Dental practice manager handover: a usable checklist
Prepare a dental manager handover that explains urgent work, decision limits, record locations and what the covering colleague must do next.
Published by Dr Sim Raiyat
Clinical Director, Dentorb — Private General Dentist
A good practice-manager handover lets an authorised colleague continue the day without relying on your memory. Put urgent decisions first. Give each open item an owner, next step and clear location for the supporting record.
A long description of your job is less useful than a short explanation of what will need attention while you are away. Temporary cover and a permanent manager change need different depth, but both benefit from a real handover test.
Start with work that cannot wait
Use three sections: time-sensitive open work, recurring responsibilities during the absence, then reference information. For each urgent item, record the deadline and the point at which the covering colleague should escalate it.
| Item | What the covering person needs |
|---|---|
| Staffing | Affected session, unresolved decision and responsible lead |
| Tasks | Current owner, next action and due date |
| Training or compliance | Required action and restricted source record |
| Pay or finance | Cutoff, approved inputs and unresolved questions |
| Enquiries | Owner and escalation route in the approved communication system |
| Equipment | What is unavailable, who is responsible and the current decision |
Keep confidential detail in its appropriate record. A general handover can say “restricted staff matter: contact the authorised HR lead” without copying the underlying information. The ICO's records-management guidance supports controlled access and clear handling of records.
Write the next action, not just the subject
“Supplier problem” leaves the next person to investigate from scratch. A useful entry might read:
Hypothetical example: order ORD-104 is delayed. Supplier promised an update by 11:00 Friday. Covering manager to call if it has not arrived, then ask the owner to approve any alternative purchase. Supporting order record is in the approved finance system.
This says what to do, when and where authority stops. Avoid recording passwords in the handover. Arrange the right account access through the normal process and test it before your absence.
Agree decision limits explicitly
The covering manager may be able to call a supplier but not authorise a large replacement purchase. They may be able to contact possible cover but still need a clinical lead to decide how a session should run.
Use a simple distinction:
- May complete: actions within the colleague's agreed role and authority.
- Must ask: decisions needing a named owner, clinical lead or other approver.
- Must escalate promptly: concerns needing the practice's urgent process.
List the contact route and fallback if the usual approver is unavailable. The rota rules guide helps make staffing approval responsibilities clear before the handover.
Check one realistic exception
Hypothetical Friday cover: an afternoon session has unconfirmed nursing cover, a delivery is late and two overtime entries await approval. The covering person can chase the delivery. They refer the session decision to the responsible leads. The pay handover stays incomplete until the designated approver resolves the overtime entries.
Do not combine those into a single “all urgent” message. Different owners and decisions are the information that makes the handover useful. For pay inputs, the payroll handover guide provides a separate checking process.
Ask the colleague to show you the handover works
Before you leave, ask them to:
- Find the current rota and one supporting record.
- Explain the next action on an open item.
- Identify a decision they cannot make alone.
- Find the appropriate escalation contact.
Fix missing access or unclear instructions while you are still available. Sending a document is not the same as completing the handover.
At the end of cover, record what changed and return remaining actions to their usual owners. For a permanent departure, also review access, supplier contacts and records owned by the departing person. If new systems are involved, use the software onboarding checklist alongside the role handover.
Dentorb's tasks area is relevant to named actions and deadlines; My Portal is relevant to the individual's view. Ask the product team to show what the covering role can actually see and do. Aim for one current working record rather than a second list that drifts out of date.
The final check: could the covering colleague handle the first difficult item without asking you to reconstruct its history?
