Generate dynamic patient referrals using financial tools By: Jerry A. Jones, CEO, Media Group Corp.

Today’s uncertain economic climate is affecting many industries—including dentistry. I’m sure many of your patients, who have recently lost their job or find their family income reduced, have expressed their concerns about staying within their current economic situation while maintaining optimal dental health.

If providing your patients with high quality dentistry is your goal and receiving great dentistry is the patient’s goal, why then do patients say “No?” Money!
What’s the first question a patient asks after you explain a treatment plan? That’s right, “How much will my insurance cover?”

The next question is “How much will I have to pay?” Like so many other decisions, it basically comes down to money. And really, that’s okay; because, patients are more likely to accept and complete treatment if they can afford the monthly payment.

And, if you have the proper financial options in place, you can have your chairside assistant or your financial coordinator explain payment options. So, what on earth does offering financing have to do with motivating a patient to refer their friends, family and co-workers?

I recently attended a seminar with the CEO of a patient financing company. One of his comments stopped me cold: “You know, as a dental patient, I can’t IMAGINE having half of the necessary work done over a long, extended period of time. I’d rather get it done as quickly and affordably as possible.

“Seems to me, Jerry, that in extending the treatment time, the dentist suffers, too. He has to wait for his payment in full. How much of a referral source is a patient walking around town with half-done dentistry?”

Granted, there are unavoidable situations which will result in multiple appointments. But delaying treatment because of finances shouldn’t be one of them.

In a recent national survey, 85% of all prospective patients cited financing and pain as their number one and two barriers in not getting or completing dental treatment.

By offering patient financing, you can eliminate the objections to 65% of patients who currently decline treatment. However, by NOT offering financing, you are limiting the growth of your practice…maybe by as much as 65% or even more!

I frequently participate on the DentalTown message boards and often see posts from fellow Townies asking where they can obtain patient financing and what has worked for other Townies. I would like to tell you a bit about a company I firmly believe has found the right mix to provide your practice with great results.

I sit on the Board of Directors of a company called American Financial Services, Inc. (AFS). This company was originally created to provide member benefits to the owners/members of Advantage Dental Plan, Inc., (ADP) a dentist-owned dental insurance company. They were looking for ways to increase case acceptance by providing an innovative way to finance their patients.

With the initial help from the Advantage doctors, AFS was formed with a core employee group that had over 50 years experience financing dental patients.

Over half of the board of directors is comprised of doctors who use AFS services. AFS has expanded their offerings to include:

• Funding on production and accounts receivable
• Telephone follow up on past due insurance accounts
• Electronic billing for both patient and insurance accounts
• Telephone collection follow up on past due patient accounts
• Free credit reports
• Discounted credit card merchant rates
• Assistance with patient financial policies

If you currently do not offer third-party patient financing in your office, I encourage you to visit their website, www.amfsi.com.

And, if you’re limiting your patient financing options to just one plan or credit cards, you owe it to yourself to investigate the possibilities available through American Financial Services. The company, located in Salem, Oregon, can be reached at 1-888-669-4553 or you can email them at jodis@amfsi.com.

As a Townie, I invite you to visit the Finance Forum at www.dentaltown.com for more information on patient financing.

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Jerry A. Jones is a speaker, author and dental practice marketing and advertising expert. His company, Media Group, focuses on “Putting Paying Patients In Your Chairs.” He’s available via email at jerry@patientmailings.com and his website: MediaGroupCorp.com. His brain trust of highly trained Marketing Consultants is available for FREE 15-minute no-obligation marketing consultations. Simply call 1-800-MGC-6240 for highly profitable solutions to any marketing problems.