What does Frank Sinatra have to do with your practice? Follow his lead and you may see your case acceptance numbers rise dramatically. Using the Sinatra Principle, Ken Runkle presents 4 Proven Steps to increasing case acceptance that will have more patients saying “Yes!” right away.

Read the entire article.

Listen to the companion audio portion at The Paragon Podcast.

It’s all about the apps.

Fact: In only nine months, iPod app downloads topped one billion.

What is an app?

App is short for application. A website app is a downloadable version of a website that’s completely user friendly on a cell phone that has Internet capability.

Dr. Lance Timmerman of Seattle has a custom website with TNT Dental. The website features email contact forms, a blog by Dr. Timmerman, video introductions by the dentist, a before-and-after gallery, and many other cutting-edge features that promote conversion – turning web visitors into active patients.

Always on top of state-of-the-art marketing trends, Dr. Timmerman now has a practice website application from TNT.mobile.

Check it out:

Want a TNT.mobile app of your own?

It’s simple. Just call TNT Dental at 877-868-4932 for details. TNT Dental is your Internet marketing partner, and the folks there are anxious to take your practice to the next level!

Video testimonials seem real.

In the post “Why Testimonials Do (and Don’t) Work,” Holly Buchanan of Future Now tells us that testimonials hurt your marketing strategy if people don’t think they’re real.

How’s this for “real?” Dr. Harry Chambers of Oregon, a Gresham dentist, has a great example of video testimonials on his website by TNT Dental. The videos depict his real patients in his real practice telling their real stories.

Video testimonials can answer the right questions.

At www.yesmediaworks.com, The Video Marketing Blog tells us that the best video testimonials are case studies, which, in a causal form, is the style Dr. Chambers instituted on his Gresham dentistry website. The patients in his testimonials answered key questions that the viewer (the potential patient) wanted answered. Like, for instance, What problems did Dr. Chambers’ patient have with his or her mouth? What were the obstacles that kept him or her from solving the problems? How did Dr. Chambers address and correct the problem? Was the patient satisfied?

Video testimonials show and tell.

In your college writing courses, you probably heard “show, don’t tell.” Want better advice? Do both. Video testimonials tell the whole story – right from the patient’s mouth. A viewer feels like he’s sitting in your office, chatting it up with one of your very pleased patients. He feels a connection to the person on his computer screen and, according to studies, over 70% of the time, people believe online reviews or testimonials about services and products.

Let’s look at Dr. Chambers’ videos again. The featured patients are your average American folks who needed a dentist in Gresham, Oregon to solve their problems. They aren’t rich. They aren’t famous… and neither are your patients. Video testimonials seem friendly and genuine – because they are.

So how can you get video testimonials?

You have a few options here. First, you can record the videos yourself, or train someone on your staff to do it for you. Dr. Larry Emmott offers great tips on his blog here.

If you don’t want to hassle with buying equipment, you could use a service, like VSling by Smile Reminder.

And if you really don’t want ANY hassle, hire a videographer and have an after-hours party – a wine tasting or hors d’oeuvres event – during the video shoot. Invite your favorite patients as honorees and enjoy yourself while someone else shoots the video. Simply have your videographer clean up the videos and send them to your web company for inclusion on your site. It can be that simple.

If your practice is not doubling every ten years, you may have missed opportunities along the way.  How much have missed opportunities cost you?  Where would your practice be today if you had seized a few more opportunities over the last few years? Ken Runkle has uncovered 5 Rules related to the high cost of missed opportunities.  Learn them now and empower your practice to take advantage of opportunities for substantial growth today.

Download the pdf here:

MissedOpportunities

Visit the Paragon Blog!

“Every team works best when the members of the team have clearly defined and understood roles. Some do one thing, others do another. One isn’t better or more important than the other, just different. When teams operate out of their strengths and in their roles, they win”.  These are the words of famous American motivational coach, Chris Widener.  And they are never truer than in the business of dentistry.

