No doubt, Covid-19 has taken all of us by surprise. It is amazing how this health issue that was first detected in China in December 2019 has taken the world under its ugly arms and created havoc on our everyday life, disrupting our normal routines, our family lives and of course our business lives.
Late in this week, I have received a number of calls/e-mails about how I can prepare my business to sustain this outbreak, and what precautions I should be implementing now in order to “weather the storm”. Part of the challenge is we simply do not know how long this may last. We need to start preparing now for how this Covid-19 is impacting our patients, clients, customers, and of course our employees. Here are some tips for you to consider:
Patient Office Protocol – It may make sense when confirming future patient appointments for you to have a team member designated to call the patient and ask the very pertinent questions. Have you been out of the United States recently? If so, when? If so, where? Have you been experiencing a fever recently? What other health issues you have been experiencing recently that we should have knowledge of?
Banking – Each of you should have a line of credit. A line of credit (LOC) is designated by your banker to be used in difficult financial times. Now is the time to make sure your LOC is in place. If you don’t have a LOC, please call or email me, and I will help you secure a LOC.
Investments – Please be certain to meet with your Investment Adviser. Before the Covid-19 pandemic became an issue, the capital markets were performing amazingly well. I am hoping we can return to this normalcy soon!
Employees – Here are some of the questions and comments we are receiving from clients:
“Any idea what the Maryland law is regarding if we have to pay our employees if we have to close the office. We are not nearly as busy as normal! New patient numbers so far down and patients saying they are sick and canceling. Can our employees collect unemployment if needed? Can I cut hours if I need to? We still have a decent week, just worried for the next month.” “I was wondering if you might have, or could get, a consensus on how other dentists are handling this virus crisis? Closing, reduced hours, screening patients, paying staff, sick leave, lay-offs, temporary furloughs, etc, etc? Anything you know would be helpful.”
These are certainly excellent questions on everyone’s mind. As many of you know, I am the President of the Academy of Dental CPAs. At the ADCPA, we have established amazing professional relationships with the Thought Leaders in Dentistry. One of those Thought Leaders is Tim Twigg, President, and Owner of Bent Ericksen & Assoc. Below is a hyperlink to Tim’s website, that will answer all of your questions regarding your employees.
If by chance you do not get your question answered, please call or email Tim at 541-685-9003 timtwigg@msn.com
Let’s all pray this situation comes to an end real soon and we can return to normalcy!
