BACK TO BASICS
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Several years ago my office team and I spent some time attempting to redefine what we do and how we do it. We had a general idea of what we felt was important to our patients and to us in terms of the care we deliver but felt we needed to better define our core values and become more focused.
At the time there was a lot of press related to “cosmetic” dentistry and “spa” dentistry (whatever that is). In an age of “Extreme Makeover” and almost instantaneous gratification, we chose another path. I never wanted to be just a “cosmetic” dentist. I felt our patients were entitled to more than just cosmetic care. I felt comfortable based on my training and experience providing a more comprehensive kind of experience - one that was patient centered, relationship based, and that fully integrated health, comfort and beauty.
Two articles I read in the last week helped confirm that in a world that is rapidly changing my team and I are on the right track.
In New York Magazine, week of June 1, Beth Landman wrote in her article “Nipped & Tucked” about the changing reality of medical and dental practices that were only recently, cosmetically oriented. She wrote about “lifestyle” medicine losing some of its allure as the result of changing economic times and the trials and tribulations of doctors who now have to provide more health centered treatment. I apologize if I appear naïve here, but shouldn’t the health aspects of care have been considered all along?
As I’ve said before, as dentists we’ve been trained to be scientists, biologists, clinicians, and artists. But concentrating exclusively on the “cosmetic” aspects of care often times neglects the health and comfort of the patient. Shouldn’t these clinicians have been addressing health issues all along as part of the “cosmetic work” they were doing? Now they’re getting back to basics because the revenue stream from these cosmetic procedures has slowed to a trickle.
In the New York Times Business Section, June 7, 2009, Julie Weed wrote an article entitled “If All Doctors Had Time To Listen”. She talks about changing models of health care delivery; new methodologies that allow physicians to spend more time with their patients, emphasize prevention, and decrease the number of referrals to specialists. Ms. Weed states that these “patient centered” practices are popular and growing. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Patients are looking to re-establish a more relationship based personalized kind of care where they feel cared about and cared for.
All in all, a good week that made my team and I feel comfortable that we are on the right track, trying to remain relevant in the lives of our patients.
As always, thanks for listening.
RMS