We are all very aware of the economic downturn we are facing today and likely feeling the effect in our own businesses.  Many practices are reporting a higher than usual cancellation rate and a plummeting case acceptance rate.  What can we do to combat this trend?

Do we lower our fees?  Do we cut back on our quality? Those two go hand in hand.  Most dental practices have devoted much time and thought into establishing a fee schedule to enable them to deliver only the best quality of care.  So you cannot sacrifice one without the other.  So, this certainly cannot be the answer!

Do we cut back on staff? Possibly part of the answer does lie within the realm of employee compensation, but let’s not be too quick to judge.  What is our number one, greatest asset?  The answer is people!  So, let’s examine this aspect of our organization a little more.  Here are some of the ways we can increase effectiveness and thereby enhance overall practice success through better utilization and management of our employees:

• Honestly and objectively assess each job description, to see if changes can be made to increase employee efficiency and effectiveness.
• Evaluate practice systems to determine if changes need to be made to eliminate redundancy or unnecessary busy work which drains productivity and decreases efficiency.
• Evaluate each team member’s current effectiveness in their given role, and do not hesitate to re-structure positions to emphasize strengths of current team members to increase overall practice productivity.
• Periodically conduct employee performance evaluations, keeping them brief and to the point.
• Communicate corrective feedback clearly and concisely.
• Do not apologize or accept excuses for unsatisfactory performance.
• Set exact parameters and monitor results.
• Offer continuing education to continually improve employee’s knowledge and skills to empower them to produce the desired results.
• “Don’t send your ducks to eagle school.  Good people are found, not changed.  They can change themselves, but you cannot change them.  Hire motivated people. Don’t hire people and try to motivate them.  It won’t work.” ……Jim Rohn (motivational coach)

Do we become more lenient in extending credit? I would venture to say that would be financial suicide given the climbing rate of unemployment, not to mention the other aspects of our failing economy.  Recently I had the opportunity to witness a scenario in which a patient who was in for their recall appointment was refusing to have x-rays taken.  Automatically, the first words out of the hygienist’s mouth were “If you can make payments would you then be able to have the x-rays taken?”  Not once did she stop to explain to that patient why the x-rays were needed.  She just assumed it was the money.  Money is the most common smoke screen used by patients.  Frequently it is not even about the money.  Usually it is a lack of value.  Patients have to understand the benefits of services before they want to pay for them.  Wouldn’t you?

Remember these words:  “No” doesn’t always mean no.  Sometimes it means “know”.  We need to provide more information to create the value for the services we are offering.  Only then will patients accept our recommendations.

Remember we must be more than “order takers”.  We must really be with our patients.  We must listen to them, and really hear what they are saying.  Before we make a recommendation, we must be sure they understand the benefit to them.  We also have to perfect our verbal skills to ensure we are communicating in a way that will produce our desired result and positively impact practice success.

Bottom line: Get back to basics.  Common sense will never fail you!

Written by Elaine Dickson,
Insurance Specialist & Instructor
© 2010 Warschaw Learning Institute
www.WarschawLearningInstitute.com

The article also features a downloadable pdf of a testimonial questionnaire for your patients – free! Don’t miss out on this valuable information – it’s a quick read you can’t afford to miss.

• 5 Mistakes that Cost You Thousands
• Dental Assistants & Case Acceptance
• Fewer Teeth Linked to Heart Disease
• Healthcare Reform and Dentistry
• Journal of an Out-of-Work Hygienist
• MacPractice for the iPad
• The Going Rate for a Baby Tooth
• Tomorrow’s Hot Careers: Dental Hygiene

Go to www.facebook.com/dentalblogs and request friendship right now, so tomorrow you can have your finger on the latest dentistry news!

Have you started hearing new objections?  Are you hearing more objections about money?  Are more concerns circling around fear for the future when it comes to healthcare coverage?  These are not times to sidestep and avoid the unavoidable.  These are also not times to back away from presenting the best possible care to your patients because you are afraid to hear no – again.  What it is time for is a Back to Basics approach on patient care and case presentation.  Here is where you can start.

