One of the most common themes I encounter when evaluating a dental practice’s existing billing, scheduling, and management operations is the misconception that hiring additional staff or purchasing new technology is the go-to solution for solving areas that need improvement. When really the answer almost always lies in leveraging the resources you already have at your disposal to increase productivity, optimize schedules, and even grow monthly profit.
- Utilize the internet and insurance carrier web portals for eligibility checking.
Many insurance carriers have comprehensive online portals and websites available to check patients’ eligibility and obtain digital (PDF) reports that can be saved directly into a patient’s file. It’s common for front office staff to check eligibility over the phone, which is extremely time consuming and often very frustrating. Consistent negative feedback I hear from the front desk staff is the heavy workload due to the volume of insurance calls added to their other tasks. Using online portals and websites won’t fully replace calling insurance companies, but it will drastically reduce the time required and make this important task manageable. With less time being spent on eligibility checking, there will be less burnout and happier long-term employees.
- Maximize the existing employees your dental practice has on staff.
Dental offices often hire advanced qualified personnel (AQP) to help dentists provide care that a dental assistant or hygienist cannot. This hiring strategy when employed properly can allow the dentist to care for more patients.
I recently worked with a dental practice that had an AQP on staff, but was only being utilized at the skill level of a dental assistant. Instead of the dentist seeing 1.5 patients each hour (if the AQP was being utilized properly), the dentist was only seeing one patient an hour. The dentist was open four days a week and fully booked far in advance. Instead of needing to have an extra office day or extend hours, properly using the AQP to complete appointments would increase patient flow. Sometimes dentists are new to working with an AQP and have a tough time giving control over to someone else to finish his/her work. Since AQPs have a higher paygrade than dental assistants, it’s important to effectively schedule their time in harmony with the doctor.
- Learn every feature of your practice management software.
Staff Scheduling – Almost all software has a coding feature to easily visualize the staffing calendar to optimize appointment slots. For example, assigning colors to each personnel (doctor, AQP, dental assistant, etc.) can help the staff or office manager see the time requirement for each staff member against each appointment.
Appointment Setting – Utilizing the cancellation or broken appointment list feature can help in easier patient follow up and communication, and fill more open dental chairs when a cancellation occurs. For example, if a patient cancelled an appointment two weeks ago and it was recoded properly, and a last-minute opening occurs in the dentist’s schedule today, you can easily contact the patient to see if they can accommodate the opening. The patient will feel valued and top-of-mind, and the doctor can maximize his clinical time. Additionally, dental practices often invest in appointment confirmation services, like an email or SMS service. Instead of recording the responses from the service and then following up with patients to confirm via phone, I’ve seen front desk staff complete these tasks simultaneously, doubling up on their communication. If your practice pays for this type of service, fully utilize it – don’t pay for it twice (monthly subscription + staff hours)!
Treatment Plan Management – Many software systems can link treatment plans to an appointment for easier management and better results in the practice’s overhead. For example, a patient’s treatment plan could recommend work across three different appointments. One is scheduled the day-of the treatment plan review, but two are still open. As weeks or months pass by, you can run a report to show incomplete treatment plans, and allow for easier follow-up with patients. It’s important to always link a treatment plan to an appointment and add details (dollar amount, type of work, etc.) This will allow your practice to understand the projected monthly and annual income.
Prioritizing continuing education beyond your clinical staff is extremely important so your practice operations can run efficiently, saving time and money. Each client I work with always begins with reviewing overhead and finding areas that can be improved. Outsourcing time-consuming activities, like billing and eligibility, to experts can redirect practice staff time to focus on what matters most – excellent patient care. Dental Support Essentials offers ongoing support services including staff training, practice management services, credentialing, billing, and eligibility.