How to Get More Patient Testimonials

Inspirational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.” Though his hay day was during the 90s, Zig’s words still ring true. Dentists in private practice are also business owners, and marketing is an essential part of their success.

Keep an Eye on Your Reviews

Yellow Pages advertisements and direct mail are no longer the leaders in dental practice marketing. We now have Internet marketing and search engine optimization to understand. Even more recent, online reviews (aka patient testimonials) have entered the picture. Many dentists are shocked to find negative online reviews, sometimes from people they never saw or treated. I have seen defamatory reviews that refer to a dentist as a “mouth rapist,” and others posted by people who didn’t like the way the office phone was answered. Disgruntled patients sometimes don’t want to pay their dental bill, so they vent frustrations in a scathing online review.

Studies tell us, 70% of web users believe what they read online from other consumers,

so your online reputation is important.

Rarely can a dentist get a negative review removed by a patient — or the website on which the review is published. In fact, many dentists have lost lawsuits trying to clear their name and regain their good online reputation. If you find a negative online review, the best way to address it is to first post a level-headed reply, backed by facts and steeped in compassion. If you are not a talented writer, enlist the assistance of a professional writer. Read More

Reduce Your Risk for Bad Reviews from Dental Patients

This article isn’t about reputation management, Yelp!, or choosing verbiage to respond to negative patient reviews. Instead, I want to discuss how your team members’ words and actions are interpreted by patients.

Most often, dentists who receive bad reviews that mention kind, caring, reputable team members feel betrayed by the reviewing patient. Doctors may also question what’s occurring at the front desk, on the phone, and at check-out, when he or she isn’t present. How can you know that your team is taking great care of your patients? How can you make sure that their words and actions are positive in the eyes of your patients?

How We Get Offended

In most cases, a feeling of being offended is the fault of the offended, not the offender. Think about it: Someone cuts you off in traffic and you get angry. Perhaps the rude driver did it on purpose, but most likely he was negligent rather than vengeful. What made you angry? You assumed the driver cut you off on purpose. You made an assumption that may or may not be true, and because of this assumption, you got angry. If you could write a review about that driver, it would surely be negative!

Now, let’s apply this to a scenario in your front office. Read More

Grade Your Front Office Team, Dentists!

Do you wonder how your front office team handles calls? At MDPM Consulting, we’re problem solvers. In some cases, we build a dental website that draws excellent traffic, but something mysterious keeps the dentist’s appointment book from filling up with new patients. We analyze user experience, look at how long visitors remain on various pages of the website, where they enter and where they leave. In most cases, everything seems perfectly aligned for transition – that is, the potential patient has every reason to book an appointment. What’s the stumbling block?

Returning Emails Correctly

Do all of the email forms on your website work? Do the emails funnel to one person? What’s your office’s procedure for returning emails? Digital communication is not going away. In fact, texting is replacing email, in many cases. A dentist should have full confidence that: 1) email forms on the website work; 2) a team member returns emails and texts within 24 hours; 3) all emails and texts that do not transition into new patients are kept on a list for weekly follow up calls until the potential patient responds. Also, email signatures should be consistent throughout the practice. Every team member who might communicate via email needs to include the dental practice logo, website, and phone number in his or her email signature. Read More

HIPAA Forms on Dental Websites: Are You in Compliance?

As a dental marketing firm, MDPM understands the rules and regulations dentists are held to – the standards for doctors are much higher than those for professionals outside the medical industry. Recently, the ADA distributed an electronic newsletter that mentioned the requirement for dentists to have HIPAA privacy practices displayed on their websites. Are you in compliance with this federal regulation?

The Mandate for HIPAA Notice on Dentist Websites

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45 – Public Wellfare states:

(3) Specific requirements for electronic notice. (i) A covered entity that maintains a web site that provides information about the covered entity’s customer services or benefits must prominently post its notice on the web site and make the notice available electronically through the web site.

How Dentists Should Comply

Current clients of MDPM should send their HIPAA forms via fax (877-492-8838) or .pdf file (seo@moderndentalmarketing.com), and we will immediately post your form, which will be your notice and, thus, will make your practice compliant on this issue. If you are not an MDPM client dentist, contact your current webmaster and request that your HIPAA form be posted as soon as possible. Should you run into problems, feel free to call MDPM for assistance. We are here to serve dentists with reliable, compliant dental marketing solutions.