In a recent report by the ADA, it was stated that 51.6% of adults stated they would be more likely to visit the dentist if the dentist had a friendlier and more caring attitude.  This is saying that over HALF of those surveyed would come to see YOU, doctor, if you had better customer service!  If you could increase your new patient flow simply by improving your customer service skills, wouldn’t that be a healthy place to put your energy in your business?

This same ADA report states that only 34% of those surveyed listed money as a deciding factor on whether or not to visit the dentist.  What that tells me is over two thirds of your patient base is most likely saying yes or no to treatment based on obstacles OTHER than money – which is great news!  This means you can help get your patients to say yes by tried and true methods that have worked in dental practices for years.

There are three ways you can see immediate improvement in your case acceptance.  They aren’t necessarily simple, but if you work at these three areas, you may find your patients are more prepped and ready to say YES and less likely to come to you with walls of objections.

1. Pre-heat your case presentations with effective telephone and written communication.  Your business team and treatment coordinators hold an incredible amount of power in their hands because they are representing you over the telephone, especially when dealing with new patients.  How they respond to questions, how they speak to the patients, how they communicate what is to be expected in upcoming visits, all help to build that patient’s expectations of what they are going to experience during their time with you.
2. Take the time to work out the kinks in your telephone technique, as well as your welcome packets.  Work on scripts, practice on each other, record phone calls and listen back to find what needs work.  As for the welcome packets, look through your materials and make sure they are reflecting the most professional and the clearest version of your practice and your services as possible.  These are just a few ways to strengthen this gateway into your practice and to strengthen your relationships with your patients.
3. Develop a solid, professional case presentation protocol for your practice.  This involves everything from the initial phone call, to gathering of clinical data, to the presentation itself.  A successful, streamlined case presentation system in a dental practice involves each and every member of the team.  And you always have to bring your best.  You are only as good as your weakest link.
4. Follow up!  You may find you are having more “I’ll think about it” responses.  This means that you most likely have more dentistry sitting in your charts waiting to be done than you ever imagined.  Instead of wishing for more and more new patients to fill the void in your production – market from within!  In your patient family you have established relationships, trust built up from years of working together and an inexpensive opportunity to educate and motivate case after case.  Check your scheduled patients’ diagnosed dentistry every week.  Make note of this in your morning meetings.  Establish a protocol for every hygiene appointment to involve the use of intra oral cameras and create time in these appointments to educate your patients on dentistry diagnosed but untreated – while they are a captive audience, in your dental chair.  This gives you the opportunity to tap into their decision making senses, both auditory AND visual, and create that need and want so they are more likely to say yes!

Now is the time to persevere.  Work on those weak links in your case presentation system.  Focus on improving your customer service skills – starting with where it all begins – the telephone.  And, never give up, which means – follow up.  Those that continue to improve and continue to build their patient relationships will find that when the dust settles, their practices will be stronger and better than ever.

For an article on Cathy Jameson’s Six Steps to Successful Case Presentation, visit the Jameson website at www.jamesonmanagement.com.

For dentists, the first point of reference in advertising guidelines should always be the state board’s regulations. The Texas Dental Association, for instance, does not allow dentists to use testimonials in advertising. Other state dental boards regulate issues like statements of superiority, promising predictable results, and use of misleading statements.

Once your advertisement or website passes through the state board’s filter of regulations, consult the FTC guidelines. New policies prohibit promises of atypical results in testimonials, even with a disclaimer; revealing material connections with endorsers; and even on talk shows and in social media, celebrities have to tell people if they’re being paid for the endorsements they discuss.

These days, with online communities like Facebook and Yelp!, dentists who want to boost their advertising often look for testimonials from their patients. Demandforce and other marketing companies for dentists provide a service to acquire and post testimonials from current patients. Not a bad idea if you don’t know the rules and don’t have the time.

For video testimonials, the new guidelines could mean that you’ll need to script the patient testimonials prior to shooting or edit the videos for compliance before use.

A set of guides are available online to make the “16 C.F.R. Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” a little easier for you to digest. Get the scoop here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.

