Increase Collections Without Spending Money
By Megan Urban, Transition Specialist
After working with hundreds of dentists for many years, we want to share the top 5 areas of missed production/collection. With small changes to your everyday routines, you can increase collections to put towards new equipment and technology, as well as savings and retirement.
1. Patient Retention
Everyone worries about current new patient flow, but what about all the new patients you have seen? If you have 1,500 active patients, you should complete at least 2,550 codes 1110, 1120, and 4910. On average, we see at least $30,000 per year in missed collections in hygiene (patient retention) and that doesn’t include collections from potential treatment diagnosed in hygiene. Small changes to your hygiene program can help you capture more of this missed production.
2. Referrals
Most dentists report they ask for referrals, but do you really? Most dentists state they talk about it at team meetings or huddles, but who is asking and what exactly are they saying? With comfortable scripting and a plan, you can successfully ask for referrals.
3. Incomplete Treatment
How do you and your team urge your patients to complete treatment? How does your team follow up on incomplete treatment? Do you know exactly what they say when they call? We often see about $100,000 in incomplete treatment that can be scheduled by using solid scripting.
4. No-Shows and Short-Notice Cancelations
On average, we find at least $40,000 per year in missed collections due to missed appointments. It’s much higher if it’s large production cases. With proactive scripting at scheduling and confirmations, this can be reduced.
5. Accounts Receivable
At least $90,000 is the average of uncollected production. Setting solid financial arrangements from the beginning will minimize this issue, and I’m not talking about simply stating what their balance will be. Financial arrangements and collections is also customer service. Remember the old saying, “the worst fitting pair of dentures are the ones not paid for”!
Please contact me for a complimentary analysis of these items in your practice to locate areas of opportunity.
503.830.5765