Preparing Your Dental Office For Your Leave Of Absence

There may come a time in your dental career when you need to take a leave of absence. Trying to make arrangements in this situation can be stressful for a dentist, so it’s important to think ahead and have a plan in place.

Leave Of Absence Checklist

• The most important thing you need to line up is a dentist to cover your practice for you. Oftentimes dentists will have agreements with colleagues to cover for one another in the event of a leave of absence for whatever reason. Check with retired dentists, dentists you may know from a dental society, or simply put an ad out.
• If you’re participating in PPO plans, make sure your team contacts the insurance companies and find out whether the dentist who will be covering for you needs credentialing. This is an important one to stay on top of, as the credentialing process can take up to 6 weeks.
• Contact your CPA and get help determining the appropriate compensation for the covering dentist. It’s smart and safe to make these terms clear to the covering dentist from the very beginning in order to avoid conflict. It’s also a smart idea to have an agreement drafted to help you protect your interests during the period of coverage.
• Lastly, appoint a member of your staff to keep you updated on any important matters during the time you’re gone. Meet with the staff and the associate dentist and make sure they know to communicate with the go-to person if necessary.

Taking a leave of absence doesn’t need to be a hard, stressful time, as long as you take the right steps beforehand. For more tips on running a successful dental practice, or for any information on practice transitions, please contact CTC National today! Our job is to help keep you and your office stress-free!