Thanks to Dr. Tom Hedge for providing video coverage of select vendor booths at the Chicago Midwinter Dental Conference!

The 2009 study analyzed more than 1 million households and compared the behavior of patients who chose CareCredit as a financial resource, to those using cash, credit cards or another method of payment. The study found, over the five-year period following their initial CareCredit transaction, patients with CareCredit were more loyal and more likely to accept treatment recommended by their dentist, investing 44% more in their oral health (as measured in dollar value) and visiting the practice 25% more often. This study supports the 2005 ADCPA Report that CareCredit increases practice production an average of 25.3%.

ADCPA 2009 Study Key Findings:

• In the initial year the CareCredit account was opened, patients accepted 282% more recommended dental services and visited the practice 62% more often.
• In the following five years, patients with CareCredit accepted 44% more recommended dental services and visited the practice 25% more often.

“The ADCPA works with dentists on a daily basis and we’ve always hypothesized that CareCredit positively impacts patient behavior,” said Rick Willeford, President of the ADCPA. “This study analyzed a significant sample size – over 1 million patients – and was able to quantify the positive impact over a 5 year period. CareCredit’s revolving line of credit provides an ongoing financial resource for patients that positively affects their behavior in the dental office. They visit the practice more often and accept more dentistry, demonstrating their loyalty to the practice in clear, quantifiable ways.”

“There are many reasons why a patient may not accept their doctor’s treatment recommendations, including their personal financial situation. The ADCPA study verifies that when you give patients a flexible financial resource, it’s easier for the patient to accept care and fit dentistry into their lifestyle and budget,” stated Dave Fasoli, President of CareCredit.

About the ADCPA: The ADCPA is a national association of accounting firms that specialize in meeting the unique needs of the dental practice. For more information on the ADCPA, visit www.adcpa.org.

About CareCredit: For more than 20 years, CareCredit has been making it easy for patients to get the dentistry they need and want. Today, CareCredit is at work in more than 125,000 practices in the nation and has been used by over 8 million patients. CareCredit is exclusively selected for their members by most state and national dental associations, including ADA Business ResourcesSM*, AGD, AAOMS, and AAP, and is also recommended by leading practice management consultants. For more information on CareCredit, call 1-800-300-3046 ext. 4519 or visit www.carecredit.com to view the full study report.

*ADA is a registered trademark of the American Dental Association. ADA Business Resources is a service mark of the American Dental Association. ADA Business Resources is a program brought to you by ADA Business Enterprises, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Dental Association.

MEDIA RELEASE February 17, 2010

New Digital Music Service Designed Just For Dental Practices
Boulder, CO – Dental offices now have a better alternative for their in-office music. Custom Channels, a company that creates custom on-line and on-premise radio stations for nationally known brands, has launched Smile Radio – a music service specifically designed for dental practices.

Smile Radio includes multiple channels of professionally programmed, continuously updated music handpicked to enhance the sound and atmosphere of dental offices. Smile Radio channels are broadcast directly to dental practices via the Internet and received on a specially designed streaming receiver.

Custom Channels’ co-president Dave Rahn said, “A number of my dentist friends really had a hard time finding a good music solution for their dental office. Many used FM or satellite radio, or their own iPods or CDs – but found each had serious drawbacks. We created Smile Radio to address their concerns about lack of variety, song repetition, inappropriate songs, commercials and interruptions.”

Dr. Anil Idiculla of Park Meadows Orthodontics in Denver said, “The power of music is highly underrated in today’s offices. It affects your patients, your team members, and more importantly, your daily productivity. With the numerous choices of music options out there already, it can be very overwhelming to decide what the best option is to achieve this goal. Smile Radio is the total package… current music, extensive playlists, and customization. It can take your office to the next level.”

Founded by 30-year broadcast radio veterans Dave Rahn and John Bradley, Custom Channels creates and manages custom music channels for local and national brands including Floyd’s 99 Barbershops, Whole Foods Market, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Cost Plus World Market, Clearwire, and numerous broadcast radio stations. Smile Radio is the company’s entrée into providing specialized music channels designed for the dental and medical professions.

