Each of us is a patient of a doctor, and we all need dedicated people who can take on part of the emotional state we bring with us.
The non-medical team plays a major role in the patient's treatment; it is no longer merely the doctor's support — it truly adds value, or becomes an integrated part of the service package the patient requests.
What is your obligation as a clinic owner?
To direct your focus toward the team as well, not only toward medical equipment and materials. And to remember constantly that the first factor that responds to the patient's need is the person at reception.
The front desk team succeeds in absorbing fear and worry, in giving back confidence, well-argued answers, and financial solutions — and above all in shaping behaviours, managing reactions, and consolidating the doctor–patient relationship.
It is essential that the people who turn to your medical services benefit from the highest quality of care.
Why invest in your reception staff?
Because that is what you promised them the moment they chose you. And the quality that defines you begins with the team you have.
Every time you doubt this, remember that a medical need is a vulnerability, and patients are far more determined to invest time in researching, seeking recommendations, and filtering their decision carefully.
The Front Desk Officer has the role and the power to manage this vulnerability — but only with specific training, and only by turning communication and patient-loyalty tools into second nature, into automatic habits.
Why has the FDO become essential to how dental clinics function?
Adaptability is now a continuous process with a boomerang effect. The number of doctors and practices, technology, the development of the medical field, and the international standards we aspire to have produced a type of patient who no longer chooses solely on the basis of the dentist's competence or expertise, but on the basis of the complete experience in the dental practice.
The human side of the medical act is part of what the patient needs, and it is represented by the people who work with both the emotional and the rational side of your patient: the Front Desk Officer.
Enrol your team in ADOM's Front Desk Officer programmes and give reception the tools to deliver the experience your patients expect.