by Taking Notice
As I write this publisher’s letter I am traveling to yet another dental meeting. (It seems there is a dental meeting somewhere in the United States every week of the year!) However, you may never have heard of this dental meeting: the DTA annual meeting (www.dentaltradealliance.org). This is an event where dental manufacturers, distributors and service providers get together to network and converse about the state of the dental industry. This will be my third time attending. The DTA always delivers a superb lineup of speakers, events and wonderful opportunities to speak with the ‘movers and shakers’ in the dental industry.
Why do I bring up this industry trade association meeting you may have never heard of? It is because dental group practices are sure to be a topic of conversation at this meeting. DSOs/GPOs can no longer be ignored. The growth and influence of the DSO/GPO business models in dentistry are forcing the industry to take notice.
This heightened interest is a great opportunity for you and for dental manufacturers and distributors. There is a lot of misinformation circulating and many assumptions made about groups. As a dental group, you have an opportunity to educate the industry and your potential business partners (manufacturers, distributors and service providers) as to your specific business model and how you can work together to build a fruitful partnership.
We here at Efficiency in Group Practice have a duty to bring DSO/GPOs relevant, unique, and beneficial content. We also have a responsibility to help the dental industry understand what DSO/GPOs are all about, and how best to form a long-term business relationship with them. I am looking forward to helping provide that content to all of our readers.
Speaking of content, please read our story on Dr. Sami Bahri, who is the pioneer of using Lean principles in dentistry. These are the same Lean principles used by the likes of Toyota, Boeing, and GE. This article starts on page 26. We are also featuring our first “Group Practice Profile,” which will become a regular feature. Smile Source®, who has seen huge growth this year, will be the first featured group. Let us know if you’d like your group to be featured in an upcoming issue.
We’re very excited about bringing you a great deal of relative content, which is sure to make you extremely enthusiastic about the future of group dentistry.
Hope to see you at an upcoming dental meeting,
Bill Neumann
Publisher
EGP