Smile Radio costs $39.95 per month and includes all required ASCAP, BMI and SESAC music performance licenses. A 30-day risk free trial is offered to customers who sign up through their website at http://www.smile-radio.com. Dentists can preview all the music channels on the Smile Radio website.

Contact for more information: John Bradley – john @ CustomChannels.net 303.444.7700

Do you have a strategic plan for your dental business in 2010? Most businesses that don’t have a plan fail to become successful. Don’t enter into a new decade blindly…make sure you have a plan.

Have you ever heard the saying “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”? Well this holds true for your dental business as well. You can not start a business and proceed blindly and just expect that everything will work out and you will achieve great success. It rarely will happen that way. Each year, in the very beginning of each year you need to sit down outside the regular dental office atmosphere and make a plan. This plan needs to include the entire team. It starts your practice off on the “right tooth”. Well, it is one way to keep you in the black.

Don’t set yourself up for failure

Without a plan you won’t know which way to progress, you won’t know what you need to do or where you should be when the day begins; let alone another year ends. The entire team will be confused about what you are working towards. What happens next? What happens in most cases is a loss of focus on the interest of the business of dentistry and loss of motivation to get where you need to go.

Would you take a journey somewhere you’ve never traveled without a road map? Of course you wouldn’t. Not if you want to successfully reach your destination. In the year 2010 you most likely have a sophisticated device such as a GPS to guide you directly to your destination.

Considering this, do you think you could successfully reach the goal in your dental business without a strategic plan?

If you are going to put your time and money into something, you don’t want to set yourself up for failure; rather you want to ensure your success.

Have an annual plan to ensure your success

When you have a plan, you will create direction for yourself and the entire team who follows your lead. You will now understand what you need to accomplish your tasks and move to the next step.

You don’t have to do this on your own. As the year ends many consulting/business firms are offering discounts to guide you to plan effectively, to travel in the right direction and end at the pot of gold.

Once you have a plan in place, you won’t have to guess what you should do next, as you will already know. You won’t spend your time wondering and waiting for success to come, only to be disappointed and clueless as to where you went wrong. I’m not saying that just any business strategic plan is going to ensure you success, but having a plan in place will significantly improve your chances!

Be prepared
This is your business…your lively hood. Having a well thought out business plan will also reduce your stress as you move along.

If you’ve ever been a parent or a babysitter of a young infant or toddler, you will know that if you go on an outing with a carefully packed diaper bag, you will feel a lot less stressed than if you just threw some things together right before you left. What if you forgot something? What if you forgot something important like diapers, bottles for formula, or the baby food?

While you are away trying to enjoy yourself your mind may constantly be stressed, trying to think if you have forgotten anything. Not a good way to run an outing at the park… or your business. Find yourself some business plan opportunities and get started!

Have all your cards in place and you will give yourself the best chance possible to be successful.

January is almost here and if you don’t have your annual strategic planning meeting on the calendar, now is the time to schedule that for you and the entire team. I want to suggest that it be held outside of your office. Make it a fun event for the entire team. There needs to be an organized agenda but make it fun, be concise and yet directive about what needs to be accomplished. Be sure to address what has been accomplished in the past year and decade as well.(Remember we begin a new decade on January 1, 2010!!) At this important meeting make it known to the team when you plan to have the office closed in 2010, holidays for the office, vacation requests and annual review dates for each team member need to be set or suggested at the least. This is just a short list to get you started on the “right tooth” when 2010 begins.

“If you don’t know where you are going; any road can take you there. Be sure to have your map in hand as you begin 2010!”

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
May you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS
Founder: Dental Practice Solutions

Dr. Savage recommends that the doctor get and stay involved in the accounting of his or her office. The dentist should manage the practice effectively and know which employee to speak with about any patient or issue. This management structure, according to Dr. Savage, will reduce stress and promote professionalism and accountability.