If you do not have a HIPAA form, visit the ADA website for more information.

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Dentist Reputation Management and Online Reviews

Disgruntled Former Employees Leaving Fake Reviews

I received a call from a dear client of mine one weekend. He had recently experienced some disappointing behavior in a long-time employee, and he had to let her go. The problem was, this employee had the passwords to his social networking accounts, blog, website CMS, and other important online media. Could she login and wreak havoc, out of anger? Would she leave fake, bad reviews about him on Yelp and Facebook?

Unfortunately, this is an HR issue that all businesses face in the Internet era. Here’s another example. Recently, MDPM had a former employee create fake profiles and post negative reviews on Yelp, all within days of each other. The profiles were new and had reviewed 0-2 other businesses. We did not recognize the reviewers’ names, and some phrases they posted keyed us in on the fact that the reviews were fake. However, we can’t get them removed. We followed the advice in this article, and we’ve been as pleased as can be expected, without crossing ethical lines and compromising integrity.

Angry Former Patients Posting Scathing Reviews

Fake and real reviews, more negative than positive, have fueled a multi-million dollar industry of reputation management. Angry people are more likely to vent online than are pleased patients. Late last year, I helped a frustrated dentist as he dealt with a negative review from a one-time patient.  The patient was unhappy about the charges for his dental work, specifically that his dental insurance did not cover what he thought it would, yet he still had to pay. The work was done, and done well. He left a long rant on the dentist’s Google Places page, visible to all potential patients. What could the dentist do? Google has no phone number to call when this happens; besides, as a third party, though they provide the means for reviews, they don’t want to get involved in disputes. Read More

The Medical-Device Tax and the Dentist

This guest post is brought to you by our friends and colleagues at Goldin, Peiser & Peiser, LLP, a Dallas-based accounting firm. Some information in this blog has been revised from its original version, published 12.14.12.

As it stands now, regardless of whether we go off the fiscal cliff or not, there will be a tax on the sale of medical devices in 2013. As mandated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, manufacturers will be assessed a 2.3% tax on the sale of certain devices. According to the IRS, taxable medical devices are defined as those that are listed under a single FDA product code. Other devices are:

  • Nitrous and oxygen delivery systems and gas
  • Computer equipment used for diagnostic purposes
  • X-ray equipment, sensors, cone-beam CT systems, caries detection devices, and cameras
  • Surgical equipment
  • Handpieces
  • Replacement parts
  • Remanufactured or refurbished equipment
  • Instruments
  • Imaging equipment
  • CAD/CAM machines
  • Prosthetic devices

All May Not Be Lost

Manufacturers as well as the dental and medical communities are pushing hard against the tax, lobbying for the delay of the start date. And not everyone on Capitol Hill supports the tax. Many lawmakers are concerned about its negative financial implications. 18 Senators and Senators-Elect sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking that the tax be included in the fiscal cliff negations. They expressed their concern that the “the medical device industry has received little guidance about how to comply with the tax–causing significant uncertainty and confusion for businesses.” They urged Senator Reid to support delaying enactment of the provision in a “fiscally responsible manner.” Read More

How to Choose a Dental Practice Name

You don’t need any name for your dental office, you need the perfect name. Regardless of whether you’re a new graduate opening a private practice or an experienced dentist prepping to sell your practice in the next few years, serious consideration should go into selecting a dental practice name. Not only will your name influence your persona in your community and the minds of your patients, the wrong practice name could get you into legal trouble. You certainly don’t need that! In this blog, I’ll give you tips for selecting a practice name, making it legal, and developing your brand for optimal success.

Brainstorming Dental Office Names

Not sure where to start? I recommend you call on some of your most trusted professional associates, regardless of dental industry expertise, and have a brainstorming session. You’ll need a large whiteboard and dry erase markers or an online whiteboard if your contributors are remote. Set a timer for 20 minutes and select a secretary. Everyone can begin suggesting names, and the secretary should record them all on the whiteboard. After 20 minutes are up, thank everyone, then sit down by yourself or with your business partner to review the suggestions. Consider that if you use your personal name, selling the practice’s brand may be difficult in the future. Also, if you use your location in the practice name, make certain that it would work if you opened multiple offices in your region. Read More