Measuring the overall performance of a dental practice involves the use of certain metrics, some of the most recognized of which include production (or revenue), net income (or profits), and overheads (or expenses). But there are other metrics that are less well-known and which can provide extremely useful insights and information, that are often overlooked due to the level of difficulty involved with tracking them.
One such important metric used by dental accounting firms, is the loss of active patients, something which can impact the financial success of a dental practice significantly, and result in huge losses in revenue.
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of the main reasons why dental practices sometimes lose as many as 15% of their patients every year:
- Fees that are too high or poorly explained
Dental practice fees generally come in two categories: patients who have insurance, and patients who don’t.
For those patients who don’t have insurance, or for whom their insurance isn’t fully accepted by the practice, are often known as ‘fee-for-service’ patients. The amount listed in the fee schedule is what they pay in full, and around 11% of all U.S. dental practices operate on this basis.
For patients who have an accepted insurance plan, they pay what is referred to as a ‘copayment,’ an amount that is significantly lower than the full fee charged by the practice. Despite these patients paying less than the full advertised amount, some are still not happy with what they owe. A lack of full disclosure when explaining fees, or fees that seem unreasonable, can cause patients to seek treatment at a practice with fees that are lower.
- Dental insurance
Firstly, for those practices that don’t accept certain insurance plans, it may be that some patients choose not to visit them, and instead find a practice that does accept their insurance. Secondly, should a practice stop accepting a certain insurance plan without taking an appropriate approach, it will almost certainly lose a significant number of its patients, leading to guaranteed challenges financially.
- Patient scheduling delays
If a dental practices’ schedule isn’t able to accommodate emergency situations, or the staff on the front desk aren’t able to adequately handle emergencies, patients may choose other practices. And when they do so, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever come back.
Being able to effectively manage emergency cases is a great way of enhancing patient retention.
- Inadequate handling of patient debts
Often, when a patient owes money to a dental practice, they refrain from going back to address the issue. However, failure to deal with this particular problem can lead to significant financial consequences for practices.
One way in which practices can better manage patient debt is to follow what is commonly referred to as the ‘one day rule.’ This states that patients who owe money to a practice, must be called a day before the bill is due to be paid, and it’s important that staff make time to carry out these calls.
If patient losses are a cause of financial concern for your dental practice, working with experienced dental accountants can help you identify the main areas of concern, and address and resolve them both swiftly, and effectively. Even being able to retain half of the patients who leave can improve revenue for a practice, as well as the doctor’s income. It’s also worth noting that the kind of strategies designed to focus on patient retention, can also help make a practice operate more efficiently, and contribute to its success overall.