ACase Study on

DR.Beckett’s Dental office

PREPARED BY:Tejas ShahSonal Domadia

About the Case…… Dr. Beckett is a professional dentist with

a high qualification and degree.

She is having her own dental office with seven members of staff.

The mission statement of her office was, “ It is our goal to provide superior dentistry in an efficient, profitable manner within a confines of a caring, quality environment.”

Now the problem is that, the dental care industry had changed dramatically.

a. Costs rose as a result of strict labor laws.

b. Malpractice insurance c. Constant need of investment in new

technologies. d. Staff training as new technologies

were introduced.

Dr. Beckett’s overhead now was between 70-80% of revenues before accounting for her wages or office rental.

And at the same time as provider overhead was rising, there was a movement in the US to reduce health care costs to insurance companies, and HMOs ( Health Maintenance Organizations ) set the prices for various services by putting an upper limit on the amount that their doctors and dentists could charge for various procedures.

But Dr. Beckett had decided not to become an HMO provider because the reimbursement rate was only 80-85% of what she normally charged for treatment. She felt that she could not provide high quality care to patients at these rates.

Redesigning the service delivery system….. The design of Dr.Beckett’s new office was…1. The waiting room and reception area were filled with

modern furniture in muted shades of brown, grey, green and purple.

2. Live plants and flowers3. The walls were covered with art.4. Classical music played softly in the background.5. Large collection of current magazines while waiting

for their appointment.6. There was a small conference room with toys for

children and a VCR that was used to show patients educational films about different dental procedures.

P- People ( Service mix element ) Dr. Beckett valued her friendships with

staff members and also understood that they were a vital part of the service delivery.

“90% of patients’ perceptions of quality comes from their interactions with the front desk and the other employees and not from the staff’s technical skills”.

Two important concepts…1. Employee Participation, as Dr. Beckett and

her staff met briefly each morning to discuss the day’s schedule and patients. They also had longer meeting every other week to discuss more strategic issues and resolve any problems that might have developed. During these meetings, employees made suggestions about how to improve patient care.

2. Staff members would substitute for each other when necessary or help with tasks that were not specifically in their job descriptions in order to make things run more smoothly as Cross training is given to the employees.

Marketing Strategy….. As the main patients were mostly white

collar workers with professional jobs such as university employees, health care workers and managers etc…she did no advertising, but she believed in positive word of mouth by patients.

All of her new business came from positive word of mouth from current patients.

Q. Which elements of the services marketing mix are addressed in this case?

Physical Evidence (Waiting room, Reception area, modern furniture,

walls covered with art, live plants & flowers )

People - seven members of staff

- staff members are having opportunity of attending classes and workshops to upgrade their skills.

- She also motivating her staff members by providing them with bonuses and incentives on performance improvement

- She also shared financial data with her staff - The whole staff went on trips together once a

year and spouses were also invited to participate but on their own expenses.

Promotion (Dr. Beckett only believes in positive

words of mouth, so she did no advertising )

Price (As Dr. Beckett believes in the quality,

she has continued with her services even if there was a movement in US about reduction in health care cost.)

Q. Why do people dislike going to the dentist? Do you feel Dr. Beckett has addressed this problem effectively?

Higher Fees charged by dentist.

Yes, Dr. Beckett addressed this problem effectively, Because her top priority was differentiating the practice on the basis of quality.

She has decided not to become an HMO provider, because she felt that she could not provide high-quality care to patients at these rates.

Q. How do Dr. Beckett and her staff educate patients about the service they are receiving? What else they could do ?

There was a VCR system used to show patients educational films about different dental procedures.

And all new patients were required to have an initial exam so that Dr. Beckett could do a needs assessment and educate them about her services.

Q. What supplementary services are offered? How do they enhanced service delivery?

A “Goodie Box” for patients including toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash and floss, buckwheat pillows and blankets for patient comfort during long procedures.

Coffee and tea in the waiting area

A photo album in the waiting area with pictures of staff and their families.

They enhanced service delivery by, redesigning the service delivery system…….

1. The waiting room and reception area were filled with modern furniture in muted shades of brown, grey, green and purple.

2. Live plants and flowers3. The walls were covered with art.4. Classical music played softly in the background.5. Large collection of current magazines while

waiting for their appointment.6. There was a small conference room with toys for

children and a VCR that was used to show patients educational films about different dental procedures.

THANK YOU