)

Kiera, so glad to have you back on the podcast. It's always a joy having you on here. And I'll tell the listeners, I've worked personally with Kiera a number of occasions, someone I very much trust, someone I respect entirely in the industry and just knows her stuff and always a great guest to have you on. And today we're going to be talking about, you know, front desk stuff where

I work with a lot of clients. Do you work with a lot of clients? I don't know if you share the same regard. I would love to hear your opinion on this, but I would say most of the clients that I work with, the front desk tends to be their most chaotic and unorganized department. I mean, do you feel that you share the same sentiment?

speaker-1 (00:59)

Yeah, Paul super excited to be on the podcast with you. Always enjoy a good chat and I mean, think proof's in the pudding. Do you remember the number one reason you called me to work with you the first time? Oh yeah, I was front office.

speaker-0 (01:12)

I think it was the second time and the third time.

speaker-1 (01:14)

It really all those times were and the answer is yes and this is why I created Dental A Team is because like Working in the dental college and seeing so many dental students like you guys learn how to Drop your box on an MO and like how do I have a perfect crown prep? You don't learn how do I do the billing and how do I do the insurance and how do I schedule patients like you learn how to have patient etiquette and great dentistry and so that's why I created Dental A Team like it's dentists and teams like hey dentist let's get you to rock your space and then let's work on the team side because

because even myself as a team member, there was no learning. It was like, just do it. And I'm like, well, what do I just do? And so I think the front office just feels so elusive. It feels so scary. And like, Paul, you're in someone's mouth. You're not like, ⁓ how do I do an insurance claim? And so I think there's so many nuances, but also for dentists, the front office is the gatekeeper of your money. Like they're the ones who schedule for you. They're the ones who present your cases for you. They're the ones who collect the money for you. They're the ones who bill for you. So so much of your financial freedom and like,

your paycheck is also directed by a department you don't even understand. So I think that that's why there's so much just like, it's not conflict, it's just almost like unknown and it feels daunting. And so you don't even know what levers to push or pull because you don't even understand how the how the engine works. It'd be like, hey, Kiera, my car is making a sound and I'm like, good, I don't know what to do. Like, that's not even my realm. And I think that that's how a lot of dentists feel about the front office. So, yeah, that's why that's why I exist and why I love to

be on the podcast and share because it doesn't need to feel daunting or scary, nor do you need to do it all. I think just being aware and knowing what things to look for, what things you can expect and having a hopefully a trusted voice in the industry where like, hey, I'm here, no judgment. Like just ask all the questions and let's help you guys get your team up to par. And also for team members, cause they, lot of times don't even know what they should do either.

speaker-0 (03:05)

Yeah, absolutely. They're just thrown in there and said, here, figure it out. Do it. Just answer the phone and do all this fun stuff. I mean, like, I think what struggles for dentists as practice owners is we just don't understand, like you mentioned. We don't understand, like, how to send a claim, how to look at an insurance breakdown. But whereas every other element of the practice, we have a deeper understanding on it. Do you think, I mean, I'm sure it would be beneficial, but is it necessary for a dentist to learn everything about claim submission and all these things?

front desk related? Or can we get by with some more higher level organizations such as you provide?

speaker-1 (03:41)

I think, Paul, it depends on who you are. think Paul Etchison, I would say you probably can get by with some high level. You got it, you got it figured out, you can sift through. For some other doctors, they want to at least know. But I would say it's a blanket statement across the board. I think at least having a slight awareness, go up to the front office and just sit there and be like, hey, walk me through how you submit a claim. ⁓ I think you even knowing some of the jargon, the language of

what's going on up there. Like, can I see an EOB? ⁓ That's like, and I think it's kind of like, go back Paul, being a business owner, I equate front office to like a PNL and CPA and bookkeeping. We have all learned how to run a business without being a CPA or a bookkeeper, but it's because we're in the language of the PNL. And I think, how can you get into the language of the front office? You know yourself, but.

I think abdication and just like delegation, like hands off is probably a dangerous space to be, think for any business owner. Like I don't want to be in sales, but if I don't understand the sales process, that's not going to work. Marketing, like, okay, great. But I need to at least understand the nuances of it. And I think that's the same for front office. So I would say as a simple blip, why not just go up and listen to how your front office schedules? Why not go up and just see how they submit claims or verify insurance?

And then, yes, I would talk to and listen to podcasts by the Dental A Team or other trusted individuals in the field. ⁓ We have online courses that we've created for all of these. Not so dentists learn it, but just to like, what's kind of my, I don't know, like front office for dummies, like go back to those books that they had, like, what's my quick overview to where I'm not going to get screwed over, I'm not going to get embezzled from, I'm going to know what to expect of my team. And I'm even happy to share even simple job descriptions of what those roles

can and should be doing. I think even that knowledge alone helps doctors just feel more confident and competent of like, ⁓ my office manager should be actin...