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dental SOPs

Standard Operating Procedures for Your Dental Practice

Standard Operating Procedures (also known as SOPs) are instructions specific to your dental practice. SOPs help all employees understand how to perform daily activities because SOPs act like a to-do list for all employees. While many practices have SOPs, every set of SOPs are not the same. SOPs are created with your dental practice and staff in mind because every practice and every team has different needs and abilities. If you’re curious about the importance of SOPs or if you’re interested in creating your personalized set of SOPs, we can help you get started. 

Where Do I Begin?

Since SOPs act as guidelines for your practice, you should begin by identifying every process occurring in your practice. Nothing is too big or too small to write down. Creating SOPs by starting with the simplest process may make creating SOPs easier for you. For example, if you start with something small, like staff meetings, you’ll want to think about how staff meetings typically go in your practice. Do you begin a staff meeting by discussing an agenda for the meeting with your staff members? Do you close by opening the floor for questions? Whatever your style is, jot down all the details step-by-step. 

To continue the process of creating SOPs for your practice, get your staff involved. Clinical employees should be involved in creating SOPs related to clinical practice; office staff should be involved in creating SOPs for office practice. Your staff are the ones who execute the procedures you’re listing, so make sure to discuss the typical workflow with them.

Why Do I Need Standard Operating Procedures?

SOPs are a great form of communication because that’s exactly what they’re made for. Communication is essential to any relationship, including a working relationship. When procedures are carefully outlined and documented, it communicates clear expectations for all parties involved. You are aware of what your employees will do every time they begin a procedure. Your employees know what they can expect from you when working as a team, and where they should follow up with care after you have done your part in a procedure. 

SOPs are also helpful to ensure patient safety. With SOPs, employees know what to expect during every step of every process, beginning with a patient entering the door. When procedures are regulated, you can ensure that the steps you and your team are taking to treat patients are the steps that will bring about the best possible outcome. SOPs may add a layer of protection for your practice in this way. If a patient experiences an unexpected reaction due to a procedure, your process can be validated. 

How Do I Implement Standard Operating Procedures?

You can implement SOPs in multiple ways across your dental practice. Start by implementing them from the very beginning when onboarding new employees. Every company has some orientation or introductory training when an employee. Your dental practice is likely no different, so use that as a time to identify what your employee can expect. You might even find that SOPs promote employee retention because there are no surprises for either party in the future. A new employee will know how your practice runs from the very beginning, and you will have communicated their roles and expectations within your practice. 

Another way to implement SOPs is to make copies of the appropriate set of procedures and hang them where employees can utilize them. Your employees should be able to access SOPs at any point when they may need to review the steps for a specific task or treatment. Another helpful way to remind your employees that the SOPs are to be used is to place copies of SOPs for each of your processes in a notebook where employees can locate it when necessary 

Because SOPs are guidelines that should help your dental staff, SOPs are living documents. Nothing stays the same for too long; as time goes on, there will be changes in the dental industry. You and your dental staff may realize that a way that was once a standard practice could use an update. Just as humans always have room to improve, so do your SOPs.

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to keep growing your successful dental practice, PPO Negotiation Solutions can help. We offer consultations to identify your needs and complementary assessments to see where we can positively impact your dental practice. Schedule a time to speak with us today and let us help you maximize your profits!

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Steps to Implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Whether in writing or digital format, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should be utilized as a part of your personnel management process now more than ever dealing with a post-pandemic labor force. They are not just policies to be followed in the dental practice; they are the actual steps to be followed consistently to accomplish certain tasks in the dental office. SOPs are a repetitive set of actions to be followed by all dental personnel in order to:

  • increase performance
  • improve efficiency
  • reduce or eliminate confusion
  • to ensure the quality of services performed.

Implementing SOPs provides consistency of service to dental patients and protects the dental office in an ever-changing environment. They are a visible support on display for your team members. The creation of SOPs clearly communicates the dentist’s expectations. So the dentist does not have to continually state over and over what is expected from each team member. SOPs also provide a virtual means of training new hires in the dental office. This includes the training of those new employees with little or no dental work experience. They also can be used as a review in team meetings to coach employees. Through teamwork, your missions will be accomplished.

Benefits of Standard Operating Procedures

The first objective of the SOP is to identify or summarize a certain task that must be performed. It must describe the purpose of the task and when, where, how and by whom it must be performed, while at the same time, define any uncommon or specialized terms so the steps can be clearly understood by the dental associate performing the task. The SOP must also address concerns with necessary equipment, supplies or any health and safety precautions. They describe in detail through the implementation of charts,tables, pictures or diagrams each step to confirm the correct procedures are being performed accurately.

The many benefits of established SOPs in the dental practice include but are not limited to:

  • Reduced training time for new hires
  • Better communication with employees about how to accomplish their job duties
  • Consistency of task completion
  • Holding employees accountable
  • Ensuring safety standards are met, avoiding knowledge loss when shifting duties from one employee to another or in the event of turnover
  • Simpler integration of new employees
  • Quality control: SOPs ensure that your services are delivered in the same way from start to finish

Establishing Your Own SOP

To create your dental office’s own SOPs, make a list of every team member’s job duties. Review the list with your employees to learn more about what each team member does on a daily basis.

The next step is to decide what you will use to show each step of the SOP. Will you use a flow chart or a series of pictures with step-by-step instructions?

Ask for the input of your dental office team members to make sure the SOP can be clearly understood and all are on the same page about what it covers and what duties are required.

Next, who will be utilizing the Standard Operating Procedures? Will it be new or existing employees? Can each team member read and follow the directions on the SOP clearly?

Finally, put the SOP in writing or on electronic media. The step-by-step instructions should be very simple to understand and easy to view. Write the SOP in the active voice and present verb tense. Do not use the word “you” as a part of your directions. It should be understood. Make it short and sweet. The words used to write the SOP should make crystal clear the task to be completed. Use your style of instruction to illustrate the process, and be sure to follow the same style used in the office manuals or employee handbooks so everything is consistent.

Dental office SOPs should be so detailed that even someone with very limited knowledge of the directions can perform the procedure satisfactorily without supervision.

They should be so detail-oriented, there is no question in the team member’s mind at any given time the steps required to complete any procedure. The experience level required to perform each task should be set out in the section of the employee handbook titled “Personnel Qualifications.”

The last task to be done with writing the SOP is to review, test, edit and repeat this system every six or twelve months with the intention of improving the procedure or reflecting any changes made to the procedure. The SOP will not be of any benefit to the dental practice unless it is kept current and relevant to the team. SOPs are the procedures for all critical tasks performed in the dental office to result in the desired outcomes that fulfill the mission and objectives of the dental practice.

By contacting the experts at PPO Negotiation Solutions, you can learn more about how they can help your dental practice through a complimentary assessment or by scheduling a consultation!

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