Another important issue is your financial guidelines. Dr. Savage points out topics and ideas you may not have yet considered in regards to developing or revising your current financial policy. Patients should understand your policy, as should employees, and the doctor/manager should not make exceptions that overrule an employee’s effort to carry out the set guidelines.

In this economy, you should offer financial options – pay by credit card, third party financing, or set up a phased treatment plan. Dr Savage suggests you consider your policies regarding lab work fees, insurance copays, and cash courtesy discount.

Read the full article at www.dentaltown.com. Dr. Savage’s bio is available here.

1. Are you emailing patient information and digital x-rays to other doctors? Make sure that your office and the receiving office utilize encrypted email services. If you don’t, your data can easily be read on its path from your practice to theirs. HIPAA states that you are responsible for making a reasonable attempt at protecting your data.
2. Do you have a wireless router in your office? If you are using wireless Internet for internal purposes, make sure your router is a current model with the latest security standards. Most wireless routers (especially those purchased from retail outlets) do not default to their most secure settings, making them susceptible even for entry-level hackers.
Do you want to be a HOT SPOT and provide free Internet to waiting patients? Make sure your wireless router is segmented (isolated) from your primary network.

3. It is very important to lock down access to your computers at the end of the day. At the very least, you should log out of your practice management software on all workstations to prevent someone who has access to the office (cleaning people, landlord, or intruder) from easily accessing patient files.
An even better method is to password-protect and completely log off your computer at the end of the day, which will prevent access to documents that are stored outside your practice management software. These are very simple processes to implement.

4. Are you backing up your data properly? In more cases than not, the tapes you are swapping or the portable hard drives you are lugging around are not enough. Tapes can wear out and sometimes do not correctly back up your data. If you are using tapes, then you should regularly conduct test restores to assure that the data you need is being backed up. Portable hard drives, while cheap and easy, can result in the same problems as tapes. Make sure you conduct test restores. In addition, most backups to portable hard drives are not encrypted. This means anyone who plugs in your drive can steal your data.

There are many options available today. There are a lot of good remote backup solutions that use the Internet, but encrypt the data so it is protected. Also, there are new disaster recovery systems that back up data to a local storage device as well as a remote location. Make sure your backups happen regularly and that whatever you back up to is in a safe place outside your office. You can never back up too often or too securely.

5. Is your practice anti-virus and anti-malware software current? It is very important that every computer in your practice is protected by current anti-virus and anti-malware software. It significantly decreases the likelihood of a malicious infection. Unfortunately, it is not 100% foolproof, as users can still bypass threat warnings to access something they think they need. In addition to the software with an active update subscription, your staff needs to be educated on what websites to go to and not to go to. A firewall with built-in anti-virus software and filtering can further enhance security and protect from operator error.

It is well worth the effort to make sure that your practice’s data is secure and protected. After all, your practice data is a good portion of your business. What would you do without it?

Tom Terronez is president of Medix Dental, a dental technology consulting company that provides dental practices the technical expertise, resourcefulness and solutions that will increase productivity and make their practice the best practice they can be. For more information, visit www.medixdental.com.

New York is the first state to require all healthcare workers, who have direct patient contact at hospitals, hospices, health centers or even home care, to get flu shots – both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 when it becomes available in October.

The logic used here is based on the fact that traditionally only about 50 percent of all healthcare are vaccinated during a normal flu season, even though their patients, obviously have a tendency to be more susceptible to the complications of the flu.

Additionally, the Hospital Corporation of America is requiring 120,000 employees to be vaccinated as well as MedStar with 25,000 employees. These required inoculations are being met with resistance on health, religious and civil rights grounds. The New York State Health Commissioner stated that “The patient’s well-being comes ahead of the personal preferences of healthcare workers.”

This philosophy has caused great concern throughout the entire healthcare industry especially since the Secretary of Health and Human Services has stated the “this is a voluntary vaccine.”

This is an ongoing issue – please check to see how this affects you.

