Part One
This blog will deal with the positive things about having your spouse work in the office. Part Two will deal with the downside.
There are many reasons to have your spouse work in the office, especially at the front desk. The doctor has to be focused on patient care and dealing with the materials, techniques and chairside assistants. The doctor is often unaware of what is going on at the front. The spouse can be the eyes and ears of the doctor.
Having a spouse at the front desk means that there is someone there with a vested interest in the business. The spouse’s presence there can guard against embezzlement, especially if the spouse checks the adjustments being made in the software and the deposit totals on a daily basis.
A spouse at the front can watch for opportunities to add patients to fill the schedule both for the doctor and the hygienist. As cancellations happen in the schedule, the staff should be encouraged to immediately fill those openings, instead of doing tasks that do not result in increased production in the office.
A spouse up front minimizes the time that staff members are just talking with each other about personal issues.
When there are patients who are upset about treatment or charges, the spouse can immediately deal with and resolve these issues and have the authority to discount fees instead of having to wait to ask the doctor.
A spouse up front can keep track of employee vacation and sick leave, the need for time off to attend family events at schools, or lateness, and deal with issues like poor grooming and untidy uniforms. The spouse can make corrections in the time clock when there are errors. This relieves the doctor of the need to do all this, and allows the doctor to just take care of patients.
A spouse up front can earn additional income for the doctor’s family, and fund a 401K plan instead of paying an outside person.
I have seen the productivity of the office increase tremendously after the doctor’s spouse is employed at the office. You may want to think about it and see what happens! Contact me and let’s talk about it!
Be sure to read next month’s Part 2 blog for the for the difficulties.
Artwork by Blueastro/istockphoto.