title: Efficiency improvement of dentistry clinics: introducing an intervening package for dentistry clinics, isfahan, iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In Isfahan, the second metropolitan in Iran, there are 1448 dentistry treatment centers that most of them are inefficient. Today, efficiency is the most important issue in health care centers as well as dentistry clinics. The goal of this research is to investigate the affordability and efficiency of dentistry clinics in Isfahan province, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current work is a quantitative research, designed in three methodological steps, including two surveys and experimental studies, for understanding current deficiencies of Iranian dentistry clinics. First, we ran a survey. Then, we analyzed the results of the questionnaires which guided us to find a particular intervening package to improve the efficiency of the clinics. At the second step, we chose an inefficient clinic named Mohtasham (Iran, Isfahan) to evaluate our intervening package.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on what the interviewees answered, we mention the most important issues to be considered for improving the efficiency of dental clinics in Isfahan. By considering mentioned problematic issues, an intervening package was designed. This intervening package was applied in Mohtasham clinic, since June 2010. It improved the clinic's income from 16328 US$ with 4125 clients in 2010, to 420,000 US$ with 14784 patients in 2012.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed intervening package changed this clinic to an efficient and economic one. Its income increased 5.08 times and its patient's numbers grew 4.01 times simultaneously. In other words, Mohtasham's experience demonstrates the reliability of the package and its potentiality to be applied in macro level to improve other dentistry clinics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences and Health, Engineering Research Institution of Natural Disaster Management, Shakhes Pajouh, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alaghemandan
authors.affiliation: Health Management and Economic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yarmohammadian
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Management, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Elahe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Khorasani
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Studies, Iranian Institute for Social and Cultural Studies, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rezaee
keywords: Advertising; dentistry clinic; efficiency improvement intervention