HCD Headlines 11-3-2025

Rachael
Nov 3, 2025
5 min read

Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Welcome to November, Team!

November Schedule

Please review the attached schedule for November. Debbie will be out on Mondays and Thursdays moving forward. DKM's schedule of M-TH, 7:30-3:30/4:30 will continue through this month. Other changes are indicated on the schedule, so please take a moment to review it closely.

We are also moving forward with assistants being out when their doctor is out. If you need hours, please let me know so we can prepare accordingly.

Volunteer Opportunity

Thanksgiving Blessing is right around the corner and spots fill up quickly for volunteers. If you'd like to participate as a team, there are times available NOW for Monday, 11/24 from 4-6, 6-8, and 8-10. I have a sign-up posted in the breakroom. Please sign up ASAP so I can get you signed up, too. It's a great opportunity to give back to our community, and this year will most likely be a BIG year for people looking for food.

November Marketing

Orange Slice Questionnaire: We are building next quarter's marketing plan, and we would like your input to help us define our goals. Please complete the questionnaire by November 14th to help us with our planning: Brand Voice Discovery Questionnaire.
Alaska Physical Therapy Collaboration: We're excited to collaborate with Alaska Physical Therapy this month for TMD Awareness Month. We will create reels and take photos for both practices to use for this month. The doctors will participate in these reels. If you'd like to participate, too, please let me know.
- Here is their presentation from their team meeting on 10/16/25 for those that would like to reference it.

Turkey Cards: We are giving $50 gift cards every week on social media as part of our giveback efforts this month. Please feel free to share these posts to your page to help spread the word. Patients will also be informed of these opportunities in the upcoming newsletter. The first post will go up tomorrow.
Patient Newsletter: We are sending out the patient newsletter this month. Please read it once you get it to help answer any patient questions. This month will focus on National Diabetes Month, the bio compatibility tests we offer, and insurance benefits that expire the end of the year.

Devil's in the Details

When helping the hygienists turn over their ops, please carefully remove the ultrasonic tips from the adaptors. This is an example of one being pulled too hard and removing the adaptor with the tip. If it seems stuck, either you're pulling too hard or it is truly stuck. Please ask how to remove these properly to avoid costly mistakes.

The details within appointments is VITAL - ABSOLUTELY VITAL - to ensure our patients know they are in good hands with HCD. Any time an appointment is made in the front or back, notes regarding special notices, patient expectations, etc., must be included. If you're in a rush and think you're just going to save the space and come back to it, do this instead:
- STOP
- Complete your note
- Save it
- Move on

Why do it that way? Let's look at it according to our agreement "Patient, Team, Self."

The patient has given you an incredible amount of information. They might've opened up to you and shared personal details about their life that will help the clinician present treatment in a mindful manner. Show them respect and write it down now.
Your team immediately knows what the patient's expectations are and can plan accordingly. Your team doesn't need to seek you out to find out what's going on because you've set them up for success with a precise and detailed note.
Your future self will love you because you will have significantly reduced your stress. You don't have to remember details because you saved that information outside of your brain. You haven't disappointed your team by skipping this major step. You can rest peacefully knowing you've done your part to create perfect "synergy" for our patients, team, and yourself.

New Bookkeeping Setup

The old folder for invoices and refunds is no more! Please place all items in the black folder moving forward.

Definitions for sections for team:

CC Receipts: ANY time the credit card is used, there must be a receipt to turn in. You can either email it or place it in the first section.
Collections: Patients going to collections per discussions between doctors, Lauren, and Rachael.
Deposits: Daily deposit reports completed by the admin team.
Invoices: Invoices or bills to be paid. These are usually received by the admin team.
Invoices - Lab & Supplies: Any packing slips, supply invoices, and lab slips are to be placed here.
Refunds: All requested refunds are to be placed here. This will be a printed Family Ledger from the latest $0.00 balance.
Refunds-Pending: When phone calls are made to patients regarding their credits and you have to leave a voicemail, please place that ledger in this section.

New Timeline for Forms

After speaking to various sources and reviewing our own protocols, we are moving forward with a new setup regarding forms. The title of the forms per Practice by Numbers are listed below with each category.

New Patients will fill in all paperwork. This includes medical history, dental history, patient information, HIPAA, appointment agreement, dental insurance form, financial policy, appointment cancellation policy, credit card authorization, patient photo id request, and release of records.
Annually, patients will complete patient information and dental insurance form.
Every 3 years the patient is due for a comp exam. At this time, they will complete a new medical history, patient information, HIPAA, appointment cancellation policy, and appointment agreement.

This new system will send out post-op instructions for almost every code within our system. I hope you've also taken advantage of the post-op instruction cards in the sterilization lab. Almost every treatment has a post-op card including prophy, denture delivery, ortho, etc. Please use these cards to help set patient's expectations and provide that extra step of care that your patients will appreciate.

SWOT Review

I hope everyone was able to have a good discussion regarding the Strengths and Weaknesses of their departments. This should be considered a starting point for every department in order to develop meaningful goals, create useful protocols, refine existing protocols, and bring you closer as a professional unit.

The WHY is always a combination of your personal WHY and HCD's mission - Committed Professionals ~ Healthy Patients. Notice the WHY isn't about dentistry; it's about a level of commitment that helps those seeking help to become healthy. Keep discussing as departments and individuals the SWOT you started last week, and let's develop the next step(s) of professionalism we will work to achieve as departments and as a team.

Share with your department what your take away was from the discussion you had and how you want to positively move forward.

...

Please clock in with WorkForce/QB Time when reading this if you're not at the office. Thank you!!