The PPD Style Award is a one-off prize to be presented at the end of this year to the country's best-looking practice. Following the PPD ethos of strong design and immaculate presentation, we're inviting the best-looking practices in the UK to our panel of judges. Entries will be judged on design and style, focussing on presenting a premium environment to the patient. Judges will be looking for a identity and style that holds together from the practice exterior, to the reception and waiting area right through to the surgery.
Click Here to Submit Your Practice Online
With thanks to our sponsors
The competition
The competition is open to entries until 1 October, with the shortlisted practices revealed in the November issue of PPD. The winner will be revealed and featured in more depth in the December issue. Selected competition entries will be featured in PPD between now and the closing date.
The design of the award will be revealed in a future issue, but the winning practice will be able to feature the winner’s logo on its practice literature, as well as proudly displaying the award at the practice.
PPD is very grateful for the support of the award sponsors: Software of Excellence EXACT v11, Dental Insurance Services, Performance Finance. Read more about their services on the opposite page.
How to enter
Entries should consist of a maximum of six pictures, which must show at a minimum the practice exterior, reception/waiting area and surgery. The pictures should be accompanied by a brief account of the design process, explaining design choices made and products used.
Entries can be via email to [email protected] with the subject ‘Style Award’ or via a file-sharing service such as Dropbox (www.dropbox.com – free, account required) or YouSendIt (www.yousendit.com – free, account required).
Entry is open to any dental practice in England, Wales, Scotland and surrounding islands (not N Ireland or EIRE). The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Closing date for entries is 1 October 2013.
Click Here to Submit Your Practice Online
The judges
Andy Myall Managing editor of PPD
Rahul Doshi Clinical editor of PPD – Principal of The Perfect Smile Studios and Institutes
More about our sponsors
Software of Excellence
Software of Excellence is delighted to support the Style Awards.
Having access to an effective practice management system is fundamental when running an efficient and stylish practice and new EXACT V11 incorporates a host of innovative features designed to help your practice run seamlessly. Based on data and feedback gathered from working closely with hundreds of dental practices, EXACT V11 brings together best practice processes and Software of Excellence’s industry knowledge, creating a practice management application that provides an answer to today’s most pressing business growth and administrative issues faced by dentists. Upgrades to many features as well as additional modules make full use of the latest technology, providing intuitive processes that make a significant difference to day-to-day operational efficiency.
New Workflow Manager has been devised to automatically ensure that key aspects of patient data are complete and appointments, where possible, are booked before the patient leaves the practice. When a clinician finishes treatment, Workflow Manager automatically prompts them to indicate an appointment interval. This information is transferred to the front desk terminal and is available by the time the patient reaches reception. This automatic process makes it simple for front desk staff to follow the clinician’s instructions and, based on professional recommendation, encourages patients to book their next appointment. EXACT V11 also automatically alerts reception staff to other aspects of the patient file that are relevant – as outstanding debt, incomplete or out-dated medical history, dental plan membership, even the patient’s birthday.
Recall Manager II automates each recall process, automatically capturing more information and improving the workflow inside the practice. A new colour-coded graph acts as an effective call- to-action, facilitating a dramatic increase in recall effectiveness. Using this technology practices can achieve in excess of 85% of recalls resulting in booked appointments.
On-line booking is an effective tool for attracting new patients and providing existing patients with a convenient and effective way of booking appointments without the constraints of practice opening hours. A visible web button placed on the practice’s website acts as a clear 'call to action' and is yet another way of positioning your practice as one that embraces new technology and is ready to meet the changing demands of patients.
Utilisation Manager enables receptionists to fully utilise available chair-time – a vital element in achieving the levels of efficiency that are an indication of a well-run, stylish practice. EXACT V11 automatically recognises when an appointment is booked a defined number of days in the future and then prompts the receptionist to ask whether the patient would like an earlier appointment should a gap arise – the answer is affirmative, the software automatically places the patient on a short-notice list. This list also includes patients who recently failed to attend or cancelled but didn’t rebook. The software will suggest a list of names ideally suited to fill a gap, with options to call or text patients, minimising the time necessary to complete these processes and maximising the amount of chair-time used.
The integration of each of these innovative new features makes EXACT V11 the perfect complement for practices in which style and efficiency go hand in hand.
0845 345 5767
www.soeidental.com
Dental Insurance Services
Dental Insurance Services provides independent financial advice and insurance broking services, and is one of a number of trading names dealing with professional occupational groups via our parent company R J Hurst & Partners Ltd. They were all brought under the umbrella of the Hurst Group in 2009; however, Dental Insurance Services specifically advises members of the dental profession.
On the financial advice side, our knowledge of the NHS Pension Scheme enables us to provide specific help for dentists around their all important pension planning. In addition our advisers will provide advice and solutions for investments, inheritance tax planning, life assurance, income protection and more. All geared to working towards achieving your financial objectives and protecting your wealth and dependents.
In terms of meeting the insurance requirements of dentists and their practices, we have access to a range of policies to provide the protection you require. For example, our flagship product and market leading Dentist Overheads Expense Insurance Scheme, which provides benefit to meet the ongoing expenses of your practice in the event of your incapacity due to illness or injury. This scheme has been providing valuable cover to dentists since we designed the product over 30 years ago. In that time it has provided insurance and peace of mind for thousands of dentists. We continuously evolve it to ensure our clients can be assured of the quality of the cover it provides – we now have two distinct policies, Platinum Plus which provides cover through to age 70 regardless of any changes in health, and Platinum which offers annually renewable cover. Both provide flexible and comprehensive insurance to suit all practice circumstances and budgets.
Additionally, we can source comprehensive and competitive surgery insurance to protect the practice and your contents, along with the required liability covers; in fact, we can help you with the full range of personal or business insurances you would need.
We are delighted to be a sponsor of the PPD Style Award 2013 and would like to wish all entrants the very best of luck!
01245 265 541
www.dentist-overheads-insurance.co.uk
Performance Finance
Performance Finance is an independent finance company specialising in dentistry. We offer superb value financial products that blend cashflow and tax relief to benefit you and your business. Performance Finance is truly independent and currently has access to 17 funders that include the provision of our own funds. By offering products from a wide variety of lenders, our dental professional clients can benefit from competitive low rates, a greater ability to secure the level of funding required for the project and a flexible approach.
We only work with healthcare professionals, so the real issues affecting your business and marketplace are understood, including CQC, HTM01-05, D1 etc. In addition, we are a member of, and operate under the code of conduct of, the NACFB so you can rely on the advice we offer.
Refurbishment projects and practice makeovers tend to be a mixture of the tangible; equipment, glass partitions, signage, reception counters etc and the intangible; build, labour, design etc. Therefore by offering lease/hire purchase facilities for the tangible elements and unsecured loans for the soft costs we can piece together a low-cost financial solution that maximises the available tax breaks.
Financing over 3-7 years will not only take the sting out of the cost of the project, but allow you to realise an immediate transformation and see a return from day one. Additionally, there has been a significant improvement to tax allowances with the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) increasing to £250,000 from 1 January 2013 (for two years only), so you can currently enjoy a significantly lower tax liability.
Performance Finance can help you achieve the perfect practice style by offering facilities that are; unsecured, extremely competitive and are tailored to suit your individual needs. Combine this with our unparalleled access to lenders and we can ensure funds are available even when other lines of credit may become exhausted. We take pride in funding ambitious projects and bringing them to life.
Realising your business dreams by creating your perfect premium practice is as wonderful journey and Performance Finance are skilled in making this a reality.
With the UK’s lowest ever interest rates and best ever AIA, there’s never been a better time.
01536 529696