Health Compliance Team
Post Office Box 472
Central Valley, New York 10917
Tel. 845-460-3034
Toll Free 800-724-1263
Fax: 845-928-1315
sales@healthcomplianceteam.com
www.healthcomplianceteam.com

Dental insurance can be a frustrating topic for dentists and dental team members. In this article, we’ll review common concerns from both sides, then present an end-of-the-year insurance benefits template that you can use for your insurance patients.

Staff’s Viewpoint

“There are just too many insurance plans to keep track of. Why don’t the patients understand their dental benefits?”

“I get so weary trying to explain these benefits.”

“It is so time-consuming to do pre-authorizations, and 80% of the patients still say ‘no’ to treatment after we wait for weeks to get the responses back. What a waste of time!”

“Doctor wants to become a provider of a few PPOs. We have always been fee for service. Why the change now?”

“We (the team members) will never get a raise if the practice writes off so much of our regular fees.”

Doctor’s Viewpoint

“The hardest part of practicing dentistry is the constant change in the patients’ benefit plans. How can one local business/company have so many different plans? No wonder the patients are confused. We need to hire a full-time dental benefits expert to keep our heads above water and our patients informed.”

“Why is it that so many patients must have in writing just exactly what their plan will cover? Most of their treatment plans exceed their annual maximum benefit. And it seems that the pre-determination is nothing but a delay tactic dreamed up by the insurance company knowing that 75% or more of the patients say no to their treatment plan by waiting to hear back in a few weeks.”

“In the past 20 years, I have remained fee for service, but it has become increasingly difficult to attract and keep patients in the slower economy as patients feel their ONLY OPTION is to go to a dentist on their plan. With so many dentists around me accepting XYZ plan, and as low as my new patient number is per month, I have two choices: either spend $6,000 per month on an expensive marketing plan to attract FFS patients or go on a plan or two to compete. I will have a busier schedule and write off about $4000 per month. At this point, I must reevaluate my pride, philosophy, and my marketing budget/versus write offs to measure the differences.”
____________________________________________________________________________
In this slower economy the past year, team members are spending an inordinate amount of time on insurance verifications, requested pre-authorizations, insurance follow up, billing and explanations of benefits. They are also handling more patient complaints regarding their dental benefit plans and out of pocket differences.

For the first time in 20 to 30 years, the die-hard, fee-for-service dentists are finding emptier chairs and less case acceptance than ever before. In order for practices to survive versus just get by month to month…right now is the time to send out the END OF THE YEAR INSURANCE LETTER to help patients maximize their benefits for the calendar year (if the benefit renews in January). Here is a sample that can help make October, November, December and January your four biggest months of all (December/January with split year cases to take advantage of benefits in both calendar years).

PATIENT LETTER OR CARD:

Just a friendly reminder….

Most insurance plans have a calendar year maximum and deductible period, and insurance maximums do not roll over from year to year. This means that if you have unused benefits at the end of the year, you lose them.

Each year, our schedule is very full in November and December as patients have dentistry completed to take advantage of their dental benefits. If you wish to have treatment completed before the end of the year, please call to schedule your appointment soon.

If you have questions about your benefits, or about recommended treatment, please don’t hesitate to call!
Remember, you earn your benefits, so make the most of them!

Oddly enough, about a third of the responding dentists revealed that they post their “no cell phones/mobile device” policy for patients to see. One dentist said that patients sometimes sit up during treatment to answer a cell phone call.

Not all dentists think texting is a problem. Kids, for example, who are occupied with texting may feel more at ease during treatment. And kids, as you know, can text with their eyes closed, so they don’t even have to look at the cell phone keypad.

CDS urges patients to respect their dentists’ requests in regards to cell phone usage, and if no sign is posted, ask the dentist if texting during treatment would be a problem. Alternately, if you must receive and respond to texts and the dentist prohibits this, come up with a sign to the dentist to stop treatment so that you can take care of your business. The best advice for chronic texters? Leave the cell phone with the dentist’s receptionist!

For those patients who have developed a serious addiction to texting, maybe they should consider an addiction recovery program.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162153.php