PPO Negotiation Solutions

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Practice Growth

How to Successfully Acquire Dental Practices

There are several ways for dentists to establish their own dental practice as they desire to have more control of their future earnings including acquiring a dental practice. Reasons to begin a sole practice include reducing their student loan debt, having a more flexible schedule, or just working under a different set of rules, to mention just a few. Some may desire mentorship or associate-to-own opportunities until they decide their actual approach to dentistry.

Whichever way you decide to approach ownership is a decision you will have to make based on your desired finances and lifestyle. The core team most important to assist you in making this critically important step should consist of a trusted lender, attorney, accountant, and insurance broker, just to start the process. You will find once you have determined your goals for the practice, experienced professionals can educate you and keep you on track. Owning your own practice is the most rewarding way to meet your career goals.

Consider an ADA Membership

One very important resource to consider is becoming a member of the American Dental Association (ADA). Through this professional organization membership, you have access to publications that will keep you up-to-date on training programs, continuing education courses, and career centers which could be very valuable for the best chance to succeed. Access to discounted products and supplies through this network could prove to be exceptionally valuable.

If you desire for your practice to be a success, make sure to investigate the area where you want your practice to be located. Consider the number of dental practices in the surrounding area and average household income. Make sure there are enough residents in your target demographic to provide a successful amount of business for your practice.

Develop A Business Plan

In order to assure support from the lender you choose, and others who will advise you along the way, consider developing a business plan that goes along with your business objectives. As a part of your business plan, you must decide whether you will purchase, build, or rent your facility. Always allow for expansion and upgrade. You must determine your days and hours of operation and who you plan to employ and their job descriptions.  This includes compensation and benefits for these full-time or part-time staff, as well as established personnel policies.

Based upon the goals you have outlined in your business plan considering accessibility, demographics, competition, quality of the facility and equipment, you must decide how to develop a satisfied patient following that will become faithful to your practice to produce cash flow. Determine ways you will make this happen. By expanding your types of services and focusing on the details, you can provide a great patient experience.

How you engage with team members on a daily basis can determine how your staff members create the service and moments you want them to have with your patients. Some other ways to accomplish patient satisfaction to create a faithful patient base is on-going training for staff. Be involved in the community where your practice is located by sponsoring local schools and events in the area.

These are very important things to consider in order to obtain referrals for future patients. Remember other things to consider when opening your practice will be developing and marketing a brand for your practice, a customer-friendly website, and advertising in print and on social media.

In order to obtain the appropriate amount of financing from your lender, you will have to establish the amount of funds necessary to cover operating your practice and covering overhead expenses until you are up and running. Whomever you choose as your financial advisor or CPA will be critical in helping you with the appropriate amount of cash flow needed. Your lender will take all this into account in making the decision to finance your new endeavor.

Importance of a Contract

One of the most critical items to consider when beginning to work in a dental office or when acquiring a practice is to get a written contract. Verbal contracts often lead to misunderstandings. Important things to include in your contract are details of compensation all the way down to payment terms of bonuses. Make sure to include non-compete language and how to transfer ownership in the event you or a partner decide to leave the practice.

“A contract should clearly spell out every element of a practice sale – including penalties for changing the terms.” Just remember, having a written contract protects both sides to reduce future problems and loss of relationships. Contracts need to be read carefully. Your lawyer should read and review your contract and inform you of any concerns. The ADA Center for Professional Success offers an eBook, Dentist Employment Agreements: A Guide to Key Legal Provisions, should you need further advice.

Acquiring the right dental practice, however and whenever you decide is the right moment for you, is based on your experience, lifestyle, and financial position. Make sure you consider your short-term as well as your long-term goals when making this life-changing commitment. For more information regarding the when, where, and why to begin the process of preparing to open your own dental practice, visit PPO Solutions at www.pponegotiationsoltions.com.

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How to Increase Patient Volume

COVID-19 has been a major game changer for most dental practices. The examination of patient volume and the daily office schedule can help determine how to develop an updated schedule to maximize patient volume. The dental practice’s success or failure depends on the number of patients visiting it. If new patients are being added on a consistent basis, then the practice is considered growing and gaining in popularity. On the other hand, if the frequency of new patients is low, that is an indication something in the plan must not be working.

