Team Management at a HOF Clinic: Roles and Routine

At an orofacial harmonization (HOF) clinic, a full schedule does not guarantee smooth operation. Patients notice when the front desk cannot answer, when the room is not ready, when the quote differs from what was agreed. Almost always the problem is not a lack of effort but a lack of clear roles, a written routine and follow-up. A well-organized team protects the patient, the professional and the cash flow.

This guide proposes a simple structure: who does what, a daily routine with checklists, a weekly meeting, training for new hires and a few indicators. The examples are hypothetical. The duties of each professional category are defined by professional council rules, not by this text: check with the council and the technical lead before assigning roles (see technical lead of the HOF clinic).

Who does what at the clinic?

A small clinic usually has a few people covering several roles. Even so, it is worth separating responsibilities, even if the same person handles more than one:

How do you write each role's description?

A one-page job description is enough and prevents two common situations: the task nobody does and the task everybody does. Include:

1. The purpose of the role in one sentence.
2. Daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
3. Decisions the person can make alone and those that need approval.
4. Who they report to.
5. What they never do (ethical and legal limits).
6. How they are evaluated, with no more than three indicators.

Hypothetical example for the front desk: "Make sure the patient is well received, the schedule is confirmed and payment is recorded. Decides rescheduling on their own within the clinic's rules; consults the professional on any clinical question. Never gives advice or timelines for a procedure without the professional. Evaluated on confirmation rate, no-shows and response time."

What does the daily routine look like?

The clinic works best when the day has a standardized beginning, middle and end. The checklists below are a starting point for you to adapt.

Opening

• Turn on equipment, check the refrigeration temperature of products that require it.
• Review the day's schedule and who needs attention (first consultation, follow-up, long procedure).
• Confirm that rooms and kits are ready. See the procedure room checklist.
• Check the emergency kit and the availability of hyaluronidase, in the case of hyaluronic acid.
• Review the previous day's pending items (follow-ups, payments, messages).

During patient care

• Receive the patient on time, check their registration and medical history. See the medical history form template.
• Make sure consent forms are signed and documented before the procedure.
• Record product, lot and area in the patient record. See lot registration and traceability.
• Give post-procedure instructions in writing.
• Schedule the follow-up before the patient leaves.

Closing

• Check the day's payments and the entries in the finance records.
• Record inventory used and check upcoming expiration dates. See injectables inventory at the HOF clinic.
• Confirm the next day's schedule.
• Dispose of waste according to the clinic's plan. See PGRSS at the HOF clinic (Brazil's health care waste management plan).
• Note incidents and points for improvement.

How do you run the weekly meeting?

Fifteen to thirty minutes, at the same time, with a fixed agenda, has more effect than a long, rare meeting:

Record three decisions per meeting, with an owner and a deadline. If the meeting turns into a list of complaints, it loses its purpose.

How do you train new hires?

Onboarding training, when it exists, is often just "watch how I do it." A minimal structure:

1. First week: get to know the clinic, its values, the routines manual, the consent forms and the privacy policy.
2. Shadowing: observe and then perform under supervision, with a designated person in charge.
3. Simulations: practice phone calls, replies to direct messages and welcoming patients. See the WhatsApp scripts and patient objections and responses.
4. Safety check: biosafety, emergencies and confidentiality, before any independent patient care.
5. Review at 30, 60 and 90 days, with a frank conversation.

Training is also updating: when a routine changes, the team is retrained and the manual is updated.

Confidentiality and LGPD: care that applies to everyone

The whole team handles health data and images. A few simple rules, which should be part of training and of the contract:

• Confidentiality about patients, inside and outside the clinic, including on social media.
• Patient photos only on the clinic's device and account, with consent. See consent and LGPD for photos.
• Conversations on clinic channels, not on personal accounts.
• Access by role: not everyone needs to see every patient record.
• Offboarding procedure: revoke access and collect devices.
• Knowledge of the LGPD (Brazil's data protection law) and of what to do in case of a leak.

Which indicators should you track?

A few, simple and tied to the roles:

More examples in HOF clinic indicators.

How do you handle pay, targets and commissions?

Targets and commissions motivate, but in health care they require care: a poorly designed incentive can encourage selling procedures that are not indicated. A few principles:

• Team and quality targets, in addition to revenue targets.
• No commission tied to clinical recommendations. The professional recommends the procedure, after assessment.
• Written, transparent rules, with legal review under labor law.
• Non-financial recognition: feedback, autonomy, development.

Labor and tax rules should be handled with an accountant and a lawyer.

How do you handle conflict and mistakes within the team?

• Fix the process, not just the person: ask why the mistake happened and how to prevent it.
• Individual, private feedback, with the fact, the impact and an agreement.
• Record relevant incidents and the actions taken.
• When a mistake involves a patient, the priority is care and transparency. See dissatisfied patient: how to handle it.

How Harmy fits into the team's routine

The app is a tool for the professional during the consultation. It keeps a history for each patient, searchable by name, and lets you present the projection on a slider and generate the PDF quote with the clinic's name and logo. For the team, it helps standardize how the plan is presented and keep a record of each session. Each projection costs R$ 3.99, with no monthly fee.

Team management checklist

• Does each role have a written description, with limits?
• Were the duties checked with the professional council and the technical lead?
• Are there opening, patient care and closing checklists?
• Is there a short weekly meeting, with decisions recorded?
• Do new hires get training and a review at 30, 60 and 90 days?
• Are confidentiality and LGPD part of the contract and training?
• Are the indicators few and known to everyone?
• Do targets and commissions avoid encouraging recommendations without clinical assessment?

A well-organized team does not depend on exceptional people, it depends on a clear process. With defined roles, a written routine and simple follow-up, the clinic delivers the same care on any day, with any member of the team, and the professional can focus on what only they can do.