3 Common Mistakes That Negatively Impact Your Treatment Planning
Even after years of education and expertise, periodontists and their teams can still make mistakes during the treatment planning phase.
Small mistakes can often lead to bigger ones, which can ultimately affect the outcome of the treatment’s effectiveness. Let’s explore three of the most common errors of perio treatment planning and how you can avoid them.
#1 - Poor Communication with the Referring Doctor
If you rely on general practitioners for referrals, you have an obligation to communicate with each other concerning each patient’s needs. The reality is that many periodontists do not follow up in a timely manner or fail to foster ongoing communication.
When handoffs are shaky, it creates issues for both you and your patient. Not having the right information can create gaps in treatment planning. In addition, you could risk losing referral business from other doctors and your reputation may take a hit.
#2 - Lack of Detail Regarding the Treatment Plan
Many practitioners are attracted to the idea of creating a single approach to treatment planning, but this does a disservice to the patient by not taking their unique situation into account.
Creating a treatment plan isn’t quick work, especially when you’re customizing multiple plans. Notes can be illegible or misspelled. Critical data can be omitted. Accuracy is then jeopardized and leaves room for error during the treatment phase.
Ideally, having a repetitive system in place that can take much of the guesswork out of treatment planning can save time and resources. But more importantly, it can also allow for customized plans that are fully detailed and error-free.
#3 - Solutions Aren’t Tailored to the Correct Audience
Every treatment plan is reviewed and used by four different sets of people: referring doctors, patients, financial stakeholders, and the treatment team. They don’t all speak the same language, nor do they need to know the same information.
The problem lies in that most treatment plans don’t cater to each group.
As a result, patients may not understand the same complex language your team uses. Key financial data may be misunderstood or completely omitted. Key details can easily become lost or overlooked.
Creating separate versions of the treatment plan to satisfy each group’s priorities is an ideal approach. This helps to ensure each person receives the information they need in a language they understand.
Closing the Gap on Periodontal Treatment Planning Issues
Each of the above issues are fairly common occurrences in periodontal practices, but they’re also highly avoidable.
PANDA Perio was developed to tackle these and other complexities of treatment planning to create a cohesive experience for practitioners, patients, treatment teams, and financial interests.
PANDA Perio adapts to the way you work to write your treatment plans and tailor them to your audiences. Treatment planning becomes less hands-on and less time-consuming while creating clear, accurate instructions for each person involved in language that’s understandable and relevant. Watch the video here
To see PANDA Perio’s treatment planning in action, schedule a free demo today and discover how you can save time without sacrificing quality.
Do you want to find out How PANDA Perio Can Help You and Your practice?
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