If you’re a doctor or dentist, you know that stagnation means death to your business. But what you may not realize is why your office staff is at the heart of that business, and that helping them can pump new life into your practice.

Why a friendly, relaxed office staff is important

Your staff is the first thing patients see in the office and hear on the phone. Therefore, they’re your first – and possibly only – chance to make a lasting impression. If your staff is hurried, curt, and unresponsive due to lack of time from other office responsibilities, it can leave a bad taste in patients’ mouths. Those patients may skip appointments without notifying you. They may fail to make follow-up appointments. Worst of all, they certainly won’t refer friends, family and neighbors to you.

Because here’s the dirty little secret of office staff interaction: Patients assume your interactions with them will be the same. Reality-based or not, they feel the quality of your office staff represents your skill and abilities as a physician. So be smart. Consider outsourcing tasks like patient call backs, rescheduling and insurance verifications. Because when your staff is happy, your practice will be, too!