Click here to enlarge image→ Immediacy. In this fast-paced culture, no one wants to wait for anything. When you dispense products in the office, you have the opportunity to provide immediate, customized product training and education chairside. Just as important, a patient can take a product home and start that day on improving his or her oral health. You have the confidence in knowing a patient is using the product which is best for that person, and in the correct manner. There is no more wondering if a patient purchased the product, or is using it properly.
→ Credibility. When you deliver superior product knowledge, coupled with a top-quality product, the message is clear that you believe in the product and its importance for a patient. Your credibility with a patient is enhanced by this simple act. Your credibility will receive an additional boost when a patient returns for his or her next appointment with better oral health. Even more importantly, you are partnering with the patient to attain alignment between expectation and outcome.
→ Convenience. One-stop shopping has become a hallmark in today’s society. In many places, you can go to a local discount retailer and purchase groceries, items for the home, and clothing while enjoying coffee and snacks. Perhaps you can even do some banking or fill up your car with gas. Having oral-care products available in a dental practice is a perfect marriage. Both you and the patient will have the confidence and satisfaction that the right product is in hand. Once the patient leaves your office, he or she is thinking about picking up children, cooking dinner, or work - not the dental water jet or power toothbrush you just recommended - until, perhaps, bedtime. If you dispensed, the patient will have it. If not, you have to hope the person remembers to purchase it sometime in the near future.
→ Practice revenue. Dispensing products in the office adds an additional source of income to the practice. There is nothing wrong with this. Your practice is a business, and you are providing an additional service. It is okay to make a profit. That profit can help enhance the line of products you offer, or help reward your staff for a job well done. Most companies offer professional discounts on products that allow you to resell the products at a price consistent with retail and still make some profit. In some situations, like orthodontic treatment, the cost of the product is a part of the treatment plan and is built into the cost.
Successful product dispensing requires a concerted, targeted effort by all staff members. If you are considering dispensing products in your practice, involve your staff members in the decision-making process from the beginning. This approach will ensure both ownership and commitment by all involved. Each staff member will likely have a role to play in the success of this venture, some more heavily than others. Deciding staff roles and responsibilities up front is crucial, and can help avoid confusion and frustration.
Product dispensing is a good risk to take. After all, which of the following scenarios seems more likely to have a successful outcome? One where the patient leaves your office with a directive to purchase, or one where the patient leaves with the product and knowledge to use it?
Carol Jahn, RDH, MS, is the educational programs manager for Waterpik Technologies. She has published numerous papers on periodontal disease and self-care, and provides continuing education courses on periodontal disease and diabetes. Jahn can be reached at [email protected], or (800) 525-2020, ext. 8565.
