Quick Stats

"I was focused on doing the best work and how the place felt. I didn't realize I could build this side of the business or how many people would even want it." - Doc

Challenge

A North Austin General Practice doctor wanted to get a valuation expectation prior to engaging a broker or placing their office on the market. The office is a high-end specialty practice that operates as an Out-Of-Network office entirely. Dental Practice Connect delivered their valuation but the owner was distraught due to the mid-range calculation. DPC worked with the owner to identify gaps in their hygiene strategy, develop strategies to address them, and ultimately increase practice revenues before sale.

DPC Solution

DPC started like it always does, with the data. We pulled the financial and operational data straight from their Open Dental practice management system. The PMS had all the information we needed. The data showed exactly what the owner had been struggling with. He had an amazing system for showing his value, bringing people in the door, and delivering great dentistry. He did not, however, have a great way to keep his patients.

The doctors new patient numbers averaged 30-50 new patients a month with an average visit production of over $500. This is amazing for a Fee For Service (FFS) office! On the other hand, the office had been stuck at around 1200 active patients for nearly 2 years and the Hygiene department only accounted for less than 10% of revenues. This issue became bigger because, due to the ongoing staffing issues for Hygienists, the only provider was on staff full time but the chair itself was only being used about 50%.

So how do we fix it?

Insights and Actions

Pulling the data showed that there were a few different areas of focus that the practice needed to find a solution for. During a post valuation call with the doctor, these three KPIs and improvement strategies were discussed in detail

• Hygiene Re-Appointment Rate

  • What is it?
    • The percentage of patients who book a new hygiene appointment immediately after completing their current one.
  • Why does it matter?
    • It's the top indicator of patient growth.
    • A higher re-appointment rate is correlated with increased revenue over the next 6 months.
  • How do we improve it?
    • Train hygienists to schedule the next appointment in the operatory before sending patients to the front desk.
    • Use recall campaigns and reminder tools to re-engage patients and encourage return visits.
• Periodontal Treatment Percentage
  • What is it?
    • The percentage of patients who are enrolled in a periodontal care protocol.
  • Why does it matter?
    • If the percentage of patients receiving periodontal treatment is significantly lower than the general population average, it may indicate underdiagnosis or poor clinical protocols.
  • How do we improve it?
    • Make sure comprehensive periodontal probing is completed during the first appointment.
    • Establish and enforce proper coding and diagnostic standards.
• Assignment Acceptance
  • What is it?
    • When an Out-Of-Network provider chooses to accept the assignment of benefits from a patient's insurance company, allowing payments to go directly to the provider.
  • Why does it matter?
    • It gives the practice flexibility to offer patients a financial incentive to book higher-quality services without compromising the practice’s fee structure.
  • How do we implement it?
    • The front office should contact insurance providers to confirm whether out-of-network payments are allowed and what clinical requirements must be met to receive them.
    • The provider can selectively accept assignment of benefits—typically for hygiene procedures—to increase hygiene retention, while continuing to bill at their standard rates.

Results

The practice slowly instituted these insights over the course of a three month period. DPC's software comes inbuilt with a 1 year measurement period where valuation and KPIs are tracked. The practice utilized the operational dashboards to track their progress.

During the first month the practice instituted the behavioral change of simply asking patients to rebook in the operatory, and again at the front desk before checkout. The change led to the first increase. During month 3, the office started to slowly introduce the acceptance of assignment, which led to a corresponding increase in chair utilization and patient pre-appointment. Last, after setting standards of care with the hygienist, the doctor implemented a perio protocol for identifying and treating periodontal patients. Each of these individually would have impacted the office positively, but the combined effect resulted in a major improvement of office performance.

• DPC helped a North Austin general practice add $240,000 to EBITDA

  and $1.560M in Practice Value in 15 months

• The GP Practice increased average Hygiene appointment revenue by

  153%