Preparing Your Dental Office Before a Leave Of Absence

There’s a good chance that you’ll need to take a leave of absence at some point during your dental care. Whether it’s for a medical problem, a family emergency, or maternity leave, you may need to leave the office and make arrangements for your staff and patients in the meantime. A leave of absence can be stressful, so it’s important to have a plan in place in order to avoid the extra stress.

Dental Leave of Absence Checklist

Below are a few things to consider before you take a leave of absence from your dental practice:

• First, the most important thing that you need to do is line up a dentist to take over your office while you’re gone. It’s common for dentists to have agreements with their colleagues to cover for each other in the event of an emergency, a leave of absence, or anything else that could cause you to leave your office for a while. Check with any retired dentists that you know or simply put out an ad.
• Next, you’ll need to contact your participating PPO plans in order to found out whether the dentist covering for you needs credentialing. Because credentialing can take up to 4-6 weeks, this is one that you’ll want to make sure is done quickly. You can have your staff stay on top of this one.
• Third, contact your CPA in order to get help determining the appropriate pay for the dentist who will be covering for you. It’s a good idea to make these terms clear beforehand in order to avoid conflict with the other dentist. Additionally, draft an agreement to help you protect yourself during the period of coverage.
• Lastly, pick a trusted member of your staff to contact you regularly during your absence and keep you updated on things going on in the office. Let the staff and covering dentist know who your contact will be so that they know to communicate regularly.

As long as you take the proper steps beforehand, taking a leave of absence from your dental office doesn’t have to be a scary or stressful time. For information on successfully marketing your dental practice or if you need help preparing for a leave of absence, please contact Pro Dental Designs.