Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

I love when a place has their stuff together.

A nice hotel. A good restaurant. Anywhere where you walk in and they already know your name, why you’re there, how long you’re staying, or that you’re celebrating something.

It immediately makes you feel like someone is paying attention.

One time we checked into a hotel with the kids, and they already knew we had children with us. Someone came out with little capes and things for them to play with right away.

Amazing.

But the reason it feels so good is because the information moved.

Someone knew we were coming.

Someone passed it along.

Someone thought through what would make the experience better before we had to ask.

That is the difference between feeling processed and feeling taken care of.

Think about the last time you needed to repeat yourself somewhere.

You tell one person what is going on. Then the next person comes in and asks the same thing. Then the next person asks again. And now instead of feeling taken care of, you feel like you are personally responsible for carrying the information through the whole appointment.

I hate that.

And patients hate it too.

In a dental office, handoffs matter more than people think.

The patient moves from the front desk to the assistant, from the assistant to the doctor, from hygiene back to the doctor, from the doctor to the treatment coordinator, from the treatment coordinator to the scheduler.

Every one of those moments is a chance for the information to keep moving.

Or get dropped completely.

Before I walked into a room, I wanted the rundown.

What is going on with the patient? What did they say? What are they worried about? Are they upset? Are they nervous? Are they asking about cost? Is something bothering them? What do I need to know so I am not walking in cold and making the patient start over?

And if I could not get that rundown before I walked in because I was in another room, then the handoff had to happen clearly and quickly in front of the patient.

Here is what we talked about. Here is what they need. Here is what they are concerned about. Here is the next step.

That should happen every time information moves from one person to another.

Because no patient should be sitting there while the team tries to figure out what is supposed to happen next. And they definitely should not be the one explaining it again.

A good handoff makes the office feel organized.

A bad handoff makes the patient feel like no one is actually in charge.

Because patients do not always know if your clinical systems are good. But they do know when they have had to tell the same story three times.

And they definitely know when no one seems to know what happens next.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. Patients feel the result of a good handoff. But a good handoff starts with the systems your team follows before, during, and after the appointment.

When everyone knows their role, the next step, and how the process is supposed to work, the office feels more organized without anyone having to scramble.

That is what Milo is built for.