Appointment Scheduling

The most valuable thing for sale in a dental office is time spent with patients. Therefore, a scheduling policy must be designed to allow for the effective use of this time. This scheduling policy should be written and displayed where the staff has daily access to it. Periodically consider whether the policy is still relevant or needs to be updated or replaced. There are many scheduling plans that exist in dental offices. Appointments must be scheduled in such a way that patients get excellent care and chairs remain full. This should meet the production goals which need to be met on a daily basis. The dentist as well as the staff must be committed to consistently apply the principles involved for the scheduling system to work.

Some dental practices base their scheduling on time slots. The procedures being performed are based on estimated time to complete the treatment and the disinfection and preparation time needed before each procedure. Dental professionals must decide if more complex treatments are taken care of early or later in the day.

Some dentists may rather attend to children first thing in the morning. This scheduling must be coordinated between clinical and office staff to maintain the smooth flow of the office. The dental practice must decide which is the best approach to scheduling for their dental practice.

Use Accelerated Scheduling

The term “accelerated scheduling” refers to the use of multiple dental rooms in the practice. Each room must have it’s own dental assistant as the doctor moves between rooms. When the dentist is not in the room, there is a dedicated assistant to carry out the duties for which they are qualified. This system maximizes the time management and efficiency of the dental office.

Some considerations to be made along with the procedure itself are staffing, absences, equipment availability, and the proficiency of the dentist or dental assistant completing the treatment. The tolerability to certain treatments by the patient must also be figured in as part of the equation. This can be simple or complex, due to the preferences of the dentists and patients. This particular type of orchestrating scheduling may or may not be for every dental practice.

Maximize Available Chair Time

In this uncommon era of the COVID pandemic, it is of the utmost importance to manage the flow of patients, scheduling, and no-shows to utilize available chair time to its greatest capacity. The time the dental chair is not filled due to a patient missing an appointment or not being scheduled can never be recovered. Systems must be implemented to ensure patients will keep appointments. This may include patient confirmations at two weeks, two days, and two hours by text message, for example. There must also be follow-up systems for patients who missed their appointments to get them back into the office as quickly as possible. This will assure no patient slips through the cracks and off your daily production schedule.

If it is noticed that the dentist or dental assistants are continually behind and patients are experiencing longer waits in the waiting room, it may be time to invite another dental assistant or dental partner to join the dental practice team. This will prevent patients from seeking their dental services at another dental office.

Investigate the Use of Teledentistry

“Teledentistry is the use of electronic information, imaging and communication technologies, including interactive audio, video, data communications as well as store and forward technologies, to provide and support dental care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of dental information and education.”

Teledentistry is evolving to be the way to enhance care and education. One of the ways it can be delivered is through the use of live two-way video interactions between a dental provider and a patient using audio/video technology (synchronous). Patient images may be stored and forwarded by a secure electronic communication to a practitioner who can then evaluate a patient’s condition or complete a service outside of a live interaction by a system referred to as remote patient monitoring (RPM). Mobile health (mHealth) is another teledentistry method being exercised for health care or education by cell phones, tablets, or personal digital assistants (PDA).

The ADA believes that examinations performed using teledentistry can be an effective way to extend the reach of dental professionals, increasing access to care by reducing the effect of distance barriers to care. This treatment must be properly documented, as well as include a summary of services to the patient. Insurance patient reimbursement must be at the same rate as in-person care to include the teledentistry codes as appropriate.

Schedules must be prioritized as to the size of the case or patient need. Production must be maximized to keep the practice healthy and strong from a financial standpoint. Due to low patient volume in this particular era, dental practices have to reconsider how they build and manage their schedules.

Want someone to help you increase your dental practice revenue by negotiating your highest fee schedules and claiming reimbursements on your behalf? Visit PPO Negotiation Solutions to get your complementary assessment or schedule a consultation for your dental practice.

 

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