5 Keys to better infection prevention #5

Time management is a real issue for dental practices. There just isn’t enough time in the day. 
 
Or is there? 
 
We’ve talked with profitable dental practices that have somehow managed to find more time in their day. And for some of them, a lot more. Of these practices, we continually hear that what helps them be most efficient is a well-organized facility. 
 
Now, we don’t just mean clean and tidy. Your entire facility is undoubtedly spotless but might still suffer from disorganization. And that disorganization leads to a lot of wasted time, limiting the number of procedures you can do in a day – and limiting your profitability. 
 
Here are some indicators that you could benefit from better organization: 

Your Team Often Has to Search for Missing or Lost Instruments 

If the right instruments aren’t where they’re needed (usually because of missed instruments or duplicates), that’s wasted time and effort spent tracking everything down. Plus, it involves leaving the patient, lengthening their time in the chair, and creating a bad overall experience. 

Your Sterilization Center Is Crammed 

If your sterilization center looks like a seven-lane traffic jam, your efficiency is suffering. Without enough space for all the proper steps, your staff ends up stacking instruments and trays with little order, only to have to untangle everything later. Then there’s the issue of the space itself. Sterilization centers are often relegated to faraway, unused corners instead of in a place with enough room to perform the needed steps for reprocessing. 

Too Much Time Spent Assembling Setups 

Once your instruments are sterilized, your team has to spend time assembling setups for each procedure. Loose instruments need to be pouched and packaged. And it has to be done carefully to avoid sharps injuries. Once that happens, the whole process starts over again. 

One way to improve your organization is by keeping your instruments together throughout the entire patient visit – from reprocessing to setup to actual patient care – with an instrument management system. When everything is contained in a cassette for a procedure, you don’t need to hunt down lost instruments or spend time sorting instruments. Instead, your sterilization process moves more quickly, eliminating the traffic jams that otherwise slow your team down.  

Click here to contact us for a personal consultation to learn how Circle of Protection can prevent the spread of disease and improve the safety of your